Sarah Mazzilli, PhD
Assistant Professor
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Medicine
Computational Biomedicine

PhD, University at Buffalo
MS, University at Buffalo
BS, Bridgewater State University

Pronouns: she/her/hers



Investigating the molecular events associated with the progression of premalignant squamous lung lesions for targeted chemoprevention.

Lung cancer kills more individuals in the United States annually than breast, colon and prostate cancers combined. Reduction of lung cancer mortality may be achieved by identification of those at the high risk of developing cancer, in addition to finding effective agents in which to intervene in the process. There has been limited success of candidate chemopreventive agents in lung cancer as most have selected based on work in pre-clinical models that do not adequately represent the precancerous and early stage lesions that are the focus in clinical chemoprevention trials for lung cancer. The interests of our laboratory involve developing models to aid in the understanding of the epithelial and immune modulations that are involved in the progression and regression of premalignant squamous lesions to frank lung squamous cell carcinoma with a particular focus on identifying and testing targeted agents on appropriate models that allow for translation to clinical intervention studies. To do this the our lab utilized novel single cell and multiplex imaging technologies to characterize the immune and epithelial alterations enabling lung carcinogenesis and study mechanisms to intercept this process. Our lab also works closely with members of the section of Computational Biomedicine as well as national and international collaborators on the Pre-Cancer Genome Atlas (PCGA) and the NCI- Human Tumor Atlas leading the effort to further understand the molecular underpinnings of lung cancer development to advance early detection and intervention.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility

Our research group has a focus in developing a program to support trainees from diverse and underrepresented groups and fostering career development experiences in preparation for an independent career in biomedical research. We welcome all trainees including individuals who are 1st generation college students/LGBTQ+/disabled/or races/ethnicity underrepresented in STEM.

Member
Boston University
Genome Science Institute


Member
Boston University
BU-BMC Cancer Center


Member
Boston University
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research




Lung Pre-Cancer Atlas (PCA) Cohort Registry
01/01/2019 - 12/31/2025 (Multi-PI)
PI: Sarah Mazzilli, PhD
Johnson & Johnson


Pre-Cancer Genome Atlas 2.0 (PCGA 2.0)
12/22/2017 - 12/31/2024 (PI)
Janssen Research & Development, LLC


Probing the physical and immune microenvironment in lung tumors at high spatiotemporal resolution
01/01/2023 - 12/31/2023 (Multi-PI)
PI: Sarah Mazzilli, PhD
Johnson & Johnson Enterprise Innovation, Inc.


Characterization a Mouse Model of Lung Squamous Premalignancy & Pre-Clinical Intervention Studies
12/22/2017 - 09/30/2023 (PI)
Janssen Research & Development, LLC


Developing in vitro systems of Jung squamous carcinoma for drug discovery
01/22/2018 - 12/31/2021 (PI)
Janssen Research & Development, LLC




Title


Yr Title Project-Sub Proj Pubs

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

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  1. Butler MLMD, Pervaiz N, Breen K, Calderazzo S, Ypsilantis P, Wang Y, Breda JC, Mazzilli S, Nicks R, Spurlock E, Hefti MM, Fiock KL, Huber BR, Alvarez VE, Stein TD, Campbell JD, McKee AC, Cherry JD. Repeated head trauma causes neuron loss and inflammation in young athletes. Nature. 2025 Nov; 647(8088):228-237.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40963024
     
  2. Xu L, Kefella Y, Zhang Y, Conrad RD, Anderson KE, Krysan K, Liu G, Kane E, Pennycuick A, Janes SM, Reid ME, Burks EJ, Billatos E, Mazzilli SA, Kolachalama VB, Beane JE. Attention-based deep learning for analysis of pathology images and gene expression data in lung squamous premalignant lesions. medRxiv. 2025 Jun 12.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40585088; PMCID: PMC12204423; DOI: 10.1101/2025.06.06.25328492;
     
