22 December
A collaborative proposal with the DeNicola lab was funded via Moffitt's Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center of Excellence. We will explore how the metabolic microenvironment dictates liver tropism of metastatic uveal melanoma.
12 November
Congratulations, Xiaonan. His study describing the pro-metastatic potential of the FRA1 transcription factor was accepted at Oncogene. This work demonstrates that FRA1 promotes melanoma metastasis by transcriptional activation of AXL, CDK6, and FSCN1 and that pharmacologic inhibition of these FRA1 targets attenuates metastatic outgrowth.
25-28 October
The Karreth lab attended the Society for Melanoma Research annual congress in Amsterdam. Florian presented our new uveal melanoma mouse model in the CureOM pre-meeting organized by the Melanoma Research Foundation. Shaaron gave an oral presentation at the trainee pre-meeting, where Zulaida also had flash talk. Shaaron, Zulaida, and Nicol presented posters, and Nicol gave a flash talk in the Melanocyte and Melanoma Biology session that Florian chaired. We also had the chance to catch up with many colleagues in the melanoma research field, including former lab members Olga and Manon.
13 August
The lab was awarded a small Technology Award from the Metabolism Program at Moffitt to further develop our MALDI imaging approach for glycoRNAs.
4 August
Manon's work describing a tumors suppressor role for the antisense RNA CDH3-AS1 in melanoma was accepted at Cell Reports. This study demonstrates that CDH3-AS1 functions as a "SINEUP" RNA, promoting the translation of its cognate protein-coding mRNA to increase P-cadherin levels. Congratulations, Manon!
30 July
Nicol received her Notice of Award for her NCI Predoctoral to Postdoctoral Transition Award (F99/K00) award. This award will support Nicol's final phase of her PhD in the lab, and provide 3 years of postdoctoral funding afterwards. Many congratulations, Nicol!
July 29 - August 1
Florian attended the Mechanisms and Models of Cancer conference at the Salk Institute in San Diego where he presented Kai's work on MYBL2 as a non-canonical RNA binding protein.
11 July
The lab put down the pipettes and spent a wonderful day full of games, laughter, and Picanha at the beach at Fort de Soto Park.
30 June
Our NCI R01 application on the role of MAFG in melanocyte transformation and melanoma formation received a fundable score. If selected for funding, this award will drive a major research direction of our lab for the next few years.
10 June
Another preprint posted to bioRxiv, and again did Xiaonan lead the study. This paper characterizes FRA1 as a potent driver of melanoma metastasis by inducing a druggable transcriptional network.
7 June
We posted our newest preprint to bioRxiv. Led by Xiaonan, this study describes the generation of a multi-step uveal melanoma mouse model, identifies MYC as a potent driver of uveal melanoma formation, and characterizes phenotypic heterogeneity.
5 May
The lab attended the annual Moffitt Scientific Symposium. Xiaonan's poster on uveal melanoma mouse modeling was selected as a Basic Science Featured Poster and he gave a flash talk to introduce his work.
April 27
Kai attended the AACR Annual Meeting in Chicago and gave a talk on her work on the MYBL2 transcription factor as a non-canonical RNA binding protein.
22 April
Today marks the last day of Manon in the lab. She returns to her native France, where she will join the lab of Corine Bertolotto in Nice as a research scientist. She will focus on uveal melanoma, and we are glad she stays in the melanoma field and excited for her new adventure.
4 April
We were informed by the NCI that our R21 grant application on exploring the PHGDH metabolic vulnerability in melanoma therapy was selected for funding. This will continue Neel's work.
22-28 March
Shaaron attended the Glycobiology Gordon Research Conference in Lucca, Italy, and gave an oral presentation on her work on glycoRNA characterization through imaging mass spectrometry as part of the Gordon Research Seminar.
7 March
Zulaida was a finalist in the Postdoc Abstract Presentation Competition as part of Moffitt's 2025 Distinguished Lecturer Symposium. She presented how MAFG regulates HIF1a in a non-canonical manner, promoting melanoma progression. Congratulations, Zulaida!
26 February - 1 March
Florian attended the Animal Models in Cancer Fusion Conference in the Dominican Republic and gave a talk on the role of MAFG in melanoma phenotype switching and progression.
20 February
We received a fundable score on our NCI R21 application on the role of antisense RNAs in melanomagenesis. We're excited to continue this work!
18 February
Florian visited the University of Louisville and the Brown Cancer Center to present a lecture on melanoma progression as part of the BCC Grand Rounds.
14 February
Florian traveled far (a 2 hour drive) to visit our neighbors at the University of Florida. There, he gave a talk on MAFG and MYBL2 in melanoma progression as part of the UFHCC Topics in Cancer Seminar Series.
21 January
Florian visited Johns Hopkins University to give a talk on non-genetic drivers of melanoma progression to the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
17 January
Florian visited the University of Rochester and presented a lecture on the lab's work on transcription factors as non-genetic drivers of melanoma progression.