Madan M. Kwatra, PhD
Principal Investigator
Madan Mohan Kwatra
Associate Professor in Anesthesiology
Associate Professor of Cell Biology
Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Associate Professor of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute

Recent News

Press Release: Kwatra Lab publishes its findings on osimertinib’s efficacy against EGFRvIII+ glioblastoma in preclinical models.
June 23, 2020

Press Release: Dr. Kwatra submits R01 grant to the NCI for his study entitled “Phase II trial of osimertinib in newly diagnosed GBM patients expressing EGFRvIII.”
June 6, 2018

Press Release: Musella Foundation Fellowships for Glioblastoma Drug Development
April 4, 2018

Contact Us

Office: 919-681-4775
Email: 
madan.kwatra@duke.edu

Lab Description

The focus of the Molecular Pharmacology Laboratory is to understand the role of G protein-coupled receptors in human diseases. Our current focus is to examine the role of the Neurokinin-1/substance P receptor and its interactions with receptor tyrosine kinases in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The goal of these translational studies is to develop an effective therapy to halt the growth of GBM. An ongoing side project, which is being conducted in collaboration with several clinicians, is to understand the molecular basis of postoperative delirium.

For additional information on Dr. Kwatra’s lab, please visit https://sites.duke.edu/glioblastoma/

Lab Members

Gabby Braun
Research Assistant

Gustavo Chagoya, MD
Neurosurgery resident at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

Justin Choi
Research Assistant

Cole Davis
Research Assistant

Cory Nanni
Senior Researcher and Lab Manager

Leora Mazumdar
Research Assistant

Jaimie McKeel
Research Assistant

Meghan Miller
Research Assistant

Callie Roberts
Research Assistant

Collaborators

Glenn Lesser, MD
Professor of Hematology and Oncology at the Wake Forest School of Medicine

Shawn Kwatra, MD
Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Advisors

Al Musella
President and founder of the Musella Foundation For Brain Tumor Research & Information, Inc

Lab Alumni

Sarah Nullmeyer
Madison Krischak
Kristine Brown
Gustavo Chagoya
Timothy Yen
Sarah Corin
Caroline Schanche
Bradley Cahn

Selected Publications

  1. Brown KB, Chagoya G., Kwatra SG, Yen T, Keir ST, Hoadley KA, Charles M. Perou, Ahmed Rasheed, Francis Ali-Osman, John H. Sampson, Darell D. Bigner, Madan M. Kwatra (2014). Patient-derived xenografts maintain the proteomic profile of human glioblastoma: Implications for personalized drug development. Journal of Neurochemistry.
  2. Brown et al. (2013) Subtype-specific expression of the truncated neurokinin-1 receptor in glioblastoma multiforme. Neuro-oncology 15: abstract # CB-009.
  3. Brown et al.(2012) Neurokinin-1 Receptor: A potential target to inhibit pediatric glioblastoma. Neuro-oncology 14: abstract # CB-51.
  4. Kwatra M, et al. (2011) Truncated Neurokinin-1 Receptor: Expression in Primary Glioblastoma and Realtionship with Patient Survival. Neuro-oncology 13: abstract # OM-28.
  5. Akazawa T, Kwatra SG, Goldsmith LE, Richardson MD, Cox EA, et al. (2009) A constitutively active form of neurokinin 1 receptor and neurokinin 1 receptor-mediated apoptosis in glioblastomas. J Neurochem 109: 1079-1086.