  3. Arroyo-Ataz G, Yagüe AC, Breda JC, Mazzilli SA, Jones D. Single-Cell Transcriptomics and Lineage Tracing Unveil Parallels in Lymphatic Muscle and Venous Smooth Muscle Development, Identity, and Function. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2025 Jul; 45(7):1207-1225.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40371470; PMCID: PMC12188807; DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.125.322567;
     
  4. Cai L, Wu F, Zhou Q, Gao Y, Yao B, DeBerardinis RJ, Acquaah-Mensah GK, Aidinis V, Beane JE, Biswal S, Chen T, Concepcion-Crisol CP, Grüner BM, Jia D, Jones RA, Kurie JM, Lee MG, Lindahl P, Lissanu Y, Lorz C, MacPherson D, Martinelli R, Mazur PK, Mazzilli SA, Mii S, Moll HP, Moorehead RA, Morrisey EE, Ng SR, Oser MG, Pandiri AR, Powell CA, Ramadori G, Santos M, Snyder EL, Sotillo R, Su KY, Taki T, Taparra K, Tran PT, Xia Y, van Veen JE, Winslow MM, Xiao G, Rudin CM, Oliver TG, Xie Y, Minna JD. The Lung Cancer Autochthonous Model Gene Expression Database Enables Cross-Study Comparisons of the Transcriptomic Landscapes Across Mouse Models. Cancer Res. 2025 May 15; 85(10):1769-1783.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40298430; PMCID: PMC12081188; DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-24-1607;
     
  5. Hong R, Klöckner P, Mazzilli S, Spira AE, Beane J, Yajima M, Campbell JD. An atlas of gene programs in non-small cell lung cancer delineates novel patterns of lineage vacillation, plasticity, and aggressiveness. bioRxiv. 2025 May 10.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40654648; PMCID: PMC12248011; DOI: 10.1101/2025.05.06.652317;
     
  6. Snyder M, Wang Z, Lara B, Fimbres J, Pichardo T, Mazzilli S, Khan MM, Duggineni VK, Monti S, Sherr DH. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor controls IFN-?-induced immune checkpoints PD-L1 and IDO via the JAK/STAT pathway in lung adenocarcinoma. J Immunol. 2025 Mar 01; 214(3):413-432.View Related Profiles. PMID: 40073102; PMCID: PMC12213245; DOI: 10.1093/jimmun/vkae023;
     
  7. Mazzilli SA, Rahal Z, Rouhani MJ, Janes SM, Kadara H, Dubinett SM, Spira AE. Translating premalignant biology to accelerate non-small-cell lung cancer interception. Nat Rev Cancer. 2025 May; 25(5):379-392.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39994467
     
  8. Ning B, Chiu DJ, Pfefferkorn RM, Kefella Y, Kane E, Reyes-Ortiz V, Liu G, Zhang S, Liu H, Sultan L, Green E, Constant M, Spira AE, Campbell JD, Reid ME, Varelas X, Burks EJ, Lenburg ME, Mazzilli SA, Beane JE. Epithelial miR-149-5p up-regulation is associated with immune evasion in progressive bronchial premalignant lesions. bioRxiv. 2025 Feb 05.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39975222; PMCID: PMC11838605; DOI: 10.1101/2025.02.03.636307;
     
  9. Snyder M, Wang Z, Lara B, Fimbres J, Pichardo T, Mazzilli S, Khan MM, Duggineni VK, Monti S, Sherr DH. The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Controls IFN?-Induced Immune Checkpoints PD-L1 and IDO via the JAK/STAT Pathway in Lung Adenocarcinoma. bioRxiv. 2024 Aug 13.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39185148; PMCID: PMC11343147; DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.12.607602;
     
  10. Arroyo-Ataz G, Yagüe AC, Breda JC, Mazzilli SA, Jones D. Transcriptional, developmental, and functional parallels of lymphatic and venous smooth muscle. bioRxiv. 2024 Jul 22.View Related Profiles. PMID: 39091770; PMCID: PMC11291064; DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.18.604042;
     
Showing 10 of 34 results. Show More

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 34 publications over 11 distinct years, with a maximum of 8 publications in 2025

YearPublications
20141
20151
20161
20172
20193
20202
20214
20221
20234
20247
20258

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