photo of Libermann, Towia A

Towia A Libermann, PhD

Principal Investigator
Interdisciplinary Medicine and Biotechnology
Contact Information
Office:   RN-0380C
Phone:   617-667-0760
Fax:   617-667-0891
Email:   tliberma@bidmc.harvard.edu
Address:    330 Brookline Ave; RN-0380C
 Boston, MA 02215
Advanced Degree And Training
Year Institution Area or Rank
1986 Weizmann Institute of Science and Technology Immunology
1986 Biotechnology Research Center Rorer Senior Investigator
1987 Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Postdoctoral fellow
1990 BIDMC Instructor
1992 BIDMC Assistant Professor
2000 BIDMC Associate Professor
Research Lab Team Members
   Simon Dillon PhD Xuesong Gu PhD    
Areas of Interest
1 Cancer      
Major Research Theme
Summary: Dr. Libermann is the director of the BIDMC Genomics Center and of the DF/HCC Cancer Proteomics Core, which provide core assistance to medical center investigators in the use of various proteomics, genomics and bioinformatics technologies.
The Libermann laboratory focuses on both basic science and translational research with a particular focus on genomics and proteomics Systems Biology approaches to human disease. The laboratory is applying various cutting edge technologies for proteomics, transcriptional profiling and genotyping in order to define and compare protein and gene profiles and genomic DNA in kidney, ovarian, prostate, liver and breast cancer tissues and bodily fluids, correlate protein and gene profiles and mutations with biological activities and disease, define disease mechanisms at a molecular level and predict clinical outcome and response to therapy. Additional interests of the lab are to dissect the molecular mechanisms of drug action in order to rationally design combination therapies for cancer, understanding escape from programmed cell death in cancer cells and the role of Ets transcription factors in cancer. New efforts to develop novel proteomics methods for biomarker discovery and validation are in progress.

Discovery and validation of biomarkers and therapeutic targets in renal cell cancer
Renal Cell Cancer (RCC) is the most lethal of the urological cancers.  Despite numerous recent advances in diagnostic imaging, surgical therapy and basic molecular understanding there is still a considerable number of patients suffering and dying from metastatic disease.
The recent development of novel targeted therapies based on the precise biological pathways deregulated in a particular patient has paved the way for individualized, targeted patient management. Nevertheless, to achieve this goal it is of utmost importance to delineate the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer development and progression. Genomics and proteomics approaches have revolutionized the field of cancer research and have led to rapid discovery of multiple, parallel disease hypotheses that ultimately have to be validated in large cohorts of patients and in downstream biological experiments for translation into clinical applications.
The variable course of RCC and paucity of therapeutic options in the event of metastasis have led to the search for diagnostic and prognostic markers. The Libermann laboratory is using microarrays and mass spectrometry to classify different subtypes of RCC and to identify subtype- and metastasis-specific gene and protein signatures and biomarkers predictive for outcome and response to therapy. The effort is also focusing on identifying and validating emerging biological pathways underlying RCC development and progression and novel drug targets for therapeutic intervention. The goal is to improve management of patients with RCC by identifying the precise disease mechanisms for each individual patient and to devise targeted therapies.

