The Dolan lab is focused on improving the quality of life of cancer patients through the identification of genetic variants associated with risk for severe and persistent toxicities following chemotherapy (i.e. peripheral neuropathy, ototoxicity, tinnitus), particularly in children and young adults whose adverse sequelae could persist throughout their lifetimes. To this end, they perform clinical genome wide association studies to identify genetic variants associated with toxicity in patients following chemotherapy and determine whether there is shared genetic architecture with idiopathic forms of these traits. They develop preclinical models to elucidate the biochemical and cellular impact of genes identified in clinical studies of chemotherapeutic toxicity. Their approach integrates multiple large datasets including: genetic variation, gene expression, miRNA, modified cytosine, transcription factor levels and chemotherapeutic induced pharmacologic traits. Her laboratory made the seminal observation that chemotherapeutic-induced cytotoxicity is a heritable trait and that pharmacologic SNPs, identified through GWAS, are enriched in expression quantitative trait loci. More recently, her laboratory has developed an induced pluripotent stem cell derived neuronal cell model to evaluate genes contributing to chemotherapeutic-induced neuropathy, a common adverse event of multiple chemotherapeutic agents. They are creating a resource of human induced pluripotent stem cell derived neurons from well-phenotyped cancer survivors following treatment with paclitaxel, vincristine or cisplatin to be used to identify an in vitro toxicity readout that parallels the clinical phenotype. The models they are developing will have broad applicability for gaining insight on druggable targets to treat or prevent this devastating side effect of chemotherapy and providing an understanding of the genetic components and genes contributing to severe toxicity.
Pennsylvania College of Medicine
Hershey, PA
Post Doc - Biochemical Pharmacology
1986
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN
PHD - Medicinal Chemistry
1983
University of Dayton
Dayton, OH
BS - Chemistry
1979
Prevalence and risk factors for ototoxicity after cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
Prevalence and risk factors for ototoxicity after cisplatin-based chemotherapy. J Cancer Surviv. 2023 02; 17(1):27-39.
PMID: 36637632
Comprehensive association analysis of speech recognition thresholds after cisplatin-based chemotherapy in survivors of adult-onset cancer.
Comprehensive association analysis of speech recognition thresholds after cisplatin-based chemotherapy in survivors of adult-onset cancer. Cancer Med. 2023 02; 12(3):2999-3012.
PMID: 36097363
Pharmacogenomics of cisplatin-induced neurotoxicities: Hearing loss, tinnitus, and peripheral sensory neuropathy.
Pharmacogenomics of cisplatin-induced neurotoxicities: Hearing loss, tinnitus, and peripheral sensory neuropathy. Cancer Med. 2022 07; 11(14):2801-2816.
PMID: 35322580
Clinical and genetic risk factors for radiation-associated ototoxicity: A report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study and the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort.
Clinical and genetic risk factors for radiation-associated ototoxicity: A report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study and the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort. Cancer. 2021 Nov 01; 127(21):4091-4102.
PMID: 34286861
Identification of small molecules that mitigate vincristine-induced neurotoxicity while sensitizing leukemia cells to vincristine.
Identification of small molecules that mitigate vincristine-induced neurotoxicity while sensitizing leukemia cells to vincristine. Clin Transl Sci. 2021 07; 14(4):1490-1504.
PMID: 33742760
Genetically regulated expression underlies cellular sensitivity to chemotherapy in diverse populations.
Genetically regulated expression underlies cellular sensitivity to chemotherapy in diverse populations. Hum Mol Genet. 2021 04 26; 30(3-4):305-317.
PMID: 33575800
Clinical and Genome-Wide Analysis of Multiple Severe Cisplatin-Induced Neurotoxicities in Adult-Onset Cancer Survivors.
Clinical and Genome-Wide Analysis of Multiple Severe Cisplatin-Induced Neurotoxicities in Adult-Onset Cancer Survivors. Clin Cancer Res. 2020 12 15; 26(24):6550-6558.
PMID: 32998964
Predictors of pressure injury development in critically ill adults: A retrospective cohort study.
Sala JJ, Mayampurath A, Solmos S, Vonderheid SC, Banas M, D'Souza A, LaFond C. Predictors of pressure injury development in critically ill adults: A retrospective cohort study. Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2021 Feb; 62:102924.
PMID: 18496134
Clinical evaluation of germline polymorphisms associated with capecitabine toxicity in breast cancer: TBCRC-015.
Clinical evaluation of germline polymorphisms associated with capecitabine toxicity in breast cancer: TBCRC-015. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2020 Jun; 181(3):623-633.
PMID: 32378051
Comparison of vaginal microbiota in gynecologic cancer patients pre- and post-radiation therapy and healthy women.
Comparison of vaginal microbiota in gynecologic cancer patients pre- and post-radiation therapy and healthy women. Cancer Med. 2020 06; 9(11):3714-3724.
PMID: 32237205
Biological Sciences Division Distinguished Educator/Mentor
University of Chicago
2016
Distinguished Women Scholars Award
Purdue University
2011
School of Pharmacy Distinguished Alumni Award
Purdue University
2010
Distinguished Alumni Award
University of Dayton
2006
Ambassador of Hope
American Cancer Society
2006
Presidential Award for Volunteer Contributions to Research
American Cancer Society, IL Division
2005