Welcome!

We are housed in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

We are a highly collaborative lab focused in several areas related to vascular biology. As a team, we strive to uncover the roles of a number of pathways including Notch, Chloride Intracellular Channels (CLICs), and Anthrax Toxin Receptors in developmental and pathological angiogenesis.

Our lab includes a healthy mix of people from several backgrounds in various stages of their careers. Our lab promotes scientific discovery while aiding in the professional development of all members.

If you would like to know more about us, please continue to explore our website.

Recent News

Congratulations to Honors College Research Grant Awardees, Rishi and Serena!

Both Rishi and Serena have been awarded Honors College Research grants! Mentored by Tanner in the lab, these two undergraduate researchers are making great strides in their ACKR1 projects! Rishi was awarded for his project titled, "The Role of Endothelial ACKR1 on Breast Cancer Metastasis", and Serena was awarded for her project titled, "Endothelial ACKR1 Knockdown Inhibits Neutrophil-Mediated Pulmonary Metastasis".

10/24/24

Congratulations on 1st place poster at CCVR, Christie!

Christie placed 1st for her poster presentation titled, "The Role of Endothelial Notch4 in Retinal Angiogenesis", at the Center for Cardiovascular Research Day. Our talented undergraduates, Nivedha and Debdutta, also presented posters!

10/18/2024

Congratulations on placing 2nd in chalk talks at the GEMS Symposium, Tanner!

Tanner placed 2nd for his chalk talk at the 8th GEMS Research Symposium. Christie also gave a poster presentation, and Kate's abstract was accepted for a lightning talk and poster, too!

10/11/24

Congratulations to Dean's Scholar Kate! And congratulations to the newest PhD candidates, Kate and Christie!

We are so proud of Kate for joining the 2024 inaugural class of the College of Medicine's Dean's Biomedical Sciences Scholars! In addition, Kate and Christie successfully passed their doctoral qualifying exams shortly after!

July 2024

Congratulations to Rishi and Nivedha on being selected as LASURI scholars!

The Liberal Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Research Initiative (LASURI) awarded scholarships to both Rishi and Nivedha! We are excited to see what developments they will make in their projects in ACKR1 in breast cancer and Notch in retinal angiogenesis, respectively. Congratulations!

5/24/25

Congratulations to Nivedha on first place at CAURS!

Nivedha presented her poster at the Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium. She competed in the Biological Sciences division and was awarded first place! Serena and Rishi also presented their posters at CAURS on ACKR1. We are so proud of all of our undergraduates in the lab!

5/1/24

Ben presents his work at IIS Biogipuzkoa!

Ben was invited to speak at IIS Biogipuzkoa in San Sebastián, Spain by our collaborator Dr. María Muñoz Caffarel. He presented his work on lymph node metastasis and JAG1/Notch signaling. Taking advantage of the clinical opportunities during his visit, Ben also visited the breast cancer outpatient clinics and scrubbed into breast surgeries. We are so thrilled that Ben's work is being recognized and cannot wait to see his future contributions as a thriving (soon-to-be) physician scientist!

3/8/2024

Tanner selected for the AACR Scholar-in-Training Award!

Congratulations to Tanner on the AACR-Barbara Campbell Creighton Scholar-in-Training Award! The award will help fund his expenses to attend the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, where he will present his project titled "The role of endothelial ACKR1 in breast cancer metastasis." Tanner will be recognized for this award at the Scholar-in-Training Awards Reception during the annual meeting.

We are so proud of all of your hard work in uncovering the role of ACKR1 and can't wait for your presentation at AACR!

12/26/2024

Congratulations to Chinwe on being awarded the 2024 I-CHER pilot grant!

Chinwe has been selected for the Illinois Cancer Health Equity Research (I-CHER) pilot grant award! Her project titled "Duffy Status Effects on Racially Disparate Treatment in Breast Cancer" will take her work in the lab farther into the clinical setting. We are so proud and excited to see Chinwe help bridge the racial gap in breast cancer, using both her expertise in the lab and the clinic!

2/20/2024

Taliha selected to present a short talk at the NAVBO 2024 Developmental Vascular Biology Workshop!

Congratulations to Taliha for being selected to present a short talk titled "Transcriptomic analysis of Notch signaling identifies Unc5B as a modulator of endothelial cell migration, proliferation, cell‐cell adhesion, and angiogenesis."! A beautiful presentation (as always), and we are so proud that Taliha's project was chosen to represent the current and future trends of the vascular signaling field at the 20th anniversary of the Developmental Vascular Workshop!

