PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
W. Nathaniel Brennen
Associate Professor of Oncology, Urology, and Pharmacology & Molecular Sciences
Cancer Invasion & Metastasis and Prostate Cancer Programs
Dr. Brennen earned his Ph.D. with Dr. Samuel R. Denmeade, M.D. from the Pharmacology & Molecular Sciences department in the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (SKCCC) at the Johns Hopkins (JH) School of Medicine (SOM). Subsequently, he did a postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. John T. Isaacs, Ph.D. in the Department of Oncology at the JHSOM and was recruited to the faculty in 2014. He has secondary appointments in Urology and Pharmacology & Molecular Sciences. He is a member of the Genitourinary Oncology and Cancer Invasion & Metastasis programs in the School of Medicine and Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (SKCCC) at the JHSOM, as well as the Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Biotechnology programs in the Bloomberg School of Public Health at JH, and the Chemical & Biomedical Engineering program in the Whiting School of Engineering at JH. His work is translational in nature, and he works closely with clinical colleagues to move his discoveries towards near-term patient applications. He is an active member of the AACR, SBUR, and PCF communities.
I have mentored multiple trainees at all levels of career development from undergraduates through junior faculty. Our overall lab group environment spans diverse cultural, professional, and religious backgrounds. I am committed to providing an inclusive, safe, and supportive research environment for all to conduct ethically sound and responsible scientific research that is rigorous, unbiased, and conforms to the highest standards of practice while promoting each trainee in an effort to fulfill their maximum potential and personalized advancement goals in diverse biomedical fields aligned with their personal skills, interests, and values. I recognize that trainees have diverse career goals that should be respected and fostered through personalized professional development activities. Previous trainees have received fellowships and internships from biotech/pharma companies, which often led them to pursue careers in these sectors. I meet with each trainee formally on a weekly basis, and frequently much more often just in daily interactions in the lab where I review raw data with them, plan experiments, interpret results, troubleshoot, and consider next steps. We also have a weekly lab meeting as well as a weekly group lab meeting comprised of four (4) – seven (7) independent and diverse prostate cancer-focused labs with complementary expertise where we share ideas to “cross-pollinate” and try to build a sense of community and shared purpose towards a common goal.
CURRENT MEMBERS
Susan Dalrymple, BS
Lab Manager & Sr. Research Specialist
Sue received her B.S. degree in Animal Science from the University of Maryland. She began her career at Johns Hopkins in the Animal Resources department. In 1983, she joined the laboratory of Dr. John Isaacs, using animal models to test and develop new therapies for prostate cancer. During this time, she helped many graduate students, medical students, post-docs, and visiting scientists with their work. She worked with Dr. Isaacs until his retirement, when she joined the laboratory of Dr. Nate Brennen, one of those former post-docs. In her spare time, Susan enjoys horseback riding, yoga, visits from her kids, and traveling with her husband.
Sumer Jasmine
Graduate Student in Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences
Sumer was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended Duquesne University where he received a B.S. in Biology. Since joining the Brennen Lab in 2022, Sumer has been investigating LSD1-targeted therapeutic strategies for the treatment of neuroendocrine prostate cancer. Outside the lab, he enjoys art, tennis, and spending time with friends.
Irene Chen
Graduate Student in Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences
Irene completed her undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. There, she worked in Dr. Matthew Buczynski’s lab investigating the role of the N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine Phospholipase D in the biosynthesis of N-acyl-ethanolamine attribution to nociception and affective disorders. She continued her research journey with Dr. Ann Gregus, evaluating spinal 12/15-Lipoxygenase activity in the presence of peripheral inflammation in neuropathic pain-like models. In the Brennen lab, her current research focuses on investigating the role of fibroblast activation protein (FAP) in prostate cancer. Outside of the lab, she enjoys hiking with her dog and going to escape rooms.
Sunghyun (Sung) Kim
Research Specialist
Sung is from Seoul, South Korea. He graduated from University at Buffalo with a degree in Biotechnology and Pharmacology & Toxicology. Then, he studied Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Hopkins for his master’s degree. He joined the lab as a research technician in October 2023. He likes to eat good food, work out in his free time and occasionally travel if possible. While he also loves playing sports like basketball, after injuring his ACL, he had to stop playing. So, he is open to any suggestions for sports that doesn’t involve knee too much!
Tanjina Jahan
Master’s Student in Biotechnology
Tanjina Jahan is working in ChIPseq data analysis of castration-resistant prostate cancer. Skilled in wet lab research and learning programming, she aims to identify resistance pathways by analyzing gene expression in tumors. Tanjina enjoys interdisciplinary research and collaborating across scientific fields.
Kejun Wang
Master’s in Biochemical and Molecular Biology
Kejun is from Hubei, China. He earned his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from University College London (UCL). Currently, he is pursuing a master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Johns Hopkins University. In October 2024, he joined the lab for a rotation, focusing on the expression of the PRX302 protein. Kejun is skilled in molecular biology experiments and is eager to expand his expertise by learning more about mouse-based experimental techniques. In his free time, he enjoys playing with cats, listening to music, and go karaoke with friends.
Cade Bergeron
Graduate Student in Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences
Cade earned his B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he worked in Dr. Steven Jay’s Biotherapeutic Development and Delivery lab. His research focused on developing extracellular vesicles (EVs) as engineered protein therapeutics for applications in wound healing and cardiovascular disease. He worked on enhancing the pro-angiogenic effects of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived EVs through cargo loading with long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Cade joined the Brennen lab in January 2025. Outside of the lab, Cade enjoys golfing, boating, and spending time with friends and family.
ALUMNI
Doga Dalay (2024)
Visiting Medical Student, Islamabad, Turkey
Maleeha Saquib, MD (2023)
Visiting Medical Student, Shifa Collecge of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan
Adel Mandl, MD (2022)
Medical Oncology Fellow, Hungary
Lucille Ebner (2022)
Undergraduate, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Johns Hopkins
Ian Bemis (2022 – 2023)
Research Specialist
Wen Jiang (2018 – 2022)
Graduate Student in Biomedical Engineering
Maria Feliz Noberto (2018)
Undergraduate, JHU CARES program, The City University of New York (CUNY)
Samuel (Sam) Black (2017)
Research Specialist
Lisa van Lierop (2017)
Research Internship, Radboud University Medical Center, Netherlands
Timothy E. G. Krueger (2016 – 2021)
Graduate Student in Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences
Emmanuel Akinboye, PhD (2015 – 2020)
Research Associate
D. Marc Rosen, BS (2014 – 2022)
Sr. Research Specialist (and Frank Zappa enthusiast)
Lizamma Antony, MS (2014 – 2022)
Laboratory Manager and Sr. Research Specialist
Nelleke Kisteman (2014)
Research Internship, Radboud University Medical Center, Netherlands
Anastasia Klimova (2013)
Research Internship, Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Moscow, Russia.
Juliane Weisser (2012)
Research Internship, Molecular Medicine, Freiburg Uniersity, Freiberg, Germany
