Interdisciplinary Advisory Committee

Bio

Administrator Info
Name: Jill Charles
Phone: 612-624-0468
Email: jcharles@umn.edu
Fax: 612-626-6782
Mail: 717 Delaware Street SE
Suite 166
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Summary
Dr. Susan Everson-Rose, PhD, MPH, is a Professor in the Department of Medicine, Associate Director for Research in the Divison of General Internal Medicine, Associate Director of the Program in Health Disparities Research, and Director of the Health Equity Leadership and Mentoring (HELM) program at the University of Minnesota. She is trained in cardiovascular psychophysiology, behavioral medicine, stress mechanisms of disease, neuropsychology, and cardiovascular and social epidemiology. Dr. Everson-Rose's research has shown how stress, distress, emotions, personality, behavioral and socioeconomic factors contribute to morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases and related conditions, greater cognitive decline, cancer-related behavioral and lifestyle risk factors, and worse health outcomes overall. Her most recent work focuses on evidence-based stress-management, and mindfulness-based interventions that can be used to effectively manage chronic disease conditions and promote healthier lifestyles in diverse settings. Dr. Everson-Rose has over 25 years' experience as an NIH-funded investigator, including on several large epidemiologic cohort studies (e.g., the Alameda County Study, the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, the Chicago Health and Aging Project, and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis). Currently she is funded as a co-investigator on several NIH-funded behavioral clinical trials, two NCI-funded training programs, and as a Co-Principal Investigator on a study of MBSR with breast cancer survivors. She is an Associate Editor for Psychosomatic Medicine , and nationally and internationally regarded for her work on psychosocial risk factors for chronic diseases.

Bio

Melissa Geller, MD, MS graduated from Boston College (1994) (cum laude) in the field of Biology. She completed medical school at Chicago Medical School (1998). She went on to complete an Internship and Residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Minnesota (2002) and a Fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Minnesota (2005). In addition, Dr. Geller completed a Galloway Fellowship in the Department of Surgery, Gynecology Division at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York in 2000. Dr. Geller completed a Master of Science degree in Clinical Research through the University of Minnesota through the School of Public Health in 2010.

Currently Dr. Geller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health, Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Geller specializes in the treatment and management of gynecologic malignancies and is committed to clinical and translational research. Dr. Geller has received independent funding for her projects and has published in peer-reviewed journals as well as presented her research at scientific meetings.

Dr. Geller is currently the University of Minnesota PI of multiple clinical trials run through the NRG, a national cooperative group, and the University of Minnesota Women's Cancer Center. She is the primary investigator on multiple clinical trials involving the use of natural killer (NK) cell immunotherapy for women with recurrent ovarian cancer. Her translational research is funded by the American Cancer Society (ACS) and involves the investigation of immunotherapies in an ovarian cancer mouse model. She currently holds a Department of Defense grant funding the creation of an interactive mobile phone application to educate women with ovarian cancer on the importance of genetic counseling for hereditary cancers.

Administrator Information

Amy Cavanaugh
Administrative Phone: 612-626-6283
Administrative Email: amyd@umn.edu

Research Summary

Dr. Melissa Geller is the Director of Research for the Division of Gynecologic Oncology.

Dr. Geller received an institutional K12 scholar award in 2008 which allowed her to focus on research addressing new therapies to treat women with recurrent ovarian cancer. A significant part of her effort is concentrated on trying to understand how to exploit NK cells for therapeutic purposes against ovarian cancer. To this end, she has led multiple clinical trials involving immunotherapy in advanced gynecologic malignancies. Dr. Geller holds an American Cancer Society (ACS) Clinical Scholar Award for her translational research investigating a next-generation immunotherapy product by expressing an anti-mesothelin chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to generate targeted NK cells with increased ability to kill human ovarian cancer cells. Additionally she has developed and assessed technology based interventions to improve the quality of life for women with ovarian cancer. Dr. Geller is currently funded through a U.S. Department of Defense award to create and test a mobile App for Genetic Information on Cancer (mAGIC) aimed to educate ovarian cancer patients about genetic counseling and testing. Dr. Geller serves as the Director of Research in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology and leads the Translational Working Group of the Masonic Cancer Center on Gynecologic cancers. She currently serves on the NRG Oncology Developmental Therapeutics/Phase I/Experimental Medicine Committee. 

Clinical Summary

Schedule an Appointment:
Minneapolis - M Health Fairview Masonic Cancer Clinic, Appointments: 612-676-4200

Clinical Interests:
Ovarian, uterine, cervical, vulvar, vaginal malignancies; advanced pelvic surgery for benign and malignant conditions; minimally invasive surgery; chemotherapy for gynecologic malignancies; clinical trials

Bio

Dr. Rahel Ghebre is a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Minnesota Medical Center. Dr. Ghebre is a practicing gynecologic oncologist at M Health Fairview. She gained her MD from the University of Michigan and MPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Ghebre is board certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology and Gynecologic Oncology. She is an expert in the surgical and medical management of women diagnosed with ovarian, endometrial, cervical and vulva/vaginal cancers. Her research is focused on improving cancer care for women with gynecologic cancers in the US and globally by increasing access to quality care and clinical trials. She serves as chair for gynecology oncology special interest group under AORTIC (African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer), as panel member of NCCN Harmonized Guideline committee for sub-Saharan Africa, ASCO resource stratified guideline and African Cancer Coalition, an initiative supported by the American Cancer Society. Dr. Ghebre is an internationally recognized educator in gynecologic oncology and received the 2020 International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS) Award for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Ghebre co-leads the Early Pathway to Success Program for women faculty through the Center for Women in Medicine.

