Lorraine Davis

PhD Student, Cancer Biology Program

Lorraine’s research is focused on studying mechanisms of drug resistance in myeloma, particularly acquired resistance to immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs). She has established an intracellular protein flow cytometry-based platform to measure the downstream effects of IMiDs in multiple myeloma patient samples to classify how resistance occurs. Lorraine graduated from Seattle University in Cell and Molecular Biology with a minor in Chemistry. Her undergraduate research projects involved the structural/functional characterization of DNA recognition and cleavage specificity in homing endonucleases and developing a next-generation sequencing platform to study how human land use impacts urban carnivores. She also worked as an intern at Seattle Genetics in quantitative pharmacology of antibody-drug conjugates. After graduation, Lorraine joined the Cancer Biology PhD program at CU.

Outside the lab, she enjoys painting and drawing, outdoor water activities, and spending time with friends and family.

Kady Dennis

PhD Student, Cancer Biology Program

For her research, Kady focuses on the myeloma initiating cells present in minimal residual disease (MRD) after successful therapy such as CAR-T cells. She aims to understand how these residual cells escape treatment and lead to eventual disease relapse.

Kady comes to us from Penn State University where she received a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Her undergraduate thesis work examined the mechanism of action of the chemotherapeutic CX-5461. She also worked on a meta-analysis of clinical trials during COVID aimed at re-purposing already approved therapeutics.

Kady spends her free time in Colorado watching movies, reading, baking, exploring the city, and playing with her dog.

Alana Keller

PhD Student, Cancer Biology Program

Alana’s research focuses on immunotherapies for multiple myeloma including bispecific and trispecific T-cell engagers. She began her undergraduate career at the University of West Georgia before transferring to the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill to graduate with a B.S. in Chemistry. During undergrad, Alana studied triple negative breast cancer at UNC-Chapel Hill and pulmonary fibrosis during her time as an AMGEN Scholar at the National Institutes of Health. Before joining the Sherbenou Lab, she worked as a laboratory technician at the UNC HIV Cure Center after undergrad.

In her free time, Alana loves long-distance running, baking, and spending time with friends.

Sarah Parzych

Research Services Professional

Zachary Walker, MB (ASCP)

Laboratory Manager

Zach’s current research is on the development of a new therapeutic drug class for multiple myeloma patients targeting protein translation. Zach is also our lab manager and his technical expertise spans the variety of techniques we use, including multiparameter flow cytometry and in vivo models of myeloma. Prior to coming to the University of Colorado, Zach worked at Northwestern University’s Center for Innovation in Global Health Technologies in Chicago, where he helped develop molecular point-of-care diagnostics for HIV and TB. He received a master’s degree in biology from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, for which he focused on the characterization of bacterial and fungal soil communities.