Jim Brugarolas – PI

I'm Jim Brugarolas and I'm the principal investigator of the group. I'm a practicing medical oncologist and a scientist. I received my M.D. degree from the University of Navarra Medical School in 1993, and my Ph.D. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1998. I did my graduate research in the laboratory of Tyler Jacks, where I focused on understanding the mechanism of tumor suppression by the p53 protein, the most commonly mutated protein in human cancer. After I finished my Ph.D., I went to Duke University Medical Center for internal medicine training and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for a clinical fellowship in oncology. At the Dana-Farber, I joined the laboratory of Bill Kaelin, where I started a new line of research to investigate the role of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) in kidney cancer. In December of 2005, I was privileged to accept an Endowed Scholar Assistant Professor position at UT Southwestern Medical Center and on February 1^st 2006, Silvia (who had been working with me for a year), Samuel (who had just joined the group to spearhead the Kidney Cancer New Pathway Discovery Project), and I, moved to Dallas to start the new lab. While 90% of my time is dedicated to research, I also have a weekly clinic for kidney cancer patients.

Alice Huo - Postdoc

My name is Xiaofang Huo and you can call me Alice. I was born in the Shanxi province, China. I went to school at the North China Coal Medical College, where I received a Bachelor degree in medicine, and subsequently enrolled at Peking Union Medical College, where, in 2005, I received my Ph.D. My graduate research focused on molecular mechanisms of hematopoiesis. After I obtained my Ph.D., I worked as a research fellow at the National Genome Center in Beijing, a center responsible for contributing 1% of the sequence of the human genome to the Human Genome Project. During the year I spent at the National Genome Center, I conducted a large scale RNAi screen to identify genes involved in apoptosis. I came to Dallas in December of 2006 and joined the Brugarolas lab a few months latter. My research focus is on understanding the interplay between the von Hippel-Lindau protein (pVHL) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR).

Samuel Peña–Llopis - Postdoc

I was born in Castellón (Spain) in October 1975. With both my parents working in science, my father a biologist doing research at the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) and my mother a chemistry teacher, I grew up very interested in science. I obtained my BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Barcelona (Spain) in 1997. I got my Ph.D. from the University of Valencia (Spain) in 2003, where I started an independent line of research studying oxidative stress in aquatic animals. This work led to several publications including one that was awarded the ‘Best Publication Award on Environmental Research 2004' by the Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry and AstraZeneca. At the completion of my Ph.D., I received a postdoctoral fellowship to study the effects of oxidative stress on gene regulation with Bruce Demple at the Harvard School of Public Health. The opportunity then arose of leading a project to uncover molecular events that lead to kidney cancer using a variety of genomic and bioinformatic tools. To carry out this project, I moved with Dr. Brugarolas to UT Southwestern Medical Center on February 1^st, 2006. Shortly thereafter, I was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship of Excellence from the Valencian Government (Spain).

Anh Tran - Postdoc

I am originally from Vietnam. I came to the U.S. after I finished high school. I continued my education at Stephen F. Austin State University, where I received both a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in biology and chemistry as well as a Master of Science degree in biotechnology. Subsequently, I enrolled in a Ph.D. program in biochemistry at Texas A&M University. During my graduate work in Dr. Ryland Young’s lab, I studied the mechanism of bacterial lysis (and lysis inhibition) by the bacteriophage T4. In the spring of 2007, I obtained my Ph.D. I was interested in cancer and shortly thereafter I joined the Brugarolas lab at UT Southwestern Medical Center.   

Silvia Vega–Rubín-de-Celis - Postdoc

I was born in Torrelavega, Spain, in September of 1977. I went to college at the University of Navarra (Spain) and graduated in 2000 with a double major in Biology and Biochemistry. I did my graduate work at the Instituto de Acuicultura Torre de la Sal (Spain), where I studied the regulation and mechanism of action of a hormone that regulates energy metabolism in fish. My work was supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the CSIC (National Research Spanish Council). Towards the end of my Ph.D., I became interested in cancer research and in September of 2004 I joined Dr. Brugarolas at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. On February 1^st 2006, Dr. Brugarolas moved to UT Southwestern Medical Center and I decided to join him to start the new lab.

Nick Wolff – Research Associate

My name is Nick Wolff and I’m originally from Wharton, Texas, which is about 60 miles southwest of Houston. I went to Texas A&M University, where I got my Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry. I’ve been at UT Southwestern since 1996, and I joined the Brugarolas lab in April 2006. Previously, I worked on mouse models of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), where I tested experimental protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors and in which I studied STAT5 signaling. I look forward to achieving new success with Jim as we unlock the mysteries of REDD1.

Xian-Jin Xie (Jin) - Collaborating Biostatistician

 I am currently an Assistant Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Clinical Sciences and at the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. I received a Bachelor’s degree (Physiology and Biophysics) from Beijing University in China. Subsequently, I received both a Doctorate degree in biostatistics, as well as a Master’s degree in neurobiology, from the University of Iowa. After my training, I stayed at the University of Iowa as an Associate Research Scientist (Project Lead Biostatistician). In June of 2005, I joined the faculty at UT Southwestern Medical Center. My scientific research interests focus on biostatistics and bioinformatics methodologies and their application to collaborative research projects between biomedical and clinical disciplines.

Richonda Ross - Administrative Assistant

My name is Richonda Ross and I’m originally from Kansas City, Missouri. I moved to Houston eight years ago to complete my Bachelors in Biology at Texas Southern University. Previously, I worked at the University of Texas-Medical Branch as a research coordinator in the Department of Neurology. In April 2007, I moved to Dallas and joined the Brugarolas lab as a Sr. Administrative Assistant.