2/13/2024

Naiche awarded 2023 Philip L. Hawley Mentorship Award!

Tonight, Naiche was recognized for her outstanding dedication to students at the 33rd Annual UIC Department of Physiology & Biophysics Awards! The Philip L. Hawley Mentorship Award is given to the most enthusiastic and supportive faculty member and is nominated by the department's trainees.

We are proud (though not surprised) that Naiche was celebrated for her enduring support - we are so lucky to have you in our group!

11/16/2023

Shrinidhi and Christie are awarded T32 Predoctoral Research Grants!

Congratulations are in order for our two newest MSTP students, who have both won competitive awards within their first month of PhD training! Shrinidhi has been appointed to the T32 "Training program in the biology and translational research on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias" award. Christie was just awarded a T32 VBST Training Program fellowship within the Department of Physiology and Biophysics.

You are both rock stars and off to a fantastic start!

7/25/2023

The Kitajewski lab is growing!

A very warm welcome to our newest lab members! Shrinidhi Kadkol and Christie Kang are our newest MSTP students and will be investigating the roles of Notch4 in the neurovasculature and furthering our study of Jagged-1 in the tumor microenvironment, respectively. Braulio Aguilar joins our phenomenal lab technician, Pamela Teneqexhi, and will work alongside Seock Won and Pamela as they examine the endothelium in liver angiogenesis. Serena Thomas is an undergraduate student joining Tanner and Rishi as they explore the roles of ACKR1 in breast cancer progression. Lauryn Perry is also an undergraduate who is joining us for the summer and working with Naiche to learn more about retinal angiogenesis.

7/10/2023

One step closer to Dr. Benjamin Gordon, MD, PhD! After four years of lymphangiogenic discoveries, Ben masterfully defended his thesis, entitled "Tumor-derived JAGGED-1 Promotes Breast Cancer Lymphovascular Invasion and Lymph Node Metastasis" on June 2nd.

After defending his thesis, Ben presented his work at the NAVBO Lymphatic Forum in Banff, Canada to share his work with a broader audience.

Although it is bittersweet and we will miss seeing you in lab every day, we are so proud of you and know you are crushing it in your clinical rotations!

7/10/2023

Ben successfully defends his thesis!

Congratulations to our Angiogenius grads, Jumobi, Krishna, Ahana, and Rahul!

More celebration is in order for our resident angiogenic and lymphangiogenic rockstars! Congratulations to our UIC Honors College graduates and Angiogeniuses on 4 years of success at UIC.

Over the years, we have watched each of them make discoveries and develop as young researchers, and have learned a lot from each of our Angiogeniuses, too!

Last week, we got to celebrate our Honors College graduates at Convocation. Not shown is Rahul, our in-house lymphangiogenius! We look forward to celebrating your achievements over the coming weeks in the lab.

We will miss all of you and are so excited to hear about your postgraduate adventures!

5/4/2023

Congratulations to Dr. Matthew Kleinjan, MD, PhD!

After 8 years of hard work and dedication, Matt has added two more letters behind his name - congrats to Dr. Kleinjan, MD, PhD! We are so proud of you and look forward to celebrating your success over the coming weeks.

As the first MSTP student to graduate from the lab here at UIC, Matt has been a leader for trainees in the Kitajewski lab. We are excited to follow your success throughout residency and beyond!

5/4/2023

Ben wins top prize for Cancer Biology in 2023 Gary Kruh Poster Competition!

We are so proud of Ben's award for his poster "Tumor derived JAGGED-1 promotes breast cancer lymphovascular invasion and lymph node metastasis" at the annual conference! Several members of the Kitajewski lab presented posters and Dr. Kitajewski served as master of ceremonies.

The lab got to hear from several exciting speakers, including one of Dr. Kitajewski's former trainees, Dr. Arun Wiita, MD, PhD, who currently heads at lab at UCSF. We also heard cancer survivor Dan Olas share his story and our trainees attended a speaker panel.

All-in-all, it was a successful Gary Kruh Symposium and we look forward to many more!

4/28/2023

Rahul wins second place at the UIC Undergraduate Research Forum!

Congratulations to Rahul on placing second at the UIC Undergraduate Research Forum! We are so proud to see you share your research with the UIC community and to have your hard work recognized.