Systems biology of renal cell cancer
Delineation of the genome and proteome has become the new frontier in many research areas including cancer as the result of completion of the human genome sequencing. In depth understanding of the cancer genome and proteome promises to solve many biological and clinical questions and is, therefore, considered an enabling and critical approach in cancer research and clinical investigation. Furthermore, each of these approaches may generate thousands of data points that require sophisticated bioinformatics and biostatistics analysis. It is becoming apparent that only if we understand the complexities of interactions of the genome and proteome within cells and in the extracellular compartments, will we be able to model the complex biological pathways in cancer. In particular in the context of cancer, mutations, deletions and fusions of proteins play central roles in the development and progression as well as response to therapy of cancer. Furthermore, deregulations of kinases, phosphatases, proteases, glycosidases, acetylases as well as various other protein modifying enzymes lead to complex, cancer-specific protein modifications.
Genomics analyses of renal cell cancer (RCC) by the Libermann laboratory and others have revealed a variety of biological pathways and multiple specific gene sets that are deregulated in RCC, providing ample opportunities for validation and eventual targeted therapies against validated targets. However, in order to prioritize potential drug targets and to understand the biological and physiological consequences of disrupting the activity of a specific gene, it is necessary to carefully dissect the biological pathways of deregulated genes. The Libermann laboratory is applying a systems biology approach to systematically analyze the relevance of different genes and biological pathways and delineate the molecular mechanisms for RCC development and progression by combining genomic and proteomic approaches with gene knock-down and overexpression studies in cell culture and animal models as well as patient cohorts of RCC. A particular effort focuses on the role of tyrosine kinases in RCC.

Identification of early detection and prognostic biomarkers in ovarian cancer
Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is a major cause of gynecologic cancer mortality. Most patients present with advanced disease that is managed with surgical cytoreduction, followed by postoperative chemotherapy. Standard chemotherapy with carboplatin in combination with a taxane results in an initial response rate of over 70%, although subsequent relapse frequently occurs and eventually becomes resistant to a wide variety of agents. Consequently, the long-term survival of patients with upper abdominal involvement (stage III) or those with disease beyond the abdomen (stage IV) ranges from 30% to less than 10%. Traditional clinical factors are reasonable but imperfect measures of outcome and response to therapy.  While individual molecular markers carry some predictive and prognostic value, they have not by themselves been proven to be accurate enough for clinical application, suggesting that no single factor can serve as a surrogate for the complex genetic changes associated with tumor growth and response to chemotherapy.
Similarly, the etiology of ovarian cancer is not yet well understood, despite the low 5-year survival of this disease.  Relatively few plasma biomarkers have been examined in relation to ovarian cancer risk, and discovery of new protein risk factors has evolved slowly.  However new genomic and proteomic technologies now permit the simultaneous evaluation of the whole genome or proteome.
The Libermann laboratory is collaborating with S. Cannistra and S. Hankinson (Harvard School of Public Health) on identification and validation of gene and protein biomarkers for outcome, response to chemotherapy and early detection of ovarian cancer using ovarian cancer tumor tissue and serum in microarray and mass spectrometry based experiments. Gene signatures for outcome and chemoresponse were identified and the clinical relevance of specific biomarkers and biological pathways will now be validated to gain insight into the genetic, genomic and proteomic changes that are involved in ovarian cancer development, progression and response to therapy.

Early detection biomarkers for liver cancer
Hepatitis C is the commonest cause of chronic hepatitis in the United States and approximately 20 � 30% of patients with HCV will progress to cirrhosis and advanced fibrosis. Once HCV cirrhosis has developed patients are at risk for liver decompensation and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at a variable rate of 2 � 7% per year. The national incidence of HCC is rising in the US and current screening practices of ultrasonography and tumor markers such as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) are less than optimal for the early detection of HCC. In collaboration with N. Afdhal the Libermann laboratory utilizes cutting edge proteomics approaches to identify novel serum biomarkers that may be used for the early diagnosis of HCC. The overall goal is to develop better serological screening algorithms for HCC in patients with HCV cirrhosis and chronic liver diseases of any etiology. Biomarkers identified by the proteomic approach will then be validated by multiplex proteomics approaches to determine their potential clinical utility for the early non-invasive diagnosis and screening of HCC in at risk populations.

