Joel T. Gabre, MD

I use novel 3D organoid cultures to study esophageal development and esophageal adenocarcinoma. I first became interested in the molecular basis of gastrointestinal malignancies as a resident physician in the lab of Yana Zavros, PhD at the University of Cincinnati where I learned advanced 3D cell culture techniques to model gastric metaplasia and gastric carcinogenesis. I also introduced and helped develop a protocol to use patient-derived 3D gastric cancer organoids for personalized medicine. Given this interest and experience in metaplasia and 3D organoid cultures, I joined the lab of Dr. Anil K. Rustgi, Director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) at Columbia University.

I have focused on using 3D esophageal organoids to study mechanisms of cellular plasticity and trans-differentiation. In particular, I seek to understand conserved developmental pathways re-activated during metaplasia using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived esophageal organoids. I have also continued to use patient-derived organoids from patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma for personalized medicine.

I have been recruited to join Dr. Rustgi as an Instructor of Medicine in the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases at Columbia while I continue as a trainee in his laboratory. The unique opportunities for collaboration with investigators in related domains of esophageal epithelial biology at Columbia make it an ideal environment for my interests in metaplasia and 3D organoid cultures for personalized medicine.