4/24/2023

Rahul receives Pasteur Award for Independent Research!

As graduation nears, our Angiogeniuses have been sharing their remarkable research. We are excited to announce that Rahul has received the Pasteur Award for Biology 399 Independent Research! Congratulations on a job well-done, we are proud of you!

4/21/2023

Matt matches into the Pathology Residency Program at the University of Chicago!

CONGRATULATIONS to (alllmost double Dr.) Matthew Kleinjan on your match into the University of Chicago Pathology Residency Program! Thank you for allowing us to take part in your journey here through your time in the lab and the UIC MSTP. After seeing your hard work, dedication, and growth into an exceptional young physician-scientist, we are excited to celebrate your bright future ahead as you continue your training in Chicago!

We are so proud of you and look forward to following your career and achievements!

3/17/2023

Notification of Awards for Notch4 R01 and Tanner's ACKR1 F30!

It is NOA season - congratulations to Dr. Kitajewski and Dr. Adler on the renewal of the Notch4 R01, and to Tanner Roach for his ACKR1 F30 fellowship!

The Notch4 R01 renewal continues decades of research exploring the many facets of Notch4 activity and its regulation of angiogenesis in many key physiological processes. This most recent renewal is a testament to the groundbreaking work the Kitajewski lab has continually produced to better understand and define these many roles of Notch4 in human health and disease.

The F30 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowship is awarded to highly-accomplished MD/PhD students. Tanner's project, "The Role of Endothelial ACKR1 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Metastasis," will investigate ACKR1 as a mediator of this lethal stage of breast cancer progression.

We are incredibly proud of our phenomenal investigators!

2/16/2023

Dr. Jan Kitajewski elected as a 2022 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science!

Congratulations to Dr. Kitajewski for receiving one of the highest honors within the scientific community! His achievements have earned a well-deserved appointment alongside fellow UIC faculty members Dr. Giamila Fantuzzi and Dr. Lijun Rong. They are joining the over 500 pioneering innovators whose contributions to science and society merit recognition as AAAS Fellows. We are very proud and grateful for your leadership and dedication!

2/7/2023

Welcome to our newest lab members!

We have had four new researchers join the team! Pamela Teneqexhi is a research specialist who is working closely with Seock Won studying Notch signaling in the liver vasculature. Kate Alexander is a graduate student who is bringing her passion for cancer immunology to our studies on Notch4 signaling within the breast cancer tumor microenvironment. Rishi Patel is an undergraduate student who is working with Tanner on his ACKR1 project, and Bhavya Vegesna is a high school student who is currently assisting Ben with the final stretch of his thesis work. We are excited to welcome everyone to the team!

1/20/2023

Krishna recognized for outstanding research at Society for Developmental Biology meeting!

We are thrilled to announce that Krishna won the third-place presentation award last weekend at the Midwest Regional Society for Developmental Biology meeting! This open competition included postdocs, graduate, and undergraduate students, which made this achievement even more impressive.

The other Angiogeniuses also had a great time at their first external conference, receiving many compliments and meeting a lot of other scientists in the field.

Congratulations to Krishna and the Angiogeniuses team on their outstanding achievements at the Midwest Regional Society for Developmental Biology conference!

11/18/2022

Exciting research on Notch1 and Notch4 peptibodies published by Tim Sargis!

We are excited to announce that Tim Sargis has published "Notch1 and Notch4 core binding domain peptibodies exhibit distinct ligand-binding and anti-angiogenic properties" in the journal Angiogenesis.

The article examines the distinct ligand-binding and anti-angiogenic properties of these peptibodies, and the results have important implications for the understanding of how these peptibodies can be used for therapeutic Notch inhibition.

This publication is a testament to the Tim's hard work and dedication and we are proud to share his achievement with the scientific community.

11/15/2022

Lab members take home top prizes at CCVR research day!

We are thrilled to announce that our lab members received awards at the CCVR research day!

Stephanie won first prize in the postdoc talk category for her outstanding presentation. Ben also took home first prize in the predoc talk category. And Taliha earned first prize in the postdoc poster category for her excellent research.

We are incredibly proud of Stephanie, Ben, and Taliha for their hard work and dedication to their research. These awards are a testament to their skills and contributions to the scientific community.

10/20/22

Congratulations to Chinwe on receiving the Society of Immunotherapy of Cancer travel award!

