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 - 12/31/2024 (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. Yanagawa J, Tran LM, Salehi-Rad R, Lim RJ, Dumitras C, Fung E, Wallace WD, Prosper AE, Fishbein G, Shea C, Hong R, Kahangi B, Deng JJ, Gower AC, Liu B, Campbell JD, Mazzilli SA, Beane JE, Kadara H, Lenburg ME, Spira AE, Aberle DR, Krysan K, Dubinett SM. Single-Cell Characterization of Pulmonary Nodules Implicates Suppression of Immunosurveillance across Early Stages of Lung Adenocarcinoma. Cancer Res. 2023 Oct 02; 83(19):3305-3319.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37477508; PMCID: PMC10544016; DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-23-0128;
     
  2. Banerji R, Grifno GN, Shi L, Smolen D, LeBourdais R, Muhvich J, Eberman C, Hiller BE, Lee J, Regan K, Zheng S, Zhang S, Jiang J, Raslan AA, Breda JC, Pihl R, Traber K, Mazzilli S, Ligresti G, Mizgerd JP, Suki B, Nia HT. Crystal ribcage: a platform for probing real-time lung function at cellular resolution. Nat Methods. 2023 Nov; 20(11):1790-1801.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37710017; PMCID: PMC10860663; DOI: 10.1038/s41592-023-02004-9;
     
  3. Bruhm DC, Mathios D, Foda ZH, Annapragada AV, Medina JE, Adleff V, Chiao EJ, Ferreira L, Cristiano S, White JR, Mazzilli SA, Billatos E, Spira A, Zaidi AH, Mueller J, Kim AK, Anagnostou V, Phallen J, Scharpf RB, Velculescu VE. Single-molecule genome-wide mutation profiles of cell-free DNA for non-invasive detection of cancer. Nat Genet. 2023 Aug; 55(8):1301-1310.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37500728; PMCID: PMC10412448; DOI: 10.1038/s41588-023-01446-3;
     
  4. Ning B, Tilston-Lunel AM, Simonetti J, Hicks-Berthet J, Matschulat A, Pfefferkorn R, Spira A, Edwards M, Mazzilli S, Lenburg ME, Beane JE, Varelas X. Convergence of YAP/TAZ, TEAD and TP63 activity is associated with bronchial premalignant severity and progression. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2023 May 08; 42(1):116.View Related Profiles. PMID: 37150829; PMCID: PMC10165825; DOI: 10.1186/s13046-023-02674-5;
     
  5. Xu K, Shi X, Husted C, Hong R, Wang Y, Ning B, Sullivan TB, Rieger-Christ KM, Duan F, Marques H, Gower AC, Xiao X, Liu H, Liu G, Duclos G, Platt M, Spira AE, Mazzilli SA, Billatos E, Lenburg ME, Campbell JD, Beane JE. Smoking modulates different secretory subpopulations expressing SARS-CoV-2 entry genes in the nasal and bronchial airways. Sci Rep. 2022 Oct 28; 12(1):18168.View Related Profiles. PMID: 36307504; PMCID: PMC9615627; DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17832-6;
     
  6. Xu K, Shi X, Husted C, Hong R, Wang Y, Ning B, Sullivan T, Rieger-Christ K, Duan F, Marques H, Gower A, Xiao X, Liu H, Liu G, Duclos G, Platt M, Spira A, Mazzilli S, Billatos E, Lenburg M, Campbell J, Beane J. Smoking Modulates Different Secretory Subpopulations Expressing SARS-CoV-2 Entry Genes in the Nasal and Bronchial Airways. Res Sq. 2021 Oct 28.View Related Profiles. PMID: 34729557; PMCID: PMC8562543; DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-887718/v1;
     
  7. Maoz A, Merenstein C, Koga Y, Potter A, Gower AC, Liu G, Zhang S, Liu H, Stevenson C, Spira A, Reid ME, Campbell JD, Mazzilli SA, Lenburg ME, Beane J. Elevated T cell repertoire diversity is associated with progression of lung squamous cell premalignant lesions. J Immunother Cancer. 2021 09; 9(9).View Related Profiles. PMID: 34580161; PMCID: PMC8477334; DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-002647;
     
  8. Jaleel Z, Blasberg E, Troiano C, Montanaro P, Mazzilli S, Gertje HP, Crossland NA, Platt M, Spiegel J. Association of vaping with decreased vascular endothelial growth factor expression and decreased microvessel density in cutaneous wound healing tissue in rats. Wound Repair Regen. 2021 11; 29(6):1024-1034.View Related Profiles. PMID: 34129265
     
  9. Tilston-Lunel A, Mazzilli S, Kingston NM, Szymaniak AD, Hicks-Berthet J, Kern JG, Abo K, Reid ME, Perdomo C, Wilson AA, Spira A, Beane J, Varelas X. Aberrant epithelial polarity cues drive the development of precancerous airway lesions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 05 04; 118(18).View Related Profiles. PMID: 33903236; PMCID: PMC8106308; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2019282118;
     
  10. Engler AE, Ysasi AB, Pihl RMF, Villacorta-Martin C, Heston HM, Richardson HMK, Thapa BR, Moniz NR, Belkina AC, Mazzilli SA, Rock JR. Airway-Associated Macrophages in Homeostasis and Repair. Cell Rep. 2020 12 29; 33(13):108553.View Related Profiles. PMID: 33378665; PMCID: PMC8026077; DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108553;
     
Showing 10 of 19 results. Show More

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

Bar chart showing 19 publications over 9 distinct years, with a maximum of 4 publications in 2021 and 2023

YearPublications
20141
20151
20161
20172
20193
20202
20214
20221
20234

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75 E. Newton St Evans Building
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