ELISABETH M. BATTINELLI, MD, PHD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Since joining the Division of Hematology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, I have focused on both research and clinical care with an expertise in platelet disorders. My clinical responsibilities are centered in Hemostasis and Thrombosis Clinic, which enables me to care for patients with clotting disorders and platelet abnormalities. My research focuses on how platelets differentially release angiogenesis regulatory proteins in the setting of malignancy. This work has immense implications for cancer as platelets play a central role in tumor growth and development of metastasis. By understanding the interaction of platelets and tumor cells, we can ultimately target the secretory mechanisms of the platelet to develop targeted cancer therapy. In addition, we aim to understand how anti-platelet agents can disrupt the interaction of tumor cells and platelets ultimately for therapeutic benefit. Recently, I also expanded this research to investigate how factors released from platelets not only influence tumor growth but also “fuel the fire” by driving platelet production and regulate platelet protein content. This work demonstrates that in inflammatory states such as malignancy, factors released from platelets directly increase the production of platelets thereby amplifying their response within the tumor milieu.
HARVEY ROWETH, PHD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Harvey received his BS degree in Biomedicine at the University of Reading, UK, and his PhD at the University of Cambridge, UK, where his thesis focused on the off-target effects of anti-depressants on platelets with Dr. Gavin Jarvis. After completing his post-doctoral training in the Battinelli lab, Harvey’s research projects now focus on the contributions of platelets and megakaryocytes toward tumor cell metastasis.
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KATHRYN HALL, PHD
Assistant Professor
Dr. Hall’s research has focused on catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), an enzyme that metabolizes catecholamines such as dopamine and epinephrine. Her work has led to the coining of the term “placebome”, which was added to Jargonwatch by WIRED magazine in 2015. Her research has been the focus of numerous articles including features in Science, The Atlantic, The Economist and Discover magazines.
Dr. Hall also serves as the Deputy Commissioner for Population Health and Health Equity at Boston Public Health Commission.
Becky Zon, MD
Clinical Fellow
Becky received her undergraduate degree in chemistry at Duke University and her MD degree at University of Michigan Medical School. She trained at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Internal Medicine and now is a Clinical Fellow in Hematology/Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is a postdoctoral fellow in Benjamin Ebert’s lab studying thrombosis and bleeding in hematologic malignancy.
Michael Malloy – Technician (2018-2022)
Qiuchen Guo, PhD – Research Fellow (2020-2022)
Hailey Yetman – Technician (2020-2022)
Andrea Mines – Undergraduate Student (2020-2021)
Julia Ceglowski – Technician (2016-2018)
Kelly Johnson, PhD – Research Fellow (2014-2017)