Molecular mechanisms of anti-cancer drugs
An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), at clinically tolerable concentrations, are effective in the treatment of several types of cancer. NSAIDs have been shown to reduce cancer proliferation and induce cancer apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Nevertheless, the mechanisms of apoptosis induction are poorly understood and more studies are needed to fully elucidate the molecular and biochemical pathways of NSAID-induced apoptosis. The Libermann laboratory has started to dissect the molecular mechanisms involved in the apoptosis induction by various NSAIDs using genomics approaches to identify the biological pathways and genes that mediate the pro-apoptotic effect. The pro-apoptotic cytokine IL-24 and the GADD45 family were identified as critical mediators of NSAID-induced apoptosis in various types of cancer and further studies are elucidating the IL-24 pathway of apoptosis in detail. Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in apoptosis induction by a panel of NSAIDs will be the first step in a systematic survey of NSAIDs with regard to their abilities to inhibit cancer growth and their particular mechanism of action and will provide opportunities for a rational design of new combination treatment modalities in cancer.

Ets transcription factor translocations and deregulations in prostate cancer and other cancers
The Libermann laboratory has focused for many years on the Ets family of transcription factors and has identified and characterized a set of new, epithelial-specific Ets factors whose roles in prostate cancer and other cancers is being explored.
A major breakthrough for prostate cancer (PCa) was the identification of recurrent fusions between an androgen regulated gene (TMPRSS2) and at least three Ets transcription factors (ERG, ETV4 and ETV1) in up to 80% of primary and metastatic PCa patients, which placed the Ets factors under androgen stimulated regulation of TMPRSS2. Nevertheless, the functional consequences of these translocations for PCa are unknown, necessitating not only the search for drugs that inhibit their activities, but also a systematic approach to define their functions in PCa development and/or progression. The hypothesis is that Ets factor translocations play an essential role in PCa development and progression and a systematic analysis of the biological functions and molecular mechanisms of these Ets factors in PCa will provide new opportunities to target these factors or their affected biological pathways. The Libermann laboratory is trying to understand the role and biological relevance of Ets factor translocations in PCa. The laboratory uses various state-of-the-art technologies including RNA interference, genomics, proteomics, cell based assays and animal models to elucidate the pathophysiological consequences of Ets protein dysregulation in prostate cancer.

Innovative proteomics methods for biomarker discovery and validation
Proteomics approaches for biomarker discovery are notoriously unreliable due to low inter- and intra-experimental reproducibility. Furthermore, the broad dynamic range of protein expression in serum and other bodily fluids or tissues is another major challenge to identify low abundant biomarkers. The Libermann laboratory has initiated a novel multiplexed quantitative proteomics approach to identify and validate biomarkers in plasma and other bodily fluids that combines multidimensional protein and peptide fractionation, immunoaffinity enrichment, isobaric labeling for protein quantitation and mass spectrometry. The goal is to develop a new platform that is able to quantitate multiple biomarkers in multiple samples with high throughput, high sensitivity and high reproducibility.
External Recognition
Major Administrative Responsibilities:

Local
Year               Name of Committee                            Role                     Institution
1992-1996       Immunology Seminar Series                     Organizer              Beth Israel                                            
                                                                             Deaconess Medical
                                                                             Center
1997-2003       Bone and Joint Seminar Series              Organizer              Beth Israel                                            
                                                                             Deaconess Medical
                                                                             Center
1999-              BIDMC Genomics Center                     Director              Beth Israel                                            
                                                                             Deaconess Medical
                                                                             Center

1999              Tolerance Pharmaceuticals, Inc.              Founder and              Beth Israel                                            
                                                        Scientific Advisor       Deaconess Medical
                                                                             Center
2000              NIDDK Biotechnology Center              Director              Beth Israel                                            
                                                                             Deaconess Medical
                                                                             Center
2001              Cardion                                   Scientific Advisor
                                                        and Share Holder
2002-              Frontiers in Functional Genomics,               Organizer              Beth Israel
Proteomics and Bioinformatics                                    Deaconess Medical
Seminar Series                                                 Center
2004-              DF/HCC Cancer Proteomics Core              Director              Beth Israel                                            
                                                                             Deaconess Medical
                                                                             Center
2005              TBK Pharmaceuticals                            Founder and             
                                                        Scientific Advisor      
2006-              Center for Individualized Medicine              Co-Director              Beth Israel                                            
                                                                             Deaconess Medical
                                                                             Center
2007              AOC Committee for residents projects for         Reviewer              Beth Israel
area of concentration (AOC) time                                    Deaconess Medical
                                                 Center
2007              Breast Cancer SPORE Developmental        Reviewer              Dana Farber/
Pilot Projects                                                        Harvard Cancer
                                                 Center
                                                              
