Welcome to the Loughran Lab
Training the next generation of cancer researchers and physician-scientists
LGL Leukemia and More
Dr. Thomas P Loughran Jr discovered LGL leukemia as a fellow at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Housed at the University of Virginia (UVA), the Loughran Lab aims to better understand the pathogenesis of LGL leukemia and uncover better therapeutics for this disease and other hematologic malignancies.
Dr. Loughran also leads a multi-institutional research team to define the role of sphingolipid metabolism in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This group will soon initiate multiple clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of targeted sphingolipid metabolism in relapsed/refractory AML.
Through collaborations with UVA hematology-oncology experts Dr. Owen O’Connor and Dr. Enrica Marchi, our work has also expanded to include studies of pathogenetic mechanisms and therapeutic vulnerabilities in peripheral T-cell lymphoma.
Visit Dr. Loughran’s Wikipedia page or Dr. Loughran’s UVA Health page to learn more!
Prospective Students
Interested in joining the Loughran Lab?
We are recruiting graduate and MD/PhD students within UVA!
Check out the Prospective Students page for an in-depth review of the trainee experience and/or contact us to learn more.
Lab News
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Using Lipid Biomarkers for Blood Cancer May Result in Better Outcomes
May 2024
Collaborative research led by Drs. Kevin Janes, Thomas P. Loughran Jr, and Bishal Paudel utilize sphingolipid profiling to identify a high-risk acute myeloid leukemia patient population.
Read more about this collaborative work, which was featured in the School of Medicine newsletter, a UVA Health article, and published in Blood Advances.
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Congraulations, Dr. Cheon!
May 2024
Congratulations to Dr. Cheon who recently received her MD and PhD!
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1st LGL Leukemia Consortium Conference
April 2024
Drs. Loughran and Feith attend the inaugural LGL Leukemia Consortium Conference to discuss the latest advancements in LGL leukemia research and foster collaborations to conquer this disease.
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It's Spooky Time! Happy Halloween!
October 2023
Happy Halloween from the Loughran Lab! Congratulations to Heather Robinette for winning Best Costume!
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Welcome Maddie, Zeguela, and Jisu!
April 2023
First-year students Maddie Turner, Zeguela Kamagate, and Jisu Shin officially join the Loughran Lab and receive their lab coats!
To learn more, check out the official 2023 BIMS Lab Coat Ceremony post.
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Loughran Lab Wins Green Labs "Shut the Sash" Competition
December 2022
The Loughran Lab are one of two “Shut the Sash” winners from the UVA Green Lab’s recent sustainability challenge. By keeping fume hood sashes closed, researchers can reduce energy expenditures and help protect the environment.
Read more about the “Shut the Sash” competition.
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Happy Halloween from the Loughran Lab!
October 2022
Congratulations to Zech and Carey for winning Best Costume!
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Loughran Lab Attends Society of Hematologic Oncology (SOHO) Annual Meeting
October 2022
Graduate student Johnson Ung is awarded the Young Investigator Program Travel Grant and attends the Society of Hematologic Annual Meeting with Dr. Loughran.
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NRSA F31 Fellowship
August 2022
Graduate student Johnson Ung receives Notice of Award for his NCI F31 predoctoral fellowship titled, “Targeting Acid Ceramidase and Bcl-2 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia”
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Defining the Genomic Landscape of the Largest T LGL Leukemia Cohort
July 2022
Research led by Loughran Lab MSTP student, Heejin Cheon and colleagues describes the most extensive paired exome and transcriptome study of LGL leukemia to date.
Read more about the impact of Heejin’s LGL leukemia study.
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Welcome, Ariana!
February 2022
First-year BIMS student, Ariana Sabzevari, joins the Loughran Lab and receives her coat at the 2022 BIMS Lab Coat Ceremony.
Check out highlights from the 2022 Lab Coat Ceremony.
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Welcome to the team, Camden!
January 2022
Camden Jansen, hailing from Ross Hardison’s group at Penn State, joins the Loughran Lab as a postdoc studying genomics/bioinformatics aspects of LGL leukemia.
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UVA Cancer Center Earns "Comprehensive" Status
August 2021
Under the direction of Center Director Dr. Thomas P Loughran Jr, UVA Cancer Center earns prestigious “comprehensive” status.
Recent Publications
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KLRG1 Cell Depletion As A Novel Therapeutic Strategy In Patients With Mature T-cell lymphoma Subtypes
Clinical Cancer Research, January 2024
Assatova B, Willim R, Trevisani C, Haskett G, Kariya KM, Chopra K, Park SR, Tolstorukov MY, McCabe SM, Duffy J, Louissaint A, Huuhtanen J, Bhattacharya D, Mustjoki S, Koh MJ, Powers F, Morgan EA, Yang L, Pinckney B, Cotton MJ, Crabbe A, Ziemba JB, Brain I, Heavican-Foral TB, Iqbal J, Nemec R, Rider AB, Ford JG, Koh MJ, Scanlan N, Feith DJ, Loughran TP, Kim WS, Choi J, Roels J, Boehme L, Putteman T, Taghon T, Barnes JA, Johnson PC, Jacobsen ED, Greenberg SA, Weinstock DM, Jain S.
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Acute myeloid leukemia stratifies as two clinically relevant sphingolipidomic subtypes
Blood Advances, January 2024
Paudel BB, Tan SF, Fox TE, Ung J, Golla U, Shaw JJP, Dunton W, Lee IS, Fares W, Patel S, Sharma A, Viny AD, Barth BM, Tallman MS, Cabot MC, Garrett-Bakelman FE, Levine RL, Kester M, Feith DJ, Claxton DF, Janes KA, Loughran TP.
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Acid Ceramidase Inhibitor LCL-805 Antagonizes Akt Signaling and Promotes Iron-Dependent Cell Death in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Cancers, December 2023
Ung J, Tan SF, Fox TE, Shaw JJP, Taori M, Horton BJ, Golla U, Sharma A, Szulc ZM, Wang HG, Chalfant CE, Cabot MC, Claxton DF, Loughran TP Jr, Feith DJ.
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Simultaneous Inhibition of Ceramide Hydrolysis and Glycosylation Synergizes to Corrupt Mitochondrial Respiration and Signal Caspase Driven Cell Death in Drug-Resistant Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Cancers, March 2023
Fisher-Wellman KH, Kassai M, Hagen JT, Neufer PD, Kester M, Loughran TP Jr, Chalfant CE, Feith DJ, Tan SF, Fox TE, Ung J, Fabrias G, Abad JL, Sharma A, Golla U, Claxton DF, Shaw JJP, Bhowmick D, Cabot MC.
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Tγδ LGLL identifies a subset with more symptomatic disease: analysis of an international cohort of 137 patients
Blood, March 2023
Barilà G, Grassi A, Cheon H, Teramo A, Calabretto G, Chahal J, Vicenzetto C, Almeida J, Shemo BC, Shi M, Gasparini VR, Munoz-Garcia N, Pastoret C, Nakazawa H, Oshimi K, Sokol L, Ishida F, Lamy T, Orfao A, Morice WG, Loughran TP, Semenzato G, Zambello R.
