Faculty

Ronny Drapkin, MD, PhD

Franklin Payne Professor

Department: Obstetrics and Gynecology

Graduate Group Affiliations

Cell and Molecular Biology

Contact information

University of Pennsylvania
Biomedical Research Building
421 Curie Blvd., Rm. 1215
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Office: 215-746-3973

Email:
rdrapkin@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Publications

Search PubMed for articles

Education:
BA (Biochemistry, Advisor: James Haber, PhD)
Brandeis University, 1990.
PhD (Biochemistry, Advisor: Danny Reinberg, PhD)
Rutgers Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1996.
MD (General Medicine)
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 1998.

Links
Search PubMed for articles
The Drapkin Lab
The BioTrust Collection - the biorepository of the Penn OCRC

Permanent link

> Perelman School of Medicine > Faculty > Details

Description of Research Expertise

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

The Drapkin lab investigates the origins and early evolution of gynecologic cancers, with a primary focus on high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC), the most lethal subtype of ovarian cancer. Our work has helped establish the Fallopian tube epithelium as the principal site of origin for HGSOC, providing a new framework for studying disease initiation, early detection, and prevention.

We use an integrated, multi-scale approach to define the molecular and cellular events that underlie malignant transformation. This includes the development and application of genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs), Fallopian tube–derived cell systems, and patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), coupled with genomic, spatial, and single-cell profiling technologies. Current efforts focus on building a comprehensive pre-cancer atlas of the Fallopian tube, identifying early signaling pathways associated with immune evasion, and defining how the tumor microenvironment—including stromal and neural components—contributes to disease progression.

Our goal is to translate these insights into clinically actionable strategies for early detection, risk stratification, and therapeutic intervention. This work is carried out through close collaboration with clinicians, computational scientists, and industry partners, and is supported by a strong commitment to rigorous experimental design and reproducibility.

We are equally committed to training the next generation of investigators. The lab emphasizes mentorship, intellectual independence, and team science, creating an environment where trainees contribute meaningfully to discovery while developing the skills needed for impactful careers.

KEYWORDS: Ovarian cancer, Fallopian tube, Spatial Multi-Omics Pre-Cancer Atlas, Tumor Microenvironment, Tumor Innervation, Cyclin E, BRCA1/2, DNA Repair, Protein complexes, Master Transcription Factors, Biomarkers, Animal models.

ROTATION PROJECTS:

Rotation projects are open to students in each of the areas the lab focuses on. Please see Ronny Drapkin to discuss potential rotation projects.

LAB PERSONNEL:

Yelena Zhuravlev, PhD, Program Manager
Matthew Knarr, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
Pamela Rojas de Santiago, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
Gabriel Mingo, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
Dusan Racordon, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
Katherine Cummins, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher
Camille Mccallister, MD, Gynecologic Oncology Fellow
Sarah Kimmel, Research Specialist
Sristhi Chowdhury, Penn undergraduate

ADMINISTRATIVE COORDINATOR:

Denise Curley
215-573-9476
denise.curley@uphs.upenn.edu

Selected Publications

de Santiago PR, Sato S, Zhang SJ, Dougher MC, Devins KM, Bilecz AJ, Rayamajhi S, Mingo G, Rendulich HS, Feng Y, Wu C, Taylor MS, Zhuravlev Y, Jung E, Omran DK, Wang TL, Shih IM, Schwartz LE, Kim S, Morgan MA, Tanyi JL, Burns KH, Lengyel E, Parra-Herran C, Godwin AK, Walt DR, Drapkin R.: LINE-1 ORF1p expression occurs in clear cell ovarian carcinoma precursors and is a candidate blood biomarker. NPJ Precis Oncology 9(1): 62, March 2025.

Kader T, Lin JR, Hug CB, Coy S, Chen YA, de Bruijn I, Shih N, Jung E, Pelletier RJ, Lopez Leon M, Mingo G, Omran DK, Lee JS, Yapp C, Satravada BA, Kundra R, Xu Y, Chan S, Tefft JB, Muhlich JL, Kim SH, Gysler SM, Agudo J, Heath JR, Schultz N, Drescher CW, Sorger PK, Drapkin R*, Santagata S*. *co-senior authors: Multimodal Spatial Profiling Reveals Immune Suppression and Microenvironment Remodeling in Fallopian Tube Precursors to High-Grade Serous Ovarian Carcinoma. Cancer Discovery 15(6), June 2025.

