PEOPLE
Curtis Thorne, PhD
Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the UA Cancer Center.
Curtis received his B.S. in 2000 from Baylor University, where he concentrated in Biology and Chemistry. Following undergrad, he was a technician for two years at Baylor College of Medicine in the laboratory of Dr. Adrian Lee, studying growth factor signaling in breast cancer. He received his Ph.D. in 2010 from Vanderbilt University in Cell and Developmental Biology under Dr. Ethan Lee. While in graduate school, he discovered a novel therapeutic for the treatment of colon cancer. He conducted postdoctoral studies as an American Cancer Society Fellow at University of Texas Southwestern in the laboratories of Dr. Steven Altschuler and Dr. Lani Wu (now at UCSF). He developed a high throughput method for culturing intestinal stem cells combined with automated cell imaging. Using these approaches, he discovered novel drug combinations for the treatment of colon cancer. While at UT Southwestern, Curtis received an NIH Pathway to Independence Award with additional training in kinase biochemistry in the lab of Dr. Melanie Cobb.
In 2017, Curtis became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Arizona. He is also a member of the BIO5 Institute and the University of Arizona Cancer Center.
Video and article about Curtis and the Lab.
Email: curtisthorne@email.arizona.edu
Marina Cardó Vila, PhD
Associate Research Professor
Marina received her B.S in 1995 and her M.S in Immunology in 1996 from the University of Barcelona. She received her Ph.D. in 2003 from the University of Barcelona under the mentorship of Dr Antonio Celada (University of Barcelona) and Dr. Renata Pasqualini (The Burnham Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA), studying the biology of macrophages and mechanisms of cellular adhesion. During her postdoctoral fellowship she studied therapeutic applications of tissue-specific protein interactions using in vitro and in vivo phage display in the laboratory of Drs. Wadih Arap and Renata Pasqualini at MD Anderson Cancer Center. In 2013 she joined their team as Assistant Research Professor at the University of New Mexico, where she identified multiple receptor targets in normal and diseased microenvironments, identifying new strategies to mitigate early events of tumor dissemination. Some of the peptides identified in these studies underwent evaluation in a first-in-man phase zero clinical trial. She joined the University of Arizona Cancer Center as Associate Research Professor in 2018 where she studied the regulation of p-body formation and mRNA decapping in breast and prostate cancer in Dr. Andrew Kraft’s lab and drug resistance in castration-resistance prostate cancer in Dr. Cindy Miranti’s Lab. She focused on studying DNA repair in cancer and Lupus disease in Dr. Joann Sweasy’s Lab
Shravani Daptardar
Masters Student
Shravani is a Biotechnology Engineer, who graduated from RV College of Engineering, Bangalore, India in 2023. Her fascination with Cancer Biology sparked during her undergrad studies. Pursuing this interest, she engaged in a project on drug development for colon cancer cell lines, employing various computational tools. She is pursuing a master's in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Arizona. Her ultimate goal is to contribute to the existing research literature in the field.
In her leisure time, you'll likely find Shravani lounging on a couch, immersed in a captivating TV show with a cup of tea, or enjoying quality time with friends over some delicious food.
Briana Guzman
Graduate Student
Briana is a first-generation Hispanic student, born and raised in Tucson. She received her B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Arizona in 2023. During her undergrad Briana worked in the Nagy Lab investigating the evolution of the gene network that patterns segmentation within the fruit fly Drosophila and the beetle Tribolium. During her time in the lab her interests in research grew, but in fields of infectious diseases, specifically cancer, and working to develop therapeutics in the field. Briana is continuing at the University of Arizona to receive her PhD. In her spare time, Briana enjoys hiking during her free time in the beautiful desert and working out.
Kate Johnson
MD/PhD Student
Kate received her B.S. in Biology-Chemistry from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2022. During undergrad, she worked in the Dorrell-Woelbern Lab, where she studied E7 oncogene variance across HPV subtypes and completed her honors thesis on differentiation of tumor-associated macrophages in the glioblastoma tumor microenvironment. During this time, she also interned at the Lowy Medical Research Institute in San Diego, where she cultured retinal organoids from iPSCs and trained AI to do retinal layer segmentation to help determine the multifactorial pathogenesis of MacTel. When the pandemic began in 2020, Kate also started working both at PLNU’s Wellness Center and in the lab to screen students and staff for COVID-19. Kate joined the MD/PhD program at the University of Arizona in 2022. She officially began her graduate studies with the Thorne Lab in 2024, where she plans to focus on signaling pathways in gut regeneration. In her free time, Kate enjoys watercolor painting, reading, and fostering pets through the Pima Animal Care Center.