Congratulations to Chinwe, on receiving the travel award from the Society of Immunotherapy of Cancer! This prestigious award is a testament to Chinwe's hard work and dedication to the field of cancer immunotherapy.

As a recipient of the travel award, Chinwe will have the opportunity to attend the society's annual meeting and present her research to a group of top experts in the field. We are proud of Chinwe for this accomplishment and look forward to hearing about her experience at the annual meeting.

10/20/2022

Ben Gordon wins Poster Prize at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Defining and Defeating Metastasis conference!

Congratulations to MSTP student Ben Gordon for winning a poster prize at the first ever EMBL Defining and Defeating Metastasis conference!

6/22/2022

Kitajewski lab selected for UIC Chancellor's Translational Research Initiative award!

Graduate student Tim Sargis led a project to develop new Notch decoys which has resulted in a Chancellor's Translational Research Initiative for the Kitajewski lab. Awesome work Tim!

5/2/2022

Jumobi Arowolo and Rahul Vadakath receive UIC's LASURI award

Jumobi Arowolo and Rahul Vadakath, both undergraduate researchers in the Kitajweski lab received LASURI awards from UIC! Jumobi's was awarded for her project entitled "Role of Rnd1 in Notch-Mediated Regulation of Arteriovenous Malformations" and Rahul was awarded for his project "Inhibition of Endothelial Notch4 Enhances Anti-Tumor Immune Activity."

4/27/2022

Ahana Gupta places second at Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium oral presentation competition

Ahana Gupta, an undergraduate researcher, in the Kitajewski lab placed second in the Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium (CAURS) oral presentation competition. The CAURS is one of the largest undergraduate research symposiums across the country which hosts highly competitive poster and oral presentation competitions for students across the Chicagoland area.

4/15/2022

Jumobi Arowolo selected for 2022 Summer Research Opportunities Program

Jumobi Arowolo, an undergraduate researcher, has been awarded funding for research this summer as part of the 2022 Summer Research Opportunities Program at UIC. She will continue working in the Kitajewski lab this summer developing her skills as a scientist.

3/17/2022

Stephanie Niemczyk receives NINDS K99/R00 - NIH Pathway to Independence Award

Stephanie Niemczyk, PhD, was awarded the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke K99/R00 - NIH Pathway to Independence Award for her work titled "Investigation of cerebrovascular Notch as a novel modulator of cognitive function." This award will support her mentored research in the Kitajewski lab and support her as an independent researcher following her time in the lab. We are incredibly proud of Stephanie's major accomplishment and excited to see her future independent research!

2/28/2022

Jason Eng awarded UI Cancer Center’s Clinical Fellows Pilot Program

Jason Eng, MD, PhD, was awarded UI Cancer Center's Clinical Pilot Program for his work "Investigating the Role of VEGF-C in the Progression of Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma." The UI Cancer Center's Pilot Project Program funds members' cancer research projects, leading to competitive grant applications for external funding. We are excited to see how Jason's project advances.

2/27/2022

Ahana Gupta places first at UIC Impact Day and Honors Research Symposium

Ahana's poster titled "Unc5b has anti-angiogenic activity downstream of Notch activity in the retinal vasculature" won UIC Impact Day and Honors Research Symposium poster competition, which included over 75 UIC student poster presentations.

2/26/2022

"Endothelial Notch signaling directly regulates the small GTPase RND1 to facilitate Notch suppression of endothelial migration" accepted by Scientific Reports!

We are excited to announce the paper "Endothelial Notch signaling directly regulates the small GTPase RND1 to facilitate Notch suppression of endothelial migration" has been accepted by Scientific Reports. The report was co-first authored by Bhairavi Swamination, PhD, Naiche Adler, PhD, and Seock Won Youn, PhD. Stay tuned for a link to the published article when it comes out!

1/19/2022

Tanner places second in UIC College of Medicine Research Forum poster competition!

We are proud to announce Tanner Roach, an MD/PhD candidate in our lab, was awarded Silver Medal honors in the graduate, MD/PhD, and Other Combined Degrees category at the UIC COM Research Forum poster competition. View his poster entitled "The Role of Endothelial ACKR1 in Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer and others from the research forum here: https://collegeofmedicine.webhost.uic.edu/ResearchForum2021/medical-students-2-21.html.

1/19/2022

Chinwe E-Amankwah receives American Cancer Society Post-Doctoral fellowship.

