Lab Staff

Ryan Roberts, MD, PhD
Principal Investigator

Ryan D. Roberts, MD, PhD, is a physician for the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a principal investigator for the Center for Childhood Cancer at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and a member of the Translational Therapeutics research program at The James Comprehensive Cancer Center at The Ohio State University.

Dr. Roberts is a graduate of the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Ohio State University and of the Pediatrics Residency and Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and BMT Fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. In 2016, he joined the faculty of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s hospital, building on the research program that he developed as a resident and fellow.

Melissa Sammons
Research Associate
Melissa.Sammons@NationwideChildrens.org

I do the mouse work for Animal Tumor Core, which includes tail vein injections, tumor implantation, drug testing, tumor measuring, Xenogen scanning and more.

John Hinckley
Graduate Research Associate
John.Hinckley@NationwideChildrens.org

I am originally from Chicago, Illinois, and moved to Columbus in July 2016 to begin my first year in the Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) PhD program at The Ohio State University. Our lab is focused on the biology of osteosarcoma, which is the most prevalent bone cancer effecting adolescents. Osteosarcoma is unique because unlike most other cancers it only metastasizes to the lungs. My research is focused on identifying and targeting the tumor-host interactions responsible for this predilection, thereby preventing metastasis.

James Reinecke
Pediatric Resident
James.Reinecke@NationwideChildrens.org

The past 30 years have seen remarkable improvements for many children with cancer. While the total survival rate for pediatric cancer is nearing 80% or greater for some malignancies, the survival rate for solid tumors after metastasis remains dismal. For instance, the survival rate for metastatic osteosarcoma is less than 30%. I am interested in understanding the mechanism underlying the tropism between osteosarcoma cells and lung parenchyma and how this tropism promotes metastatic growth and resistance to chemotherapy.

Sanjana Rajan
Graduate Student

I am from Chennai, which is a coastal city in south India. My current research interest in the lab is understanding intra-tumor heterogeneity and studying tumor-host interactions that drive chemotherapeutic resistance and increased capacity to colonize the lung in osteosarcoma.

Maren Cam
Research Scientist

My research interests include Osteosarcoma research.

Lindsay Ryan
Research Associate
Lindsay.Ryan@NationwideChildrens.org

I was born and raised in Central Ohio and I received my BS from The Ohio State University. My work focuses on creating an inventory of patient derived tumor samples. These samples are not only available for use by researchers within Nationwide Children's Hospital but are also shared with collaborators at other institutions. I am also able to provide technical support and assistance to researchers throughout the Center for Childhood Cancer.

Camille McAloney
Graduate Student
Camille.McAloney@NationwideChildrens.org

I am a veterinary clinical pathology resident and PhD student studying chemoresistant osteosarcoma cells that cause disease recurrence and metastasis. I am passionate about translational medicine and utilizing dogs as a model of spontaneous osteosarcoma.

Amy Gross
Lab Manager
Amy.Gross@NationwideChildrens.org

I am the lab manager for Ryan Robert’s lab where we do osteosarcoma research. I am also the center lab manager for CCCBD which involves maintaining shared equipment and being a point of contact for people in the center in regards to space, equipment and general lab needs.