In 2019, the Sahin-Toth Laboratory moved from Boston University to UCLA. The lab is helmed by Miklos Sahin-Toth, M.D., Ph.D., a leading pancreatic disease researcher and specialist in chronic pancreatitis.
The Sahin-Toth Laboratory forms a strategic alliance with the Ronald S. Hirshberg Translational Pancreatic Cancer Research Laboratory led by Dr. Guido Eibl in fighting pancreatic diseases. In order to facilitate collaboration, the two laboratories are located next to each other in the MacDonald Research Laboratories building on the UCLA campus. Dr. Sahin-Toth’s primary expertise is the genetic basis of pancreatic diseases, with a focus on hereditary chronic pancreatitis. Since chronic pancreatitis is a major risk factor for pancreatic cancer, Drs. Eibl and Sahin-Toth are committed to elucidating the role of pancreatic inflammation in cancer development and exploring potential interventions that could mitigate inflammation, and thereby reduce cancer risk.
The Sahin-Toth Laboratory is currently supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense, the Garry Shandling Chair in Pancreatic Diseases and the Hirshberg Foundation.
Current Projects:
- Chronic pancreatitis and inflammation as precursors to pancreatic cancer
- Development and characterization of novel models with genetic mutations that elicit pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer
- Mutations in digestive enzymes that cause pancreatitis, either by increasing harmful trypsin activity in the pancreas or causing misfolding of the enzymes produced by the pancreas
- Investigation of the role of inflammation in cancer development and progression
- Therapeutic interventions to inflammation at the preclinical level
Laboratory Director: Miklos Sahin-Toth, M.D., Ph.D.,
- Professor, Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
- Garry Shandling Chair in Pancreatic Diseases, Department of Surgery
- Chair of the Hirshberg Scientific Advisory Board
Current laboratory members
Vera Sahin-Toth, MS
Alexandra Demcsak, MD, PhD
Mate Sandor, MD
Nataly Morales, MS
Siavash Shariatzadeh, MD
Zsanett Jancso, PhD (2019-2021)