Mission
The Breast Cancer Translational Research Group (BCTRG) is a highly collaborative multi-disciplinary team involving scientific interactions across several departments, programs, and schools at Penn, including Radiochemistry, Oncology, Surgery, Chemistry, Pathology, Cancer Biology, and Biostatistics. Our group also works closely with the Breast Cancer Molecular Imaging Group and Penn Center for Genome Integrity.
Led by Elizabeth McDonald, MD, PhD and Sarah Gitto, PhD, the BCTRG has a two pronged mission of enabling precision cancer care and training the next generation of breast cancer researchers. Our primary research focus is understanding why some breast cancers are resistant to current therapies and developing functional imaging markers to predict and monitor therapy response.
We prioritize mentoring junior investigators in the scientific method with projects geared toward every level–undergraduates, medical students, graduate students, residents and post-doctoral fellows. We welcome inquiries about how to get involved in breast cancer research. As part of our commitment to the local community, we partner with Women's Campaign International to introduce Philadelphia high school students to academic careers. BCTRG is also committed to inclusive excellence in research and we participate in mentoring through the RISE (Radiology Initiative to Support Excellence in Research) program, which Dr. McDonald co-directs.
Leadership
Awards and accolades
Congratulation to lab member Anthony Young, who received the 2025 Alavi-Mandell Award from the The Journal of Nuclear Medicine for the publication “Kinetic Analysis and Metabolism of Poly(Adenosine Diphosphate–Ribose) Polymerase-1–Targeted 18F-Fluorthanatrace PET in Breast Cancer”. This award aims to encourage careers in academic research in nuclear medicine.
Sample from “Kinetic Analysis and Metabolism of Poly(Adenosine Diphosphate–Ribose) Polymerase-1–Targeted 18F-Fluorthanatrace PET in Breast Cancer”.
Congratulations to Dr. Gitto for her 2025 Communications Medicine Paper!
Congratulations to our post-doctoral fellows who won two of eight Young Investigator Awards from the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group! Drs. Kiani and Bagheri were invited to give oral presentations in Washington DC on “Development of a semi-automated H-score for digital pathology image analysis” and “Surgical innovation to improve take rate of PDX generation from primary breast tumors”.
Research
There are numerous projects for trainees including residents and graduate students. Prior bench research experience is not required. Our lab research is divided into three teams representing unique areas of expertise:
- Breast Cancer PDX Program (Team Leader, Tony Secreto, MRA)
- Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (Team Leader, Sina Bagheri, MD)
- Molecular Integrated Diagnostics (Team Leader, Mahsa Kiani, MD)
Additionally, the Molecular Radiopharmacology and Cytology Lab is a departmental resource staffed by members of BCTRG providing services to the research community including microscope training, tissue staining, help with cell culture, assistance structuring imaging protocols/clinical trials to incorporate relevant biomarker discovery and concurrent companion diagnostic development, assistance with writing statement of work (SOW) for tissue acquisition and storage. Ola Sharaff is the senior scientist/lab manager and point of contact for that lab.
Our bench to bedside research program aims to understand differences in cancer DNA repair mechanisms and develop predictive biomarkers for targeted therapy response.
Disparate clinical outcomes occur in women who have breast cancer and similar tumor size, molecular subtype, histology, and even given similar age or genetic mutation status. Our research interrogates differential tumor DNA repair capability as a cause for heterogeneous clinical responses, specifically focusing on PARP-1 expression, the target of PARP inhibitors and a key component of every aspect of DNA repair. To this end, the laboratory supports tissue analysis for two ongoing clinical trials in patients with breast cancer that correlate chemotherapy or PARP inhibitor response to a tumor’s ability to repair DNA.
A recent multidisciplinary collaboration involving our lab, the Breast Cancer Molecular Imaging Group and the Maxwell Lab demonstrated that in vivo breast cancer PARP-1 expression can be accurately measured through a non-invasive imaging test and widely varies among different breast cancer subtypes. The work (JAMA Oncol. 2020;6(6):921-923) has an Altmetric score of 29, ranking it among the top 5% of all research published internationally.
