Description of Research Expertise

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
The Babushok Lab conducts basic and translational research to understand the fundamental mechanisms of how bone marrow can fail, how the failure of bone marrow can lead to pre-malignant genetic changes and myelodysplastic syndrome and leukemia, and what is the relationship between our immune system and the development of clonal hematopoiesis.

We use state-of-the-art genome analysis, molecular biology and immunogenetic analyses, as well as in vitro and in vivo models to study the mechanisms of immune-mediated marrow failure and the factors that lead to the development of clonal hematopoiesis in bone marrow failure and aging.

KEYWORDS:
Clonal hematopoiesis, bone marrow failure, aplastic anemia, PNH, malignant predisposition to MDS and leukemia

ROTATION PROJECTS:
We are always looking for talented individuals who are passionate about science. There are opportunities to contribute at every level, and we welcome inquiries from undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scientists, and medical students, residents, and fellows. Please contact Daria.Babushok at uphs.upenn.edu to discuss research opportunities.

SEE BABUSHOK LAB WEBSITE

LAB MEMBERS:
Kathy Guo – Research Specialist
Caitlin Ritz - Research Specialist
Natasha Stanley – Research Specialist

MEDICAL STUDENT RESEARCHERS:
Taylor Linaburg – Medical Student
Tristan Lim - Medical Student

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS:
Ben Frost
Jahnvi Patel

Selected Publications

Andrew C. Hu, MS, Sushant Kumar, PhD, Aura Enache, BS, Brian M. Dulmovits, MD, PhD, Yash B. Shah, BS, Wenzhao Meng, PhD, Joseph H. Oved, MD, Beatriz M. Carreno, PhD, Eline T. Luning Prak, MD, PhD, Timothy S Olson, MD, PhD and Daria V Babushok, MD, PhD: Aplastic Anemia Patients Have Diverse T Cell Repertoires and Flexible T Cell Responses Similar to Healthy Individuals 65th ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition, Poster Presentation, San Diego, CA : 2023.

Christopher M. Sande, MD, Stone Chen, Dana V Mitchell, PhD, Ping Lin, Rujul Jagdish Deolikar, Colby Freeman, Mary Zhou, Sushant Kumar, PhD, Shannon Zheng, Bolormaa Munkhbileg, MD, MMS, Natasha L Stanley, DO, Kathy Guo, Ryan Hausler, MS, Deanne M Taylor, PhD, James Corines, DO, Jennifer JD Morrissette, PhD, David B Lieberman, Guang Yang, MD, PhD, Kelcy Smith-Simmer, MMSc, CGC, Lauren G Banaszak, MD, Kyle Shoger, Peter Nicholas, Amanda J Walne, PhD, Inderjeet Dokal, MD, Justin Rosenheck, DO, Jane E Churpek, MD, MS, F Bradley Johnson, MD, PhD, Timothy S Olson, MD, PhD and Daria V Babushok, MD, PhD: DNA Damage Response Constrains Cell Growth and Drives Clonal Hematopoiesis in Telomere Biology Disorders 65th ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition, Poster Presentation, San Diego, CA : 2023.

Matthew P Connor, MD, Neeharika Prathapa, MBBS, Noelle V. Frey, MD, MS, Saar Gill, MD, PhD, Elizabeth O Hexner, MD, MSTR, Ximena Jordan Bruno, MD1, Catherine Lai, MD, Alison W Loren, MD, Selina M Luger, MD, FRCPC, Andrew H Matthews, MD, Shannon R McCurdy, MD, Alexander Perl, David L. Porter, MD, Arlene Zeringue, Joseph H. Oved, MD, Timothy S Olson, MD, PhD, Keith W Pratz, MD and Daria V Babushok, MD, PhD: Hypomethylating Agents Are Associated with High Rates of Hematologic Toxicity in Patients with Secondary MDS/AML That Develops after Acquired Aplastic Anemia 65th ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition, Poster Presentation, San Diego, CA : 2023.

Scientific Workshop on Germline Predisposition to Hematopoietic Malignancies and Bone Marrow Failure: The Spectrum and Implications of Clonal Hematopoiesis in Telomere Biology Disorders Scientific Workshop on Germline Predisposition to Hematopoietic Malignancies and Bone Marrow Failure : 2023.

Bolormaa Munkhbileg, Melissa Colden, Ping Lin, Sushant Kumar, Michael J. Hogan, Timothy S. Olson, Laurence C. Eisenlohr, Ivan Maillard, Taku Kambayashi, Daria V. Babushok: Mechanisms of emergence of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria cells in Immune-mediated bone marrow failure diseases AAMDSIF 40th Anniversary Summit : 2023.

Sushant Kumar, Bolormaa Munkhbileg, An Steensels, Ping Lin, Joanna Papaioannou, Hossein Fazelinia, Kathy Guo, Natasha L. Stanley, Andrea L. Stout, Lynn A. Spruce, Rindert Missiaen, Laurence C. Eisenlohr, Beatriz M. Carreno, Daria V. Babushok: Altered antigen processing as a potential mechanism of immune evasion by paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) clones in aplastic anemia AAMDSIF 40th Anniversary Summit : 2023.

Maxwell KN, Patel V, Nead KT, Merrill S, Clark D, Jiang Q, Wubbenhorst B, D'Andrea K, Cohen RB, Domchek SM, Morrissette JJD, Greenberg RA, Babushok DV, Nathanson KL: Fanconi anemia caused by biallelic inactivation of BRCA2 can present with an atypical cancer phenotype in adulthood Clin Genet 103 (1): 119-124,2023.

Shah YB, Lin P, Chen S, Zheng A, Alcaraz W, Towne MC, Gabriel C, Bhoj EJ, Lambert MP, Olson TS, Frank DM, Ellis CA, Babushok DV: Inherited bone marrow failure with macrothrombocytopenia due to germline tubulin beta class I (TUBB) variant Br J Haematol : 2022.

Olson TS, Frost BF, Duke JL, Dribus M, Xie HM, Prudowsky ZD, Furutani E, Gudera J, Shah YB, Ferriola D, Dinou A, Pagkrati I, Kim S, Xu Y, He M, Zheng S, Nijim S, Lin P, Xu C, Nakano T, Oved JH, Carreno BM, Bolon YT, Gadalla SM, Marsh SG, Paczesny S, Lee SJ, Monos DS, Shimamura A, Bertuch AA, Gragert L, Spellman S, Babushok DV: Pathogenicity and impact of HLA class I alleles in aplastic anemia patients of different ethnicities JCI Insight 11 : e163040,2022.

Freyer CW, Babushok DV, Frey NV, Gill SI, Loren AW, Luger SM, Maity A, Martin ME, Plastaras JP, Porter DL, Hexner EO: Low-Dose Total Body Irradiation Added to Fludarabine and Busulfan Reduced-Intensity Conditioning Reduces Graft Failure in Patients with Myelofibrosis Transplant Cell Ther. 28 (9): 590-596,2022.

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Academic Contact Information

Biomedical Research Building II/III, Room 808
421 Curie Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 215-360-0561
Patient appointments: 800-789-7366