National
Year               Name of Committee                            Role                     Institution
1996-1998       Molecular Biology/Genetics Study Section       Reviewer              Arthritis Foundation
2008              AAAS Maine Technology Asset Fund       Reviewer              AAAS


Government
Year               Name of Committee                            Role                     Institution
1992              Grants for Brain Tumor Research              Ad Hoc Reviewer       NIH-NINDS
1997              NSF                                          Ad Hoc Reviewer       NSF
1998              RFA for Euglycemia                            Reviewer              NIH-NIDDK
2001              NIDDK Biotechnology Center              Reviewer              NIH-NIDDK
2001              Environmental Health Science Center,        Reviewer              NIH-NIEHS
University of Cincinnati
2002              RFA for DNA Microarray Facilities              Reviewer              NIH-NHLBI
2003              Program Project Grant, Charleston, SC       Reviewer              NIH-NCI
2003              NCCAM Centers Program                     Reviewer              NIH-NCCAM
2004              NIH Roadmap                                   Reviewer              NIH
2004              Program Project Grant, Charleston, SC       Reviewer              NIH-NCI
2005              ZRG-1 MOSS D13 for small business       Reviewer              NIH
              grant applications
2005              Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology       Reviewer              NIH-NCI
              Study Section (MCE)
2005, 2006       Development of methods for in vivo              Reviewer              NIH-NCI
              imaging and bioengineering research
Study Section (ZRG1)
2006              Subcommittee A – Cancer Centers              Reviewer              NIH-NCI
              NCI Initial Review Group
NCI-A RTRB-H (L1)
2006              NCI Renal Cancer Biomarkers Workshop       Member              NIH-NCI
2007              Cellular & Tissue Biology Special              Reviewer              NIH-NCI
              Emphasis Panel
2007, 2008       Basic Mechanisms of Cancer Therapeutics       Reviewer              NIH-NCI
              Study Section (BMCT)
2007              Diabetes Endocrinology Research Centers       Reviewer              NIH-NIDDK
              & Diabetes Research and Training Centers
Special Emphasis Panel


International:
Year               Name of Committee                            Role                     Institution
1986       Research Grants of The Sir                      External Reviewer       The Sir Mortimer B.
Mortimer B. Davis-Jewish General                                   Davis-Jewish
Hospital                                                        General Hospital,
                                                        Montreal, Canada
1998, 1999,        Research Grants of the Flanders Foundation        External Reviewer       Flanders Foundation
2001              for Scientific Research, Belgium                                   for Scientific
                                                               Research, Belgium
2002              Large Scale Project Grants for              External Reviewer       Genome Canada
              Genome Canada
2003              Arthritis Research Campaign                     External Reviewer       Chesterfield, UK
2004              Large Scale Project Grants for              External Reviewer       Genome Canada
              Genome Canada
2007              President of Ireland Young Researcher       External Reviewer       Science
              Award                                                               Foundation of
                                                                             Ireland
2007              Research Grant                            External Reviewer       Israel Science
                                                                             Foundation
2007              Project Grant                                   External Reviewer       Cancer Research
                                                                             UK
2007              Research Hospital Fund Large-Scale              External Reviewer       Canada Foundation
              Institutional Endeavours Competition                            for Innovation
                                                                             Canada