Additional work resulting from our collaborative efforts with the Breast Cancer Molecular Imaging Group and the Department of Pathology demonstrated that proliferation can be measured by a probe directed at the sigma-2 receptor complex (J Nucl Med. 2020 May;61(5):665-670).
As a companion to this work, collaborating with the Stem Cell and Xenograft core, our laboratory has built a library of patient-derived xenografts (PDX) with the goal of elucidating specific changes in DNA repair that impact tumor response. The models are also used in collaboration with other labs, such as Dr. Ben Black’s lab in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and the Britton Chance Laboratory of Redox Imaging. The ultimate goal of our research is to design personalized interventions if less than complete therapy response is predicted, or has already occurred.
The PDX resource is supported by the PennRad Biobank, a joint effort between our lab and the Department of Pathology. The biobank is unique resource providing tissue for breast cancer research with full characterization of collection parameters and molecular characterization.
In vivo Small Animal Imaging
- PET, SPECT, CT, MR small animal imaging
- Dedicated state-of-the art instrumentation
- Serial imaging, dynamic imaging, multi-tracer imaging, multi-modal imaging
- Consultation &, experimental design
- Protocols, logistics & study cost-estimates
Image-based Informatics
- Hi-spec workstations for analysis
- Current analysis software packages
- Multimodal Image registration
- Non-invasive image segmentation
- ROI/VOi delineation, PK,PD analysis
Ex vivo tissue assay
- Tissue harvesting, embedding, cryosectioning
- Autoradiography: tissue distribution, ligand binding
- Histological and Immunostaining
- Pixel-based multimodal correlation
- Expertise in imaging Far-Red and NIR dyes
- Slide scanning: up to x40 air, xl00 oil
Community engagement
The BCTRG is committed to reducing care disparities in our community. We have partnered with the Chrysalis Initiative to increase clinical trial enrollment and provide support for all women, especially Black women and other women of color, who are impacted by breast cancer.
Meet the team
Meet the incredible people who make the work of the Breast Cancer Translational Research Group possible!
Director, Stem Cell and Xenograft Core
Laboratory details
-
McDonald ES, Gillis LB, Gabriel PE, Xapakdy KM, Young AJ, Doucette AG, Schnall MD, Buse JB, Pisano ED GLP-1 Agonists Are Associated With a Significant Reduction in Breast Cancer Incidence in Women. JCO Oncol Pract. 2026 Jul;22(7):1341-1348. doi: 10.1200/OP-26-00485. Epub 2026 Jun 2.PMID: 42227662.
-
McDonald ES, Kazerouni AS, Metanet P, Barinov L, Partridge SC, Hylton NM. The Future of Quantitative Breast Imaging: Integrated to Integral Imaging Biomarkers for Precision Cancer Care, From the AJR Special Series on Quantitative Imaging. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2026 May 6. doi: 10.2214/AJR.25.32958. Online ahead of print. PMID:42089524.
-
Gitto SB, Pantel AR, Maxwell KN, Pryma DA, Farwell MD, Liu F, Cao Q, O'Brien SR, Clark AS, Shah PD, McDonald ES. [18F]FluorThanatrace PET imaging as a biomarker of response to PARP inhibitors in breast cancer. Commun Med (Lond). 2025 Mar 25;5(1):90.
-
McDonald ES, Pan TC, Pant DK, Troester MA, Kossenkov AV, Mankoff DA, Mach RH, Chodosh LA. Ternary complex components responsible for rapid LDL internalization as biomarkers for breast cancer associated with proliferation and early recurrence. Cancer Res Commun. 2025 Jan 13. Online ahead of print.
-
Young AJ, Pantel AR, Kiani M, Doot RK, Bagheri S, Pryma DA, Farwell MD, Li S, Lee H, Schubert EK, Secreto A, Zuckerman SP, Nayak A, Choi H, Carlin S, DeMichele A, Mankoff DA, Zhou R, Mach RH, McDonald ES. Kinetic Analysis and Metabolism of Poly(Adenosine Diphosphate-Ribose) Polymerase-1-Targeted 18F-Fluorthanatrace PET in Breast Cancer. J Nucl Med. 2024 Dec 3;65(12):1862-1868.