Chinwe was awarded the ACS fellowship for her project entitled "Effects of Racial/Ethnic Variation in ACKR1 on Breast Cancer Progression and Treatment."

1/19/2022

Dr. Adler appointed Faculty Fellow in Honors College

Dr. Naiche Adler has been appointed as a faculty fellow in the Honors College at UIC. Dr. Adler was awarded this position due to her excellent standing in UIC's science community and distinguished record in mentoring and teaching students. As a faculty fellow, Dr. Adler will continue mentoring students throughout their undergraduate years, especially helping them navigate various scientific fields.

Tanner and Chinwe win Center for Cardiovascular Research Virtual Research Day Awards

Congratulations to Tanner for winning Runner-up best oral presentation in the MD/PhD category and Chinwe for winning Honorable mention best oral presentation in the Post-Doctoral group at this year's CCVR Research Day! Both presentations were exciting to watch and highlighted the exciting work from our team focusing on the role of ACKR1 in Triple-Negative breast cancer.

Congratulations to Benjamin Gordon for receiving the F30 Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Individual Fellowship

Congrats to Ben for being awarded the prestigious F30 award for MD/PhD students for his project entitled "The Study of Jag1-Notch in the Extravasation of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells in Metastasis." We are all very proud of his accomplishment and excited to watch his project develop!

Quanber new position at Fluidigm

July 8, 2021

Quanber will be moving on from the Kitajewski lab and returning to his home country of Canada to join Fluidigm imaging team. At Fluidigm Quanber will be advancing the Hyperion Imaging System CyTOF® technology a highly multiplexed imaging and single-cell analysis technique allowing for incredible observation of tumor microenvironment down to a single-cell resolution. Congratulations Quanber and we are excited to hear about your future work!

Congratulations Chinwe and Tanner for being awarded VBST fellowships.

July 8, 2021

Congratulations to Chinwe and Tanner for being awarded postdoctoral and predoctoral trainees in the Vascular Biology, Signaling, and Therapeutics training program, respectively. The VBST training program develops an exceptionally talented and diverse group of graduate and postdoctoral fellows in vascular biology. The program engages fellows in multidisciplinary vascular research that has translational potential. Find out more about the VBST training program here!

Dr. Kitajewski interview on HB1779 Biomarker Testing Bill

June 28, 2021

Check out Dr. Kitajewski's latest interview discussing the Illinois Biomarker Testing Bill HB1779 with Tom Miller on WJPF Morning NewsWatch. Dr. Kitajewski covers the importance of biomarker testing in the early treatment of cancer, transformations in the field of cancer medicine due to biomarker research, and the impacts biomarker testing will make on healthcare costs and outcomes.

https://www.wjpf.com/episode/newsradio-wjpf-interview-with-jan-kitajewski-june-29-2021/

Congratulations to Dr. Matthew Kleinjan!

May 25, 2021

MD/PhD student Matthew Kleinjan successfully defended his thesis to earn his doctoral degree! Matt was the first graduate student in the Kitajewski lab at UIC and has paved the way for many students to come. Matt will be continuing his MD/PhD training with clinical rotations during his M3 and M4 years of medical school. We are incredibly proud of all your accomplishments in the lab and know you have many more great achievements ahead of you as a physician-scientist!

Bhairavi awarded 23andMe statistical genetics fellowship

May 14, 2021

Congratulations to Dr. Bhairavi Swaminathan for being awarded a major 10-week fellowship with 23andMe in statistical genetics to use fine-mapping to pinpoint causal variants in breast cancer. We are very excited to hear about your fellowship and will miss you while you are gone!

Krishna and Ahana awarded LASURI undergraduate research scholarships

April 29, 2021

A big congratulations to undergraduate students Krishna and Ahana for receiving LASURI undergraduate research awards for the 2021-2022 academic year! The UIC Liberal Arts & Sciences Undergraduate Research Initiative (LASURI) provides an opportunity for students to apply for scholarship to assist in developing their research skills and progressing their project. We are so proud of their amazing accomplishment!

New paper published in Science Signaling

April 20, 2021

We are very excited to announce that Brian has a new paper titled "CLIC1 and CLIC4 mediate endothelial S1P receptor signalng to facilitate Rac1 and RhoA activity and function" just published in Science Signaling! This study establishes an exciting new role for CLIC1 and CLIC4 in regulating GPCR signaling pathways that link to the small GTPases Rac1 and RhoA. Read more about it here: stke.sciencemag.org/content/14/679/eabc0425

Welcome new lab members!