Major Committee Assignments:
Local:
Year               Name of Committee                            Role                     Institution
1992-              Thesis Defenses                            Member              Harvard Medical
                                                                             School             
1999-              Harvard Cancer Center,                     Member              Harvard Medical
              Prostate Cancer Program                                          School
1999-              Harvard Cancer Center,                     Member              Harvard Medical
              Breast Cancer Program                                          School
2001              Angiogenesis, Invasion and Metastasis       Member              Harvard Medical
              program                                                        School
2002-              Thesis Committee                            Member              Harvard Medical
                                                                             School      
2003              Thesis Committee                            Member              HST/MIT
2003-              HST PhD Admission Committee              Member              HST/MIT
2003-              Womens Health Research Community       Affiliated              Harvard Medical
                                                        Investigator              School
2003-              Harvard Cancer Center,                     Member              Harvard Medical
              Renal Cancer Program                                          School
2004              Core Planning Committee                     Member              Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical
Center
2004-              Harvard Cancer Center,                     Member              Harvard Medical
              Ovarian Cancer Program                                          School
2004-              Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center,              Member              Harvard Medical
              Scientific Council                                                 School
2005-              Planning Committee, Center for              Member              Beth Israel
              Individualized Medicine                                          Deaconess Medical
Center
2007-              Renal Cancer SPORE Governance              Member              Harvard Medical                                            
              Committee                                                        School
2008-              Cancer Genetics Program                     Member              Beth Israel
                                                                             Deaconess Medical
Center


National:
Year               Name of Committee                            Role                    
2003               BioArrays 2003, New York, NY              Organizing Committee
2005              IBC’s Global Conference on Early               Organizing Committee
Efficacy Assessment for Chronic Diseases,
Boston, MA


International:
Year               Name of Committee                            Role                     Institution
2003              Thesis Defense                            Examiner              Monash University,
                                                                             Victoria, Australia
                                  
Professional Societies:
Year              Society                                   Role
1994-              American Society for Microbiology              Member
1995-1998       American Diabetes Association              Member
1996-1999       Association of Immunologists              Member
1997-              American Association for the                     Member
Advancement of Science
2004-              American Society for Biochemistry &       Member
Molecular Biology
2005-              American Association for Cancer Research       Member
2005-              Proteome Society                            Member
2005-              Protein Society                            Member
2005-              Gerson Lehrman Group Healthcare               GLG Scholar
              Council
2005-              HUPO                                          Member


Journal Review and Editorial Boards:
1990-       Ad hoc reviewer for New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Oncogene, Biochemical Journal, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Human Gene Therapy, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Urological Research, Journal of Virology, International Journal of Cancer, Neoplasia, Journal of Proteome Research, Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, Apoptosis, Blood, European Journal of Cancer, BMC Molecular Biology, Journal of Pathology, The American Journal of Pathology, Physiological Genomics, Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine

2006-       Faculty Member, Faculty of 1000 Medicine, Oncology, Section of Genitourinary Cancers
2006-       Editor-in-Chief, Drug Targets Insights, Journal, Libertas Academica Publisher
2007-       Associate Editor, Cancer Research, Journal, AACR
2008       Editor-in-Chief, Open Proteomics Journal, Journal, Bentham Science Publishers




Awards and Honors:
Year              Name of Award
1983       UICC-International Cancer Research Technology Transfer (ICRETT) Fellowship
1984       Feinberg Graduate School Award for achievements in Ph.D. studies
1985       Leukemia Society of America Fellowship
1995       American Diabetes Association Research Award
1996       Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Research Award
1997, 1998       The Brain Tumor Society Research Award and The Alexis A. Boss Chair of Research
1998              CaP CURE Research Award
2007              Prostate Cancer Foundation Research Award

