Lab Members

David J. Robbins, Ph.D.

Principal Investigator

Dr. David Robbins is a Professor of Oncology at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center. His research is focused on elucidating the roles Sonic hedgehog (Shh) and Wnt developmental signaling pathways play in cancer. For over 20 years, Dr. Robbins has been an independent investigator and has published over 100 manuscripts on multiple aspects of cancer-related pathways. He obtained a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from UT Southwestern and did his postdoctoral training at UCSF in the field of Cancer Biology.

Professor of Oncology (Pending).
BS in Biochemistry, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Ph.D. in Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Postdoctoral fellow in Cancer Biology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Faculty since 1998.
Ongoing NIH funding: R01CA219189, R01NS110591, R01CA244188 (MPI).
Dr. Robbins is a founder and a Director of Stemsynergy Therapeutics, a company focused on the development of Wnt, Notch and SHH inhibitors.

Current Lab Members

Takele Yazew, DVM, MSc.

Lab Manager

Takele is a research Lab Manager who oversees the entire laboratory setting to promote smooth operation, regulatory compliance, and interaction with other laboratories. He joined our lab in December, 2021. He also works on several bench-science research projects including handling of mouse biopsy samples and cell culture. He earned his master’s degree in molecular biology at University Putra Malaysia in Malaysia and his DVM degree in Veterinary Medicine at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. He is interested in animal research studies. In his free time, Takele enjoys watching soccer games, cooking, and gardening.