Lab Members
Professor
Email: mrosenbl@mdanderson.org
Rosenblum received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of South Carolina (Columbia) in 1968 and in 1972 a Master of Science degree from the Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston) in Pharmacology. In 1978, he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona (Tucson) in Biochemical Pharmacology.
Rosenblum accepted a position as a project investigator at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) in 1978 and rose to his current rank of tenured Professor of Medicine in the Experimental Therapeutics department.
Rosenblum established the Immunopharmacology and Targeted Therapy Laboratory at MD Anderson, which is devoted to studying the pharmacology of proteins such as antibodies and cytokines. Additionally, the ITT program focuses on the development of a number of novel, recombinant therapeutics targeting solid tumors, tumor vasculature and the tumor micro-environment.
Khalid Amanali Mohamedali, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Email: kmohamed@mdanderson.org
Mohamedali earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Rice University in 1994, where he studied the physiological and mechanistic aspects of adenosine deaminase in purine metabolism. As a postdoctoral fellow, he concentrated his efforts on understanding the binding specificity determinants of FGF cytokines to their receptors, and the impact of this specificity on tissue specific pathologies including cancer. He joined the laboratory of Michael Rosenblum, Ph.D. at MD Anderson in 2001 and was promoted to the faculty position of Instructor in 2004. Mohamedali’s primary research focus is on the development of targeted therapeutic agents for the specific delivery of toxins, cytokines, human pro-apoptotic molecules, and other agents for cancer therapy, particularly in relation to tumor neovasculature, breast and prostate tumor metastasis, and tumor growth in bone. His research interests also include the role that bone marrow derived cells play in all aspects of tumor growth and metastasis and in developing mouse models to understand the mechanisms that regulate these processes.
Lawrence H. Cheung, MBA
Laboratory Manager
Email: lcheung@mdanderson.org
Cheung received both his Bachelor of Science in 1983 and Master of Business Administration degrees in 1991 at University of Houston, in Houston, Texas. Since 1983, Lawrence has worked in Rosenblum's Laboratory and is currently the Laboratory Manager. In addition to the daily operation of the laboratory, Lawrence main focus is the development of targeting therapeutic constructs utilizing the toxin platform patented and jointly developed by Rosenblum and Clayton Foundation of Research.
Ana Alvarez de Cienfuegos Suarez
Postdoctoral Fellow
Email: AAlvarez2@mdanderson.org
Our research is focused in the development of recombinant fusion constructs for therapeutic intent. In the past few years, the cytokine TWEAK and its receptor, Fn14, have emerged as potentially valuable targets for cancer therapy. Our lab has developed human serine protease-based immunotoxins targeting Fn14 positive tumors. We are currently focus in the evaluation of the in vivo efficacy as well as the understanding of the molecular pathways associated.