Regional, National, or International Contributions
a.       Invited Presentation
1983-              multiple lectures at EMBL, Heidelberg; German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg; The Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York; New York University Medical Center, New York; Max Planck Institute, Tuebingen; University of Uppsala, Uppsala; University of San Francisco; University of Geneva, Geneva; Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, Epalinges; NIH, Bethesda; Wistar Institute, Philadelphia; Merck, Montreal; American Cyanamid, New Jersey; Ely Lilly, Indianapolis
1984              invited lecture
International Symposium on Mode of action of growth factors, Paris, France
1985              invited lecture
International Symposium on Applied Immunology, Axams, Austria
1985              invited lecture
Symposium of the Israeli Society for Microbiology on Oncogenes and Cancer, Rehovot, Israel
1986              session chairman, invited lecture
First International Congress on Cancer and Hormones, Rome, Italy
1986              invited lecture
Third International Symposium on Local Immunity, Paris, France
1988              invited lecture
Ares-Serono Symposium: International Meeting of Endocrinology under 35, Florence, Italy
1988-              multiple lectures at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital, Center for Blood Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston University Medical Center, New England Medical Center, Dana Farber Cancer Institute
1993              invited lecture
Keystone Symposium on Transcription Factors, Regulation and Differentiation, Keystone, Colorado
1993              invited lecture
Symposium of the Brazilian Immunological Society, Sao Paulo, Brazil
1996              invited lecture
American Association of Immunologists, New Orleans, Louisiana
1998               Endocrine Grand Round
Boston University
1998              invited lecture
BIDMC Cancer Center Retreat, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
1993, 1998       invited lectures
University of Sao Paulo, Federal University of Rio De Janeiro, and INCA, Rio de Janeiro
1999              invited lecture
International conference on gene therapy and molecular biology and medicine, Agia Pelagia, Crete, Greece
1999              invited lecture
CaP CURE Sixth Annual Scientific Retreat, Incline Village, Nevada
2000              invited lecture
MICROMAX-6 months later, Boston, Molecular Diagnostics Meets Therapeutics
2001              invited lecture
Genomic approaches to human disease, Boston, Massachusetts
2001              invited lecture
Chips to Hits 2001, San Diego, California
2001              invited lecture
American Society of Nephrology, San Francisco, California
2002              session chairman, invited lecture
Molecular Diagnostics Meets Therapeutics, Boston,  Massachusetts
2002              invited lecture
Biomicrotechnology Business Summit, San Francisco, California
2002              invited lecture
Affymetrix 1st Annual Core Directors Symposium, New York, New York
2003              session chairman, invited lecture
First Annual Melanoma Research Congress, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2003              invited lecture
Macroresults for Microarrays: An Array of Possibilities, Boston,  Massachusetts
2003              invited lecture
American Transplant Congress, Washington, DC
2003              invited lecture
Affymetrix User Group Meeting, San Diego, California
2003              invited lecture
6th World Congress on Inflammation, Vancouver, Canada
2003              invited lecture
Prostate Cancer SPORE Retreat, Newport, RI
2003              Scientific advisor, session chairman, invited lecture
BioArrays 2003, New York, NY
2003              invited lecture
XXV Annual meeting of the ISHR, Mystic, CT
2003              invited lecture
3rd International human tissues for drug discovery through preclinical research, Boston, MA
2004              invited lecture
12th SPORE Investigators’ Workshop, Baltimore, MD
2004              invited lecture
Keystone Symposium on NF-kappaB, Snowbird, UT
2004              invited participant
10th Prouts Neck Prostate Cancer Meeting, Prouts Neck, ME
2004              invited lecture
Renal and Prostate Cancer SPORE Retreat, Newport, RI
2004              invited lecture      
Center for Faculty Development Course, “Achieving academic success on the Investigator Criteria: A review of the process and advice for scientists”, Boston, MA
2005              Scientific advisor, session chairman, invited lecture
IBC’s Global Conference on Early Efficacy Assessment for Chronic Diseases, Boston, MA
2005              invited lecture
Ciphergen User’s Meeting, Newport, RI
2005              invited lecture
Early Stage Life Sciences Conference, Boston, MA
2005              invited lecture
Proteome Society Meeting, Cambridge, MA
2005              invited lecture
Research for Residents Course, Boston, MA
2005              invited lecture
Center for Faculty Development Leadership Course, Cambridge, MA
2005              invited lecture             
Center for Faculty Development Course, “Achieving academic success on the Investigator Criteria: A review of the process and advice for scientists”, Boston, MA
2006              invited plenary lecture, session chairman
Microarrays in Medicine, Boston, MA
2006              invited lecture
Regional Renal Cancer Symposium: Recent Advances in the Biology and Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma, Boston, MA
2006              invited lecture
Innovations and Challenges in Renal Cancer, Cambridge, MA
2006              invited lecture
WEST Showcase 2006, Boston, MA
2006              invited lecture
American Society of Nephrology, San Diego, CA
2006              invited lecture
16th Annual Irwin M. Arias, MD, Symposium on „Bridging
Basic Science and Liver Disease”, Boston, MA
2006              invited lecture
NCI Renal Cancer Biomarkers Workshop, Bethesda, MD
2007              invited lecture
3rd USHUPO Meeting, Seattle, WA
2007              invited Presenter
Prostate Cancer Foundation Fourteenth Scientific Retreat, Incline Village, Nevada
2007              invited Presenter
IMPACT Innovative Minds in Prostate Cancer Today DOD-CDMRP, Atlanta, Georgia
2007              invited discussant
Beyond genomics: The latest in proteomics and metabolomics for population research, Boston, MA
2008              invited lecture
Bio-IT World Conference and Expo, Boston, MA
2008              invited lecture
GOT Summit: Ninth Annual Microarrays in Medicine, Boston, MA
2008              invited lecture
GOT SAummit: Proteomics Tools for Diagnostics, Boston, MA
2008              invited lecture
4th Annual Advances in Microarray Technology Conference, Barcelona, Spain
2008              invited lecture
Ets transcription factor Symposium, Boston, MA
2008              invited lecture
Tri-institutional Prostate Cancer Program Retreat, Newport, RI
2008              invited lecture
44th EASD Annual Meeting, Rome, Italy