Beddows I, Djirackor S, Omran DK, Jung E, Shih NN, Roy R, Hechmer A, Olshen A, Adelmant G, Tom A, Morrison J, Adams M, Rohrer DC, Schwartz LE, Pearce CL, Auman H, Marto JA, Drescher CW*, Drapkin R*, Shen H*. * denotes co-corresponding senior authors: Impact of BRCA mutations, age, surgical indication, and hormone status on the molecular phenotype of the human Fallopian tube. Nature Communications 16(1): 2981, March 2025.

Knarr MJ, Moon J, Rawat P, DiFeo A, Hoon DSB, Drapkin R.: Repurposing colforsin daropate to treat MYC-driven high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas. Science Signaling 17(863): eado8303, Nov 2024.

Reavis HD, Gysler SM, McKenney GB, Knarr M, Lusk HJ, Rawat P, Rendulich HS, Mitchell MA, Berger DS, Moon JS, Ryu S, Mainigi M, Iwanicki MP, Hoon DS, Sanchez LM, Drapkin R.: Norepinephrine induces anoikis resistance in high-grade serous ovarian cancer precursor cells. JCI Insight 9(5): e170961, March 2024.

Taylor MS, Wu C, Fridy PC, Zhang SJ, Senussi Y, Wolters JC, Cajuso T, Cheng WC, Heaps JD, Miller BD, Mori K, Cohen L, Jiang H, Molloy KR, Chait BT, Goggins MG, Bhan I, Franses JW, Yang X, Taplin ME, Wang X, Christiani DC, Johnson BE, Meyerson M, Uppaluri R, Egloff AM, Denault EN, Spring LM, Wang TL, Shih IM, Fairman JE, Jung E, Arora KS, Yilmaz OH, Cohen S, Sharova T, Chi G, Norden BL, Song Y, Nieman LT, Pappas L, Parikh AR, Strickland MR, Corcoran RB, Mustelin T, Eng G, Yilmaz OH, Matulonis UA, Skates SJ, Rueda BR, Drapkin R, Klempner SJ, Deshpande V, Ting DT, Rout MP, LaCava J, Walt DR, Burns KH: Ultrasensitive detection of circulating LINE-1 ORF1p as a specific multi-cancer biomarker. Cancer Discov 13(12): 2532-2547, Dec 2023.

Chaves-Moreira D, Mitchell MA, Arruza C, Rawat P, Sidoli S, Nameki R, Reddy J, Corona RI, Afeyan LK, Klein IA, Ma S, Winterhoff B, Konecny GE, Garcia BA, Brady DC, Lawrenson K, Morin PJ, Drapkin R: The transcription factor PAX8 promotes angiogenesis in ovarian cancer through interaction with SOX17. Science Signaling 15(728): eabm2496, Apr 2022.

Gysler SM, Drapkin R: Tumor innervation: peripheral nerves take control of the tumor microenvironment. J Clin Invest 131(11), Jun 2021.

Labidi-Galy SI, Papp E, Hallberg D, Niknafs N, Adleff V, Noe M, Bhattacharya R, Novak M, Jones S, Phallen J, Hruban CA, Hirsch MS, Lin DI, Schwartz L, Maire CL, Tille JC, Bowden M, Ayhan A, Wood LD, Scharpf RB, Kurman R, Wang TL, Shih IM, Karchin R, Drapkin R*, Velculescu VE*. * Co-senior/corresponding authors: High grade serous ovarian carcinomas originate in the fallopian tube. Nature Communications 8(1): 1093, Oct 2017.

Perets R, Muto KW, Bijron JG, Poole BB, Chin KT, Kwak S, Chen JYH, Karst AM, Setlur SR, Hirsch MS, Crum CP, Dinulescu DM, Drapkin R: Transformation of the fallopian tube secretory epithelium leads to high-grade serous ovarian cancer in Brca;Tp53;Pten models. *Highlighted in Nature Reviews Cancer, Cancer Discovery, and Cancer Research. Cancer Cell 24: 751-65, Dec 2013.