Who We Are
Principal Investigator:
The OSUCCC – Lapalombella Lab team is led by internationally recognized cancer researcher and Principal Investigator Rosa Lapalombella, PhD.
Dr. Lapalombella has a strong history of translational research in the medical field, working alongside many world-renowned researchers. As an undergraduate student, she spent two years at the University of Bologna, conducting research on a vaccine therapy for patients with multiple myeloma.
After graduating in 2001, she enrolled in a PhD program at the University of Bologna, and continued her lab work, studying the effects of physical exercise on cardiovascular protection. Dr. Lapalombella received her PhD in 2006 and realized that her true passion, where she saw herself making a difference, was on translational research for hematological cancers, especially leukemia.
She then came to The Ohio State University, where she completed four years of postdoctoral training and two-year appointments as a research scientist with principal investigator status and as a research assistant professor. Dr. Lapalombella became a tenure-track assistant professor in 2015.
Her two main areas of research are in epigenetic alterations of cancer cells and development of experimental therapeutics for hematological disease. Her work in experimental therapeutics has contributed to the translation of five therapeutic agents into clinical trials for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Dr. Lapalombella also serves as a professor of Medicine, associate division director for Basic Research and director of the Pelotonia Fellowship Program at the OSUCCC – James, where her passion for mentoring young scientists launches more brilliant minds in the cancer research field.
Dr. Lapalombella’s work has been published in a number of peer-reviewed scientific journals, including Cancer Discovery, Cancer Cell, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Leukemia, Blood and Nature Communications. She has also spoken about her cutting-edge research at several national and international conferences, including the American Society of Hematology, the Italian Society of Biology and Genetics and the Translational Research Cancer Centers Consortium.
Dr. Lapalombella is the recipient of the Department of Defense Career Development Award for young faculty and the American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award.
Lapalombella Lab Team Members:
Casey Cempre is a research assistant II-B/H in the Lapalombella Lab. He assists primarily with the lab’s chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Richter’s Transformation projects. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry in 2015 from Denison University. His goal is to attend optometry school. Email Casey
Michelle Grindley is an administrative assistant in the Lapalombella Lab. She has worked in the Department of Radiology, the Department of Internal Medicine and the Division of Hematology/Oncology. She has enjoyed working with the gifted researchers in the Lapalombella Lab and playing a role in finding a cure for cancer. Email Michelle
Ethan Whipp is a graduate research associate in the Lapalombella Lab and a student in the College of Pharmacy: Pharmaceutical Sciences PhD program. His goal is to further the understanding of the disease biology of Richter’s Transformation and leverage that knowledge to develop animal/cell models and targeted therapeutics. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry in 2015 at Ohio University and his master’s degree in Chemistry in 2018 from the University of North Carolina - Wilmington. Email Ethan