MCCB Postdoc Achievements 

In the following is a list of selected recent postdoc-led peer-reviewed research publications, the postdoc’s name is in bold and the faculty advisor’s name is underlined.

AlphaFold3-based modeling uncovers the dynamic structural interface between full-length IAP antagonists and DIAP1 for apoptosis regulation in Drosophila.
Rai P, Bergmann A. Cell Commun Signal. 2026 Apr 10. doi: 10.1186/s12964-026-02869-1. Online ahead of print.

Interaction of IRS2 and PLK1 protects cells from mitotic stress.
Lee JS, Bui QT, Jo M, Morgan JS, Nasa I, Kettenbach AN, Shaw LM. Cell Death Dis. 2026 Apr 8. doi: 10.1038/s41419-026-08706-0. Online ahead of print.

Calcium signaling regulates apoptosis-induced proliferation in Drosophila.
Suthar KP, Hounsell C, Fan Y, Bergmann A. PLoS Biol. 2026 Jan 20;24(1):e3003607.

P21-positive senescence stromal cells promote prostate cancer immune suppression and progression that can be reversed by senolytic therapy.
Zhou L, DeMarco KD, Murphy KC, Wu Z, Li J, Johnson C, Liu B, Giwa HK, Ma B, Bhalerao N, Li J, Jiang Z, Bai S, Parikh CN, Ye T, Simin K, Zhu LJ, Pitarresi JR, Wu H, Ruscetti M. Cancer Discov. 2026 Mar 2; 16(3):571-591.

PPT1 is a negative regulator of STING signaling in cancer cells and its inhibition reactivates immune surveillance in cold tumors.
Chowdhury SR, Parikh CN, Kaur AN, DeMarco KD, Giwa HK, Mishra AK, Murphy KC, Zhou L, Ma B, Ye T, Li J, Liu H, Bai S, Johnson C, Simin K, Pitarresi JR, Zhu LJ, Watson EV, Kelliher MA, Green MR, Fitzgerald KA, Ruscetti M. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2025 Sep 30;122(39):e2514948122.

Dynamic phosphorylation of Hcm1 promotes fitness in chronic stress.
Conti MM, Vail JP, Reynolds AR, Budge LG, Flynn MJ, Li R, Zhu LJ, Benanti JA. PLoS Genet. 2025 Sep 15;21(9):e1011874. 

Microglia promote inflammatory cell death upon neuronal mitochondrial impairment during neurodegeneration.
Miao G, Fortier TM, Liu H, Schafer DP, Fitzgerald KA, Mao J and Baehrecke EH. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2025 Jun 25;online ahead of print.

Targeting BRCA1-deficient PARP inhibitor-resistant cells with nickases reveals nick resection as a cancer vulnerability.
Whalen JM, Earley J, Wisniewski C, Mercurio AM, Cantor SB. Nat Cancer. 2025 Jan 21;6(2):278-291. 

Therapeutic induction of ferroptosis in tumors using PD-L1 targeting antibody nanogel conjugates.
Wang M, Prachyathipsakul T, Wisniewski CA, Xiong C, Goel S, Goel HL, Karner ER, Mukhopadhyay D, Gupta P, Majee A, Thayumanavan S, Mercurio AM. Cell Chem Biol. 2024 Dec 19;31(12):2039-2051.

Nanoparticle delivery of innate immune agonists combined with senescence-inducing agents promotes T cell control of pancreatic cancer.
Chibaya L, DeMarco KD, Lusi CF, Kane GI, Brassil ML, Parikh CN, Murphy KC, Chowdhury SR, Li J, Ma B, Naylor TE, Cerrutti J, Mori H, Diaz-Infante M, Peura J, Pitarresi JR, Zhu LJ, Fitzgerald KA, Atukorale PU, Ruscetti M. Sci Transl Med. 2024 Aug 28;16(762):eadj9366. 

Selenium reduction of ubiquinone via SQOR suppresses ferroptosis.
Lee N, Park SJ, Lange M, Tseyang T, Doshi MB, Kim TY, Song Y, Kim DI, Greer PL, Olzmann JA, Spinelli JB, Kim D. Nat Metab. 2024 Feb;6(2):343-358.