b. Professional and Educational Leadership Role
1986
The Catholic University of America, Washington D. C.
Oncogene course
Instructor
2001
IBC Scientific Advisory Board
Molecular Diagnostics Meets Therapeutics Conference
Organizer
2005
IBC Scientific Advisory Board
Global Conference on Early Efficacy Assessment for Chronic Diseases
Organizer

Major Collaborative Activities
As director of the BIDMC Genomics Center and director of the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Proteomics Core we have established major collaborative studies with investigators at all major Harvard associated institutions including among others Lew Cantley, Brad Lowell, Olivier Kocher, Glen Rosen, William Aird, Frank Sellke,Ananth Karumanchi, Aria Olumi, Nezam Afdhal, Peter Oettgen, Alan Rigby, Mary Goldring, Steven Cannistra, Andrew Keates, Alex Toker, Vikas Sukhatme, Terry Strom, Bing Lim, Harold Dvorak, Jeffrey Flier, Jinrong Zhou,and Barbara Kahn at the BIDMC, with Charles Stiles, Jerry Ritz, Ken Anderson and Constantine Mitsiades at DFCI, with Isaac Kohane, Judah Folkman, Asher Schachter and Peter Hauschka at Childrens Hospital, with Susan Hankinson at the Channing LAboratory, and with Alice Brown, Ravi Thadhani, and Michael Detmar at the MGH. As a director of the DF/HCC Cancer Proteomics Core DF/HCC investigators from all major Harvard institutions are performing their cancer proteomics studies at the BIDMC Genomics Center.
Investigator's Lab Web Site
Research Lab URL     Libermann Research Lab
Harvard Catalyst Site:     Libermann Harvard Catalyst Web Site