January 7, 2021

We've had a few new additions to the lab as we transitioned to the new year. We are excited to welcome two new undergraduate students; Rahul Vadakath and Jumobi Arowolo! We also welcome Shreya Deb who is a first-year PhD student joining us for a rotation.

Congratulations Naiche and Bhairavi on their promotions!

December 15, 2020

Congratulations to Dr. Naiche Adler for her promotion to Research Assistant Professor! As the lab's scientific director Naiche plays a key role in writing and managing grants and protocols, advising on experimental designs and mouse colony management, mentoring students and scientists at all levels of training, and keeps the lab running smoothly in countless ways. Also a big congratulations to Dr. Bhairavi Swaminathan on her promotion to Research Assistant Professor! Bhairavi is an integral part of all of our bioinformatics analyses and is expanding her skill set to also become a major contributor to the UIC Cancer Center.

Matt receives ePoster award at NAVBO's Vascular Biology 2020 meeting

October 29, 2020

MD/PhD student Matt received an Award for Oustanding ePoster for his virtual poster presentation at Vasular Biology 2020. The title for his poster is "Endothelial CLIC4 is necessary for thrombin/PAR1 signaling". Congrats to Matt!

Qanber selected for NAVBO e-poster award at IVBM 2020

Septmeber 23, 2020

We are very excited to announce that Qanber was selected for the NAVBO e-poster award for his virtual presentation at IVBM 2020! In his acceptance note he writes "In his acceptance speech he said "I am honored to receive the e-poster award and thankful to the IVBM 2020 organizing committee and reviewers for acknowledging my research. Newton once wrote: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”. With that in mind, I would like to thank my mentor Jan Kitajewski, wonderful co-authors, amazing lab members and my loving family for playing the role of giants. This award will undoubtedly fuel my desire to continue on exploring the world of vascular biology in hopes of discovering novel biological mechanisms and therapeutics. Thank you again and peace to all!" You can find the award posting at https://www.ivbm2020.org/abstracts/abs_05.html.

Review article published in Vaccines

Septmeber 17, 2020

Congrats to MD/PhD student Ben Gordon for publishing a review article titled "The role of the tumor microenvironment in developing successful therapeutic and secondary prophylactic breast cancer vaccines" in the journal Vaccines. Give it a read for an informative look into efforts to produce vaccines for the treatment of breast cancer and how the tumor microenvironment challenges these efforts. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines8030529

Brian and Qanber win awards at CCVR Research Day 2020

Septmeber 9, 2020

Congratulations to Brian and Qanber for winning ePoster presentation awards at the Center for Cardiovascular Research (CCVR) Research Day 2020! CCVR Research Day was a virtual event this year but that didn't stop record participation in the annual competition. Brian was awarded "Best Presentation" in the Post-Doctoral category and Qanber was awarded "Honorable Mention" also in the Post-Doctoral category. Keep up the great work!

Welcome new lab members!

August 1, 2020

A very big welcome to our newest lab members postdoctoral fellow Chinwe E-Amankwah and graduate student Tanner Roach! We are excited to be working with them and can't wait to see all the amazing work they will accomplish.

More News

Qanber selected for NAVBO e-poster award at IVBM 2020

Septmeber 23, 2020

Review article published in Vaccines

Septmeber 17, 2020

Brian and Qanber win awards at CCVR Research Day 2020

Septmeber 9, 2020

Welcome new lab members!

August 1, 2020

New paper published in PLOS ONE

June 11, 2020

MD/PhD student Jessica Price has a new paper out in PLOS ONE demonstrating that Notch3 makes ovarian cancer more lethal by increasing its ability to bind collagen extracellular matrix: “Notch3 signaling promotes tumor cell adhesion and progression in a murine epithelial ovarian cancer model”. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0233962

Survivors Advising Scientists Educational Program

May 26, 2020

MD/PHD student Ben Gordon has become a founding member of the "Survivors Advising Scientists" program, which pairs doctoral students with community advocates. Go here to see his informative and layman-accessible videos on how cancer researchers develop hypotheses and design experiments, and the whys and hows of clinical trials.

https://cancer.uillinois.edu/new-cancer-educational-program-pairs-scientists-survivors/?mc_cid=afdace70f2&mc_eid=586a43b74c

College of Medicine entering phase 3 re-start of research

June 8, 2020

Our department is officially reopening and new research can begin! We are excited to start welcoming everyone back while following our new safety precautions.

