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Congrats to Drs. Adrian V. Lee, Steffi Oesterreich, and Daniel D. Brown for their contributions to the latest Nature publication: A dependency map enhanced with next-generation 3D cancer models!

Daniel Brown

Congrats to Drs. Adrian V. Lee, Steffi Oesterreich, and Daniel D. Brown for their contributions to the latest Nature publication: A dependency map enhanced with next-generation 3D cancer models!
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10843-7

This work was a collaboration with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Breast cancer patient-derived organoid (PDO) models were developed by Daniel Brown in the Institute for Precision Medicine in collaboration with the Lee-Oesterreich lab, and some of these PDO models were provided to the Broad Institute. The Broad team ran genome-scale CRISPR screens across 147 organoid and spheroid models spanning 10 cancer types, expanding the Cancer Dependency Map (DepMap) into tumor subtypes traditional cell lines simply don’t capture. These models preserve transcriptional programs that get silenced in 2D culture (like the PDAC-classical/MUC program in GI organoids), and oncogene dependency itself can be model-dependent. Model choice shapes the biology we’re able to see.

This manuscript was one of three companion papers published together in Nature, all validating patient-derived 3D cancer models as the next generation of preclinical tools.

Our contribution to this work was supported in part by NIH R01CA252378 through the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Oncology Models Forum, grateful for that support in helping make this collaboration possible.

This seminal paper is published alongside two outstanding companion papers:
Herranz-Ors et al. (Wellcome Sanger Institute), “A tumour-derived organoid biobank maps cancer gene dependencies” — 256 clinically annotated organoids across five GI/gynecologic cancers, with genome-wide CRISPR dependency screens on 162 of them.

ElHarouni et al., “A compendium of next-generation patient-derived models for diverse cancers” — the Human Cancer Models Initiative’s landmark 665-model resource across 25 cancer types.

Together, these three papers make a compelling, converging case that organoids and related New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) can faithfully recapitulate tumor biology at a scale sufficient for systematic target discovery, not just as a nice complement to cell lines, but as tools that reveal biology cell lines miss entirely. That’s the bet we’ve made with the Organoid Research Core here at Pitt, and it’s exciting to see it borne out across multiple independent efforts at once.

– A dependency map enhanced with next-generation 3D cancer models | Nature
– A tumour-derived organoid biobank maps cancer gene dependencies | Nature
– A compendium of next-generation patient-derived models for diverse cancers | Nature

Congrats to Connor Purdy, Ph. D. who has been awarded an AACR/LBCA Fellowship for his project, “E-Cadherin Loss Reprograms the Endoplasmic Reticulum to Remodel the Membrane Proteome in ILC.”

Daniel Brown
Connor Purdy, Ph. D.
Postdoctoral Fellow

Connor Purdy, a postdoctoral fellow in the Lee-Oesterreich lab, has been awarded an AACR/LBCA Fellowship for his project, “E-Cadherin Loss Reprograms the Endoplasmic Reticulum to Remodel the Membrane Proteome in ILC.”
This work digs into how loss of E-cadherin, the hallmark of invasive lobular carcinoma, reshapes the ER and membrane proteome, opening new windows into the unique biology of ILC. Proud to see this recognized by American Association for Cancer Research and the Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance Inc., and excited to see where this research takes us next.
Congratulations, Connor, well deserved!

“Girls on the Run” at Lincoln Elementary School raised funds for breast cancer awareness and research!

Daniel Brown

Girls on the Run at Lincoln Elementary School in the Mt. Lebanon School District included a team of 4th and 5th grade girls participating in the nationally recognized nonprofit program. Girls on the Run inspires girls to build confidence, develop healthy relationships, and strengthen their emotional and physical well-being through fun, interactive lessons combined with running activities. The program integrates social-emotional learning with physical activity to encourage teamwork, resilience, leadership, and self-confidence.

As part of the program, participants complete a community impact project designed to help them identify a need within their community and work together to make a positive difference through kindness, service, and leadership. This year, the Lincoln Elementary Girls on the Run team hosted a lemonade stand for the community, with all proceeds and donations benefiting the Women’s Cancer Research Center of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center & Magee-Womens Research Institute. Through their efforts, the girls raised more than $300 to support breast cancer awareness and research.

Each Girls on the Run season concludes with a celebratory 5K event that recognizes the participants’ personal growth, perseverance, and accomplishments throughout the program.

Congratulations to Brent Schlegel on winning the MCBIOS 2026 Young Scientist Excellence Award!

Daniel Brown

Congrats to Brent Schlegel, who won first prize in the Young Scientist Excellence Award competition at the 2026 Mid-South Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Society (MCBIOS) conference, held at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Brent was selected from a pool of 150 competitors, presenting his work on multi-omic profiling of patient-derived breast cancer organoids.