University of Pennsylvania · BiologyBarrett's Esophagus Research Laboratory
Sydney Shaffer · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Research Focus
Dr. Sydney Shaffer's lab at the University of Pennsylvania studies Barrett's esophagus, a condition that can lead to esophageal cancer. They focus on understanding how this condition progresses from non-dysplastic to dysplastic stages, which is crucial for developing better diagnostic tools and therapies. By using advanced techniques like single-cell analysis and 3D organoid models, their research aims to uncover the molecular changes that occur during this progression and identify potential targets for intervention.
Barrett's esophagusesophageal adenocarcinomasingle-cell analysisWnt pathwaydysplasiaorganoid models
Research Aims
5AIM 01Identify the early events leading to the transition from non-dysplastic to dysplastic Barrett's esophagus.
AIM 02Investigate the role of the Wnt signaling pathway in dysplasia development.
AIM 03Characterize the clonal evolution of cells in Barrett's esophagus.
AIM 04Develop diagnostic markers for patients at risk of esophageal cancer.
AIM 05Explore new therapeutic targets to prevent progression to late-stage esophageal adenocarcinoma.
Skills the Lab Values
single-cell RNA sequencing3D organoid culturelineage tracingclonal trackingbioinformaticsmolecular biology techniques
Output against the department
Publications91bottom 30% of dept.718th of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations3.7kbottom 29% of dept.736th of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.