Congratulations to Daniel Shaye for new CLIC R01

April 1, 2020

A big congratulations to our collaborator Dr. Daniel Shaye and to us for receiving a new NHLBI R01 award so our labs can jointly investigate the function of CLICs in GPCR-mediated Rac/Rho signaling.

Congratulations to Dr. Parvani on research award

March 4, 2020

Congratulations to Research Assistant Professor Jenny Parvani on receiving the UIC Chancellor's Research Initiative award!

Dr. Parvani receives UIC Clinical and Translational Science award

November 10, 2019

Great job by Research Assistant Professor Jenny Parvani, who just received a UIC Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) award for "The influence of Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC) on immune-checkpoint inhibition in African American patients with triple negative breast cancer."

Brian selected for Outstanding Poster Award

October 31, 2019

We're very proud that Postdoctoral Fellow Brian Mao was selected for the 2019 Outstanding Poster Award by a Postdoctoral Fellow at the 2019 North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO) annual meeting. His poster "Chloride Intracellular Channel (CLIC) proteins function to modulate Rac1 and RhoA downstream of endothelial G-protein coupled receptors signaling" had great data and great design!

Matt selected as Center for Cardiovascular Research Day best student speaker

September 19, 2019

Congratulations to MD/PHD student Matt Kleinjan, who was selected as the best student speaker at the Center for Cardiovascular Research Day for his presentation of "Chloride Intracellular Channel (CLIC) proteins function as modulators of RhoA activity and function downstream of endothelial thrombin/PAR1 and S1P/S1PReceptor signaling"

New paper published in ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science

September 4, 2019

PhD student Natalie Kofler has a new paper out in ACS Pharmacology and Translational Science demonstrating that Notch ligand Jag1 can have opposite effects on angiogenesis depending on context: "Inhibition of Jagged-Specific Notch Activation Reduces Luteal Angiogenesis and Causes Luteal Hemorrhaging of Hormonally Stimulated Ovaries" https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsptsci.9b00050

UIC Patient Brigade visits the Kitajewski lab

August 14, 2019

The Kitajewski lab welcomed the UIC Patient Brigade, a passionate group of patient advocates committed to bridging the communication gap between cancer patients, doctors, and researchers and making sure that all of Chicago's residents get quality care. We listened to Brigade members talk about their medical experiences and then met with them individually to explain the research that we do. Learn more about the Brigade at https://cancer.uillinois.edu/community/community-engaged-research-and-implementation-science/

Congrats to Stephanie and Tim

July 1, 2019

Congratulations to Postdoctoral Fellow Stephanie Niemczyk and PhD student Tim Sargis for their appointments to the Training Program in Personalized Cardiovascular Medicine and Vascular Biology, Signaling and Therapeutics Program, respectively. Fantastic young scientists who deserve this support!

Big congratulations to our newest doctor, Brian Mao!

April 11, 2019

Amazing job by our newest Doctor, Brian Mao, who just defended his thesis "Chloride Intracellular Channel (CLIC) proteins function to modulate Rac1 and RhoA downstream of endothelial G-protein coupled receptors signaling". Brian joined the Kitajewski lab as a PhD student at Columbia University, and we're excited that he will be staying with us for a while as a postdoc at UIC.

New CLIC data presented at International Vascular Biology Meeting in Helsinki

June 8, 2018

Brian traveled to Helsinki, Finland to present his latest findings at the 2018 International Vascular Biology Meeting (IVBM). The next IVBM will be held in Seoul, Korea in 2020.

Welcome new graduate student

May 2, 2018

The Kitajewski lab is excited to welcome our newest graduate student Tim Sargis! Tim will be working on developing notch decoys with the goal of inhibiting cancer tumor growth by blocking notch signaling.

DOD grant to test promising treatment for triple-negative breast cancer

March 21, 2018

The Kitajewski lab has received a three-year $1.17 million Department of Defence grant to develop a new therapeutic to treat triple-negative breast cancer. Read more

Contact Us

Kitajewski Lab

University of Illinois at Chicago

Department of Physiology and Biophysics

1853 W Polk St, Suite 552

MC 901

Chicago, IL 60612

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