Welcome to the Sikora Lab Front Range ILC Newsletter
The Sikora Lab was launched in August 2016. Our research group, under the leadership of Principal Investigator Matthew J Sikora, PhD, focuses on invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast (ILC). We strive to create an environment to develop productive, responsible and collaborative members of the scientific community. We welcome the insight and input of Patient Advocates into our research. Since our inaugural ILC outreach event in June 2022, we are growing a Front Range ILC Advocacy group. More to come, sign up for our newsletter. If you’d like to get involved with Front Range ILC, sign up here.
The Sikora Lab
Left to Right: Dr. Sikora, Dr. Maggie Musick (Postdoctoral Fellow), Dr. Joe Sottnik (Research Associate), Maddy Shackleford (Research Services Professional) Not pictured: Michael Boysen (Medical Student)
Sikora Lab Member Profile Madeleine Shackleford, BS; Research Services Professional
Maddy grew up in a small farming town in western Washington. From early on she held an interest in life sciences and biology, whether it was investigating outside the woods, surveying the local sound on a boat, or hanging around the hospital waiting on her sister. This led to her desire to pursue degrees in Cellular, Molecular, and Biological Sciences and Chemistry from the University of Hawaii, and eventually becoming introduced to (and falling in love with) cancer biology via her undergraduate research in the Ko’omoa Lab.
Even though living in Hawai’i was idyllic, Maddy felt she wanted to expand her education and experience in cancer biology and laboratory practices. It was by chance she happened to interview with Dr. Sikora during a visit to the University of Colorado Anschutz and immediately felt drawn to the lab. Over the last 3 years, under the fantastic guidance and coaching of Dr. Sikora and lab manager Dr. Sottnik, Maddy has flourished confidently as a scientist and laboratory explorer, and self-declared Western Blot Queen. She has also developed a significant soft spot for the Wnt ligand WNT4 and studying its impact and importance in breast and ovarian cancers.
When not elbow deep in immunoblots, Maddy enjoys spending her time reading, watching terrible movies and exploring local eateries with her fiancé Troy, hanging out with her cat Po, and attending all the wonderful events Colorado has to offer with friends. She’s looking forward to finally experiencing the winter snow sports and summer hiking she’s heard so much about, and applying to graduate school to obtain an advanced degree aimed toward science education.
Research Funding and Sikora Lab Update
Securing long-term research funding is critical to growing the laboratory, developing transformative research projects, and ultimately establishing the Sikora Laboratory and U. Colorado Cancer Center as nationwide leaders in lobular breast cancer research. This year, Dr. Sikora has secured two major, multi-year, federal grants focused on ILC research, totaling over $1.5 million for lobular breast cancer research in the Sikora Lab over the next 5 years.
The first project, awarded in July 2022, is from the Dept. of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program. This 3-year “Breakthrough” Award entitled “Estrogen-driven breast tumorigenesis in invasive lobular carcinoma” will focus on understanding how and why ILC risk is so uniquely tied to the hormone estrogen. In collaboration with Dr. Julie Ostrander at the U. Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center, we will use human breast cells taken from reduction mammoplasties to understand the process of lobular tumorigenesis, and the interaction between estrogen exposure and ILC genetics. The Sikora Lab has recruited a new postdoctoral associate, Dr. Maggie Musick from Clemson University, to work on this project, and Dr. Musick joined us in September.
The second project, awarded in September 2022, is a research project grant from the National Cancer Institute. This 5-year ‘R01’ grant entitled “MDC1: central regulator of estrogen receptor function and therapy response in lobular carcinoma” will explore how the estrogen receptor cooperates with a unique “partner” molecule in ILC cells – the protein MDC1 – and how this partnership underpins estrogen signaling and therapy response in ILC cells. This project will expand on our 2021 study and help us develop first-in-class treatments specifically targeting ILC biology. With this support, we anticipate recruiting 1-2 new personnel to the lab over the next year.
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