Speakers

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  Jessica B. Spinelli, PhD Assistant Professor at UMASS Chan Medical School
  

  Jessica B. Spinelli, PhD

  Assistant Professor at UMASS Chan Medical School

  Jessica is an Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in the Program in Molecular Medicine Department. She earned her Ph.D in Chemical Biology from Harvard University in 2019 and did postdoctoral research at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Her work has broadly been focused on understanding how mammalian cells sense and adapt to metabolic stress in healthy and disease contexts.

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  Michael E. Pacold, MD, PhD Associate Professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
  

  Michael E. Pacold, MD, PhD

  Associate Professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

  Dr. Pacold began his journey in medicine with both an MD and PhD, establishing a strong foundation for a career in oncology and fundamental research. Since then, he has dedicated his work to improving patient outcomes and advancing the field of oncology.

  As a radiation oncologist at NYU Langone, Dr. Pacold is driven by a passion for understanding and treating cancer and other complex diseases. His clinical specialty is gamma knife radiosurgery, a highly precise form of therapeutic radiology that uses focused radiation beams to treat small to medium-sized lesions.

  Dr. Pacold’s research team investigates the metabolic pathways that cells prioritize in nutrient-limited environments. Their work has led to the identification of key pathways critical for the survival of tumor cells that metastasize to the brain. More recently, his team has uncovered how cancers manage oxygen utilization when this vital resource is scarce. These discoveries aim to deepen our understanding of cancer biology and drive the development of novel therapeutic strategies for patients.