Rhoda M. Alani

Department Affiliation: Primary: Oncology;
Secondary: Dermatology, Molecular Biology and Genetics
Degree: M.D., University of Michigan
Rank: Associate Professor
Telephone Number: 410-614-6204
Fax Number: 410-614-5015
E-mail address: ralani@jhmi.edu
School of Medicine Address: 344 Cancer Research Bldg.,
1650 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD  21231                        

Human melanocyte growth and differentiation, molecular regulation of melanoma development and progression, targeted therapies for melanoma, molecular diagnostics for melanoma.

The incidence of melanoma in the United States is increasing at the highest rate for any form of cancer.  The current lifetime risk of developing melanoma in the U.S. is 1 in 68.  Advanced stages of melanoma have a long-term survival rate of less than 20% and few effective therapeutic options exist for this stage of disease.  Research in our laboratory focuses on understanding the genetic controls of human melanoma development and progression with the expectation that identifying molecular pathways important in the onset or progression of this disease will lead to new and improved therapies.  We have identified several genetic and biochemical pathways that we believe are important for melanoma development and progression and are currently characterizing those pathways in order to define their specific mechanism of control of melanocyte growth and melanoma development.  We are also intimately involved in the evaluation of targeted small molecules as potential therapeutics in melanoma.  These molecules are directed at pathways we identified as being significant for sustained malignant growth in melanoma.  We use a variety of cell-based assay systems as well as mouse model systems and molecular biology and biochemical techniques in the laboratory. 

Representative Publications:

• Wheless L, Ruczinski I, Alani RM, Clipp S, Hoffman-Bolton J, Jorgensen TJ, Liégeois NJ, Strickland PT, Alberg AJ.The Association between Skin Characteristics and Skin Cancer Prevention Behaviors. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009 Sep 15. Pub Med Reference

• Larson AR, Konat E, Alani RM. Melanoma biomarkers: current status and vision for the future.Nat Clin Pract Oncol. 2009 Feb;6(2):105-17. Epub 2008 Dec 23. Review. Pub Med Reference

• Chen J, Ruczinski I, Jorgensen TJ, Yenokyan G, Yao Y, Alani R, Liégeois NJ, Hoffman SC, Hoffman-Bolton J, Strickland PT, Helzlsouer KJ, Alberg AJ.Nonmelanoma skin cancer and risk for subsequent malignancy.J Natl Cancer Inst. 2008 Sep 3;100(17):1215-22. Epub 2008 Aug 26.  Pub Med Reference. 

• DeLuca AM, Srinivas A, Alani RM. BRAF kinase in melanoma development and progression. Expert Rev Mol Med. 2008 Feb 18;10:e6. Review. Pub Med Reference.

• Cummings SD, Ryu B, Samuels MA, Yu X, Meeker AK, Healey MA, Alani RM. Abstract.  Id1 delays senescence of primary human melanocytes. Mol Carcinog. 2008 Sep;47(9):653-9. Pub Med Reference.

• Ryu B, Kim DS, Deluca AM, Alani RM. Comprehensive expression profiling of tumor cell lines identifies molecular signatures of melanoma progression. PLoS ONE. 2007 Jul 4;2(7):e594.  Pub Med Reference.

• Ryu B, Kim DS, DeLuca AM, Healey MA, Dunlap S, Fackler MJ, Herman J, Alani RM. Id1 expression is transcriptionally regulated in radial growth phase melanomas.  Int J Cancer. 2007 Oct 15;121(8):1705-9. Pub Med Reference.

• Fecher LA, Cummings SD, Keefe MJ, Alani RM. Abstract. Toward a molecular classification of melanoma.J Clin Oncol. 2007 Apr 20;25(12):1606-20. Review. Pub Med Reference.

• Guidez, F., Howell, L., Isalan, M., Cebrat, M., Alani, R.M., Ivins, S., Hormaeche, I., McConnell, M.J., Pierce, S., Cole, P.A., Licht, J., Zelent, A.  Histone acetyltransferase activity of p300 is required for transcriptional repression by the promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein, Mol. Cell. Biol. 25(13):5552-5566, 2005.  Pub Med Reference

• Alani, R.M., Silverthorn, C.F., and Orosz, K.  Tumor angiogenesis in mice and men, Cancer Biol. Ther. 2004 Jun;3(6):498-500, 2004 (Jun 19. Review).  Pub Med Reference

• Dunlap, S., Yu, X., Cheng, L., Civin, C.I., and Alani, R.M. High-efficiency stable gene transduction in primary human melanocytes using a lentiviral expression system, J. Invest. Dermatol. 122(2):549-551, 2004.   Pub Med Reference 

• Sikder, H., Huso, D.L., Zhang, H., Wang, B., Ryu, B., Hwang, S.T., Powell, J.D., and Alani, R.M. Disruption of Id1 reveals major differences in angiogenesis between transplanted and autochthonous tumors, Cancer Cell 4(4):291-299, 2003.  Pub Med Reference

• Sikder, H.A., Devlin, M.K., Dunlap, S., Ryu, B., and Alani, R.M. Id proteins in cell growth and tumorigenesis, Cancer Cell 3(6):525-530, 2003 (Review).  Pub Med Reference

• Volpert, O.V. and Alani, R.M. Wiring the angiogenic switch: Ras, Myc, and Thrombospondin-1, Cancer Cell 3(3):199-200, 2003.   Pub Med Reference

• Volpert, O.V., Pili, R., Sikder, H.A., Nelius, T., Zaichuk, T., Morris, C., Shiflett, C.B., Devlin, M.K., Conant, K., and Alani, R.M. Id1 regulates angiogenesis through transcriptional repression of thrombospondin-1, Cancer Cell 2002 2(6):473-483, 2002.  Pub Med Reference

• Polsky, D., Young, A.Z., Busam, K.J., and Alani, R.M. The transcriptional repressor of p16/Ink4a, Id1, is up-regulated in early melanomas, Cancer Res. 61(16):6008-6011, 2001.  Pub Med Reference

• Alani, R.M., Young, A.Z., and Shifflett, C.B. Id1 regulation of cellular senescence through transcriptional repression of p16/Ink4a, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA  98(14):7812-7816, 2001. Pub Med Reference

• Alani, R.M., Hasskarl, J., Grace, M., Hernandez, M.C., Israel, M.A., and Munger, K.  Immortalization of primary human keratinocytes by the helix-loop-helix protein, Id-1, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 96(17):9637-9641, 1999.  Pub Med Reference  

Other graduate programs in which Dr. Alani participates:

Cellular and Molecular Medicine Graduate Program
Anti-Cancer Drug Development Program