Administrator Information

Brenda Olson
Administrative Phone: 612-624-4846
Administrative Email: ols00323@umn.edu

Research Summary

Research Interests:
Cervical Cancer
Ovarian Cancer
Cancer Prevention
Clinical Trials
International Health

Clinical Summary

Schedule an Appointment:
Minneapolis - M Health Fairview Masonic Cancer Clinic, Appointments: 612-626-4200
Edina – M Health Fairview Cancer Center, Southdale, Appointments: 952-836-3645

Clinical Interests:
Ovarian, uterine, cervical, vulvar, vaginal malignancies; advanced pelvic surgery for benign and malignant conditions; minimally invasive surgery; chemotherapy for gynecologic malignancies; clinical trials

Bio

Dr. Ingbar joined the Office of Faculty Affairs in 2022, as Assistant Dean for Faculty Development and Mentoring, providing leadership and strategic direction for mentoring and career development for faculty members across the school. Dr. Ingbar is the Director of Research Education, Training, and Career Development Core in the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI).  Prior to this OFA role, he served for more than 20 years as Director of the Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care & Sleep Division in the Department of Medicine

Dr. Ingbar received his MD from Harvard Medical School, and was an Internal Medicine Resident and Chief Resident at the University of Washington before completing his Pulmonary & Critical Care fellowship at Yale University. In addition, he is a physician scientist who focuses on understanding how the lung is repaired after injury and how this compares to lung development. He is Principal Investigator of the CTSI K Program and MPI of the Lung Biology T32 training grant, now in year 29.  He served as President of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the Association of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Program Directors and as a member of the  ABIM Pulmonary Board. He is a member of the NHLBI Council and previously led the ATS Physician Scientist 

Dr. Ingbar is the Principal Investigator for research training provided to pre-doctoral students and post-doctoral MD and PhD fellows through a NHLBI training grant.

Clinical Summary

Acute lung injury/ARDS; Respiratory failure; Pulmonary embolism; Hemoptysis; Critical care; Pulmonary edema

Bio

Dr. Lange is a Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota. She holds the Tickle Family Land Grant Endowed Chair of Breast Cancer Research. She received her PhD from the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy in 1991. She holds memberships in the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), The Endocrine Society (ES) and Women in Endocrinology (WE). Dr. Lange serves as teaching faculty in the U of MN Department of Pharmacology Graduate Program, the Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology (MICAB) Graduate Program, the Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development (GCD) Graduate Program, and the MSTP (MD/PhD Combined) Program. She has served on several NIH Study Sections including Biochemical Endocrinology, Metabolic Physiology, Tumor Cell Biology, and Molecular Oncogenesis. She is on the Board of Scientific Advisors to the NIEHS. Dr. Lange is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal of Endocrinology (The Endocrine Society - Oxford Academic Journals)

Research Summary

The Lange Lab is focused on the role of steroid hormone receptors (SRs) in breast and ovarian cancers. Estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptors (PRs) are ligand-activated and context-dependent transcription factors that are essential for development of the breast and reproductive tract. Altered sex hormone levels contribute to cancer risk in these tissues and drive metabolic and cell fate transitions associated with rapid tumor progression. The presence of abnormally activated ERs and imbalanced/activated PR and GR isoforms in hormone-driven tumors can dramatically influence response to endocrine or other therapies. Our overarching research goal is to better understand how SR+ breast cancers and other hormone-influenced cancers of reproductive tissues escape endocrine (i.e. SR-blocking) or other molecular targeted therapies that primarily target signaling pathways that are active in proliferating cancer cells.Ongoing projects encompass the following research themes and their molecular mechanisms:• ER and PR isoform signaling cross talk in luminal breast cancer progression• Ligand-independent actions of p-SRs and p-SR-containing complexes in breast cancer• Altered SR actions in the context of ESR1 mutations or BRCA1/2 loss or mutation• Cellular "stress" sensing by phospho-GR in triple negative breast cancer progression• Fallopian tube transformation and early SR+ serous ovarian cancer progression• Cell fate plasticity (cell cycle exit/entry into G0) and breast cancer stem cell biology• Mechanisms of and biological role of cancer cell dormancy/quiescence and senescence• SR and signaling pathway regulation of breast cancer stem cell populations and biology• Breast cancer metastatic cell dissemination as circulating tumor cell/stem cell clusters

Bio

Kristen Mark, PhD, MPH, CSE, is a sex and relationship researcher and educator. She is the current Joycelyn Elders Endowed Chair for Sexual Health Education and Professor in Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Minnesota Medical School's Institute for Sexual and Gender Health (ISGH). She is affiliate faculty at the Kinsey Institute with a national and international reputation as a sexual scientist and educator. Her research program centers around sexual well-being, specifically the maintenance of sexual and relationship satisfaction and sexual desire in long-term relationships, sexual function and dysfunction, sexual trauma, and sexual desire discrepancy. Dr. Mark is committed to community advocacy for inclusive comprehensive sexual health education that integrates messages of sexual pleasure and works to change sex education policy at state and national levels. Dr. Mark holds degrees in psychology, family science, biostatistics, and public health and her research and therapeutic approaches are as interdisciplinary as her training. She consistently publishes her scientific research in the top journals and has presented her work through hundreds of talks nationally and internationally. Additionally, Dr. Mark is regularly relied upon as an expert to digest sex and relationship science to print, radio, and television media. Pronouns: she/her/hers