Scientist
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Manabu Nukaya, PhD
Manabu Nukaya, PhD
Scientist
(June 2019 – Present)
Associate scientist in the laboratory with extensive experience in liver pathology, liver metabolism, cloning, and gene-editing techniques for novel model development. Manabu has worked to generate unique models for understanding Fibrolamellar carcinoma including cell lines to investigate pathway analysis and to identify new therapeutic combinations through small molecule screening and CRISPR screens. Manabu has also developed novel in vivo models for understanding development of FLC.
Post-Doctoral Fellows
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Patrick Carney, MD, PhD
Patrick Carney, MD, PhD
Graduate Student
(June 2021 – Present)
Patrick Carney, MD, PhD, is a surgical resident who was awarded the UW SORT T32 training program grant to conduct a two-year research fellowship. Patrick’s research focuses on two separate areas. First, he is using our lab’s immune competent model of DNAJB1-PRKACA driven cancer to understand how this fusion oncoprotein drives cancer formation and progression. Second, he is using patient cancer-derived xenograft models of fibrolamellar carcinoma to determine susceptibility to CDK7 inhibitor therapy.
Awards:
- ICTR-MSTP Pilot Award – Development of a Novel Sequencing Protocol for Detection of and Mechanistic Insight into Fibrolamellar Carcinoma (July 2019)
- UWCCC Pilot Grant – Elucidation of the Role of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor in Colorectal Tumorigenesis and Development of Novel Chemoprevention Strategies (Bradfield co-PI)
- UWCCC GI Disease Oriented Team Trainee Grant – While Genome and CRISPR Sequencing of Fibrolamellar Carcinoma (July 2021)
- 2025 UW Department of Surgery Resident Research Award
- 2026 UW-UAB Traveling Resident Research Award
- 2026 UWCCC Annual Research Retreat Flash Talk Award (1st place)
Ksenija Korac, PhD
Ksenija Korac, PhD, obtained her PhD from Texas Tech University and was recruited to UW in 2023 as a post-doctoral fellow. Ksenija was awarded a 3-year UW SORT T32 training program grant to investigate the circadian clock in pancreatic cancer. She is focused on how the master circadian activator, BMAL1, is suppressed in pancreas cancer, and why this ‘clock-disrupted’ subtype results in a markedly more aggressive cancer phenotype.
Graduate Students
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Austin Stram
Austin Stram, BS, joined the research lab in the CBMS graduate program, starting in Fall 2025. Austin received a prestigious Morgridge Fellowship for his graduate studies. He focuses on two distinct projects. First, he is investigating the synergistic partners of CDK7 that when targeted enhance cancer cell death in fibrolamellar cancer and pancreatic cancer. Included in this is understanding target engagement in the tumor cells (CDK7) and determining the resistance mechanisms employed by the tumor. Second is determining the role of an orphan transport protein, SLC16A14, in fibrolamellar cancer development.
Awards:
- Morgridge Fellowship (2025-2026)
Undergraduate Students
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Matthew Shen
Matthew Shen
Undergraduate Student
Matthew Shen is an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who is interested in cancer biology. He is studying the role of the circadian clock in pancreatic cancer, with a focus on the role of BMAL1 in pancreas cancer growth and spread.
Awards: The University of Wisconsin Sophomore Research Fellowship Award 2023