-
Park KU, Somerfield MR, Anne N, Brackstone M, Conlin AK, Couto HL, Dengel LT, Eisen A, Harvey BE, Hawley J, Kim JN, Lasebikan N, McDonald ES, Pradhan D, Shams S, Vega RM, Thompson AM, Torres MA. Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Early-Stage Breast Cancer: ASCO Guideline Update.
J Clin Oncol. 2025 May 10;43(14):1720-1741.
-
Gitto, S, Young, A, Bleiweiss, I, Clark, A, McDonald, ES. PET Imaging of PARP Expression as a Biomarker of Response to Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial. May 2024 Cancer Research 84:PS05-02-PS05-02.
-
Lee M, Nguyen B, Jung J, Razzak E, Oluyemi ET, McDonald ES, Miles RC, Sadigh G, Carlos RC. Assessing the Correlation between Allostatic Load and False-Positive Image-Guided Breast Biopsies. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2024 Sep;33(9):1259-1266.
-
McDonald ES, Scheel JR, Lewin AA, Weinstein SP, Dodelzon K, Dogan BE, Fitzpatrick A, Kuzmiak CM, Newell MS, Paulis LV, Pilewskie M, Salkowski LR, Silva HC, Sharpe RE Jr, Specht JM, Ulaner GA, Slanetz PJ. ACR Appropriateness Criteria® Imaging of Invasive Breast Cancer. J Am Coll Radiol. 2024 Jun;21(6S):S168-S202.
-
O'Brien SR, Ward R, Wu GG, Bagheri S, Kiani M, Challa A, Ulaner GA, Pantel AR, McDonald ES. Other Novel PET Radiotracers for Breast Cancer. PET Clin. 2023 Oct;18(4):557-566.
-
Lee HS, Schwarz SW, Schubert EK, Chen DL, Doot RK, Makvandi M, Lin LL, McDonald ES, Mankoff DA, Mach RH. The Development of 18 F Fluorthanatrace: A PET Radiotracer for Imaging Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase-1. Radiol Imaging Cancer 2022 Jan;4(1):e210070.
-
McDonald ES, Pantel AR, Shah PD, Farwell MD, Clark AS, Doot RK, Pryma DA, Carlin SD. In vivo visualization of PARP inhibitor pharmacodynamics. JCI Insight. 2021 Apr 22;6(8):146592.
-
McDonald ES, Doot RK, Pantel A, Farwell MD, Mach RH, Maxwell KN, Mankoff DA. PET Imaging of PARP-1 Expression in Breast Cancer: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2020 Jun 1;6(6):921-923.
-
McDonald ES, Doot, Nayak A, Schubert E, Pryma D, Farwell MD, Ziober A, Young AJ, Feldman M, Tchou J, DeMichele A, Lee H, Carlin S, Shah P, Schnall M, Mach RH, Mankoff DA. Uptake of the Sigma-2 Receptor Ligand, [18F]ISO-1, Correlates with Cell Proliferation Measures in Breast Cancer. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2020 May;61(5):665-670.
-
McDonald ES, Mankoff J, Makvandi M, Chu W, Chu Y, Mach RH, Zeng C. Sigma-2 ligands and PARP inhibitors synergistically trigger cell death in breast cancer cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2017 May 6;486(3):788-795.
-
Carlin, SD. Penetrating the Barriers to Successful α-Radioimmunotherapy. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2018 Jun;59(6):934-936.
-
McDonald ES, Mankoff DA, Mach RH. Novel strategies for breast cancer imaging: new imaging agents to guide treatment. Journal of Nuclear Medicine 2016; 57: 69S-74S
Rm 170 John Morgan Building
Department of Radiology
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, 19104
Tel: 215-573-9148
Email: Elizabeth.Mcdonald@pennmedicine.upenn.edu