Crystal Morales
Graduate Student
Crystal is a proud first-generation student who obtained her bachelor’s in biomedical sciences and Master’s in biology at Northern Arizona University (NAU). In 2020 Crystal was awarded the NIH funded RISE (Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement) fellowship at NAU. Crystal worked on peptide-based HPV vaccines under Dr. Naomi Lee at NAU and it helped her develop her current research interests which include working on novel cancer therapeutics while also tackling cancer disparities. In 2022, Crystal was awarded the University Fellowship award at the University of Arizona and joined the Arizona Biological and Biomedical Sciences program. Crystal is pursuing her doctorate degree in cancer biology while working in the Thorne lab, where she plans to continue the lab’s research on colorectal cancer. She hopes one day her work can benefit patients and minimize the burden of cancer in marginalized communities. Additionally, Crystal likes to be outdoors, get crafty, and train her puppy, Chimichanga, to do new tricks.
Julia Morris
MD/PhD Student
Julia received her degrees in biology and ethics from Villanova University in 2015. There she worked in the lab of Matthew Youngman, studying immunosenescence, the genetic and biochemical basis of the changes seen in immune response during natural aging. The fall after graduating, she moved from the East Coast out to Arizona to join the MD/PhD Program at U of A. In 2021, she began working in the Thorne Lab for the graduate portion of her dual degree. Julia adores the warm weather of the southwest and spends her free time going to the gym, hiking, cooking, and playing with her three cats, Ellie, Olaf, and Kristoff.
Kelvin Pond, PhD
Assistant Research Professor
Kelvin received his bachelor’s degree in biology in 2010 from the University of Oregon. After this, he obtained his ESL teaching certificate and worked abroad as an English teacher in Prague, CR, and then as a high school science teacher in Bangkok, TH. In 2014, Kelvin moved back to Arizona and received an MS in Biochemistry at Northern Arizona University under Dr. Diane Stearns, studying Uranium Toxicity. Since then, Kelvin has been at the University of Arizona. As a technician, he studied drug resistance mechanisms in pancreatic cancer under Dr. Terry Landowski until joining the lab of Dr. Nathan Ellis in 2015, where he studied DNA repair in human cancers. Kelvin received his PhD in 2019 and is currently working to establish independent projects supported by the Thorne/Paek groups to develop new ways to track signaling states in time and space as tissues regenerate. When not doing experiments, Kelvin basks in the greatest town on the planet, where he enjoys photography, rock climbing, eating tacos, and hanging out with his dog Winston.
Taylor Stanton
Taylor is a second year student at the University of Arizona, with a major in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Her interest in cancer studies and desire to participate in clinical research sparked after having several family members affected by various cancers, including the loss of her grandfather to pancreatic cancer. Her current plans for the future are to pursue either a Master's or an MD/PhD program in Molecular Biology. In her free time, Taylor enjoys spending time outdoors through hiking and backpacking, cooking, and playing pickleball with her friends.
Lucy Gonzalez
Research Support
Lucy did her Master’s in the Thorne lab and now supports multiple lab projects. When she’s not doing science, she loves being a new mother.
Reeba Varghese, PhD
Postdoc
Reeba graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Biological Sciences (Genetics, Cell, and Developmental Biology) in 2014. She then received her Master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Medicine from the University of Arizona in 2018. As a Master student, Reeba joined Dr. Cynthia Miranti’s lab to investigate the survival pathways induced by various extracellular matrices (i.e., laminin and collagen) in castration-resistant prostate cancer cells that result in drug resistance. In 2023 she finished her doctorate in Cancer Biology at the University of Arizona in the Thorne Lab. Currently, she is postdocing as she continues her drug discovery efforts in the Thorne lab. In her free time, she loves to read, do photography, and watch movies.
Pearl Wichaidit, PhD
Research Scientist IV/Computational Biologist
Pearl received her Ph.D. from Department of Electrical Engineering (Electromagnetics Field & Waves) at University of Wisconsin - Madison. After graduation, she worked on a small project improving computational model for fluorescent light bulb funded by Sylvania as a postdoc. She started her career in Biology as a postdoctoral researcher at Altschuler and Wu laboratory at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center - Dallas where she met Curtis and found her passion in image and big data analysis. She worked in Melanie Cobb’s laboratory after Dr Altschuler and Dr Wu moved to UCSF before joining Thorne laboratory at 2022.
Lab Alumni
Carly Cabel - Graduate Student, currently Postdoc at Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale
Hannah Seery - Research Technician
Mireya Pimentel - Undergrad, currently Graduate School at U of Wisconsin Madison
Elaheh Alizadeh - Postdoc, currently Research Scientist, Jax Labs
Analisa Stevens - Undergrad
Anissa Ferris - Undergrad
Amanda Ruelas - Undergrad, currently Graduate School at Vanderbilt
Julianna Haug - Undergrad, currently Graduate School at Stowers
Jenna Inman - Undergrad, currently Physician Assistant School, Denver
Mary Jo Cantoria - Postdoc, currently Research Scientist, Roche Tissue Diagnostics
David Jones Jr. - Masters Student
Taylor Bargenquast - Undergrad
Sylvestor Moses - Residency, Banner University Medical Center
Matthew Estremera - Resarch Assistant
Sofia De La Cruz - Kenyon College
Aditi Nair - Undergrad