MEET THE TEAM

Anthony Faber, Ph.D. 

Anthony Faber obtained his B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Rhode Island and his M.A. in Biology from Boston University. He then went on to get his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from Boston College. After completing his Ph.D., he did work as a Research Fellow for cancer therapeutics at the Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School from 2007-2012 until he transitioned into an Instructor in Medicine there.

Dr. Faber started at VCU in 2014 and is currently a professor at the Philips Institute for Oral Health Research in the Department of Oral and Craniofacial Molecular Biology.

Konstantinos Floros, Ph.D. – Assistant Professor 

• B.S. in Chemistry, University of Athens, Greece
• Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Athens, Greece

A substantial portion of Kostas’ research is dedicated to finding therapeutic interventions for high-risk neuroblastoma (NB). More specifically, he is investigating novel combinations of drugs with ferroptosis inducers for the treatment of MYCN-amplified NB. He is also seeking new targeted therapies for synovial sarcoma and other rare cancers that depend on BAF complex impairments for survival. In this context he explores how posttranslational modifications (e.g. SUMOylation) regulate the function of the BAF complexes and the epigenome and affect the sensitivity of specific types of cancer to standard of care treatments.

Selected publications
1. Floros KV, et al. Targeting SUMOylation promotes cBAF complex stabilization and disruption of the SS18::SSX transcriptome in Synovial Sarcoma, Nat Commun. 2025 Nov 5;16(1):9761.

2. Floros KV, et al. Targeting transcription of MCL-1 sensitizes HER2-amplified breast cancers to HER2 inhibitors, Cell Death Dis. 2021 Feb15;12(2):179.9.

3. Floros KV, et al. MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma is addicted to iron and vulnerable to inhibition of the system Xc-/glutathione axis, Cancer Res. 2021 Apr 1;81(7):1896-1908.

4. Floros KV, et al. Co-amplification of miR-4728 protects HER2-amplified breast cancers from targeted therapy, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (direct submission). 2018 Mar 13;115(11): E2594-E2603.

5. Lochmann TL, Floros KV, et al. Venetoclax Is Effective in Small-Cell Lung Cancers with High BCL-2 Expression, Clin. Cancer Res. 2018 Jan 15;24(2): 360-369.

6. Renault TT#, Floros KV#, et al. Mitochondrial shape governs BAX-induced membrane permeabilization and apoptosis, Molecular Cell. 2015 Jan 8; 57(1): 69-82 (# Co-first author).

Ronald Hill – Ph.D. student

• B.A. in Biology, Randolph-Macon
• M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, UMB School of Pharmacy

Research focused primarily on characterizing a novel drug specifically for High-Risk Neuroblastoma. Some of the research also includes cancer drug resistance and targeted therapies for subsets of neuroblastoma.

Victor Kehinde – Ph.D. student

• B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland

Previously conducted research focused on the synthesis of nanoparticles for drug delivery and colon tissue modeling, influencing his decision to pursue a Ph.D. to contribute to research that can advance the development of new therapeutics.

Jamie Slaughter – Research Technician 

• B.S. in Biology, Longwood University

Assists lab members with a variety of projects and helps with inventory, communication, and technical support around the lab.

Yanli Xing – Ph.D. student

• B.S. in Nursing, Bengbu Medical University
• M.S  in Surgery, Anhui Medical University

Focused on molecular-targeted drug therapy and combination strategies for HPV-associated Head and Neck Squamous Cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Exploring the mechanisms of pivotal oncogene inhibitors in HNSCCs to guide clinical development in this field and ultimately the morality associated with head and neck cancers.