CURRICULUM VITAE NAME: Denarda Dangaj POSITION: PhD Student LABORATORY: Ovarian Cancer Research Center Room 1336, Biomedical Research Building II/III University of Pennsylvania 421 Curie Blvd. Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6160 Phone: 215-898-0165 Email: ddangaj@mail.med.upenn.edu PLACE OF BIRTH: Albania EDUCATION 2007 BS, Molecular Biology & Genetics Molecular Biology and Genetics Democritus University of Thrace Alexandroupolis, Greece POSITIONS AND TRAINING 2008-Present Visiting PhD Student 1.Ovarian Cancer Research Center University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA and 2.Molecular Biology and Genetics Democritus University of Thrace Alexandroupolis, Greece Aug 2007-Dec 2007 Laboratory Trainee Molecular Biology and Genetics Democritus University of Thrace Alexandroupolis, Greece Mar 2007 - July 2007 Undergraduate Diploma Thesis Molecular Biology and Genetics Democritus University of Thrace Alexandroupolis, Greece Mar 2006-Feb 2007 Laboratory Trainee Molecular Biology and Genetics Democritus University of Thrace Alexandroupolis, Greece 1 PRESENTATIONS 2010 Awarded Best Oral presentation, “In vivo blocking of CA125/mesothelin-dependent cell adhesion prevents ovarian cancer peritoneal metastasis”, Dangaj D., Roberts A., Sandaltzopoulos R., Scholler N., CRRWH ObGyn, Annual retreat, University of Pennsylvania, May 19, 2010, Philadelphia, PA. 2010 Poster presentation, “Tumor-released GPI-anchored proteins bind to mannose receptor and polarize tumor-infiltrating macrophages” Dangaj D., Zhao A., Nunez-Cruz S., Sandaltzopoulos R., Scholler N., American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) 101st Annual Meeting 2010, April 17-21, 2010, Washington DC 2010 Poster presentation, “In vivo blocking of CA125/mesothelin-dependent cell adhesion prevents ovarian cancer peritoneal metastasis” Dangaj D., Roberts A., Sandaltzopoulos R., Scholler N., Society of Gynocologic Oncologists (SGO's) 41st Annual Meeting On Women's Cancer, March 14-17, 2010, San Francisco, California, USA 2010 Poster presentation, “Mannose Receptor as a key mediator of the macrophage-tumor chemical crosstalk” Dangaj D., Nunez-Cruz S., Zhao A., Sandaltzopoulos R., Scholler N, 13th Annual Meeting of the Translational Research Cancer Centers Consortium (TRC3)-March 1-2, 2010, Columbus, Ohio, OH 2009 Poster presentation, “Rescue of anti-tumor macrophages using mannose-receptor targeted recombinant antibodies for ovarian cancer therapeutics” Dangaj D., Sandaltzopoulos R., Zhao A., Coukos G. and Scholler N. CRRWH annual retreat, University of Pennsylvania - May 27Philadelphia, PA. 2009 Poster presentation, “Blocking the chemical crosstalk between tumor cells and macrophages with recombinant antibodies to trigger tumor immune rejection.” Dangaj D, Sandaltzopoulos R, Coukos G and Scholler N. Translational Research Cancer Center Consortium conference, University of Pennsylvania- March 6-7- Philadelphia, PA 2007 Oral Presentation- Giannakakis A., Lanitis E., Dangaj D., Galanis A. and R. Sandaltzopoulos. “Functional Genomics for the Identification of Genes Involved in the Recruitment of Lymphocytes in Ovarian Tumours”, 29th Meeting of the Hellenic Society of Biological Sciences, Kavala, Greece. ABSTRACT 2009 "Blocking tumor/macrophages cross-talk with anti-mannose receptor recombinant antibodies to trigger tumor rejection". Denarda Dangaj, Aizhi Zhao, Raphael Sandaltzopoulos, George Coukos and Nathalie Scholler. 2009 NCI Translational Science Meeting (TSM 2), session: Therapeutic Antibodies and Combination Therapies, November 5-7, Vienna, VA. 2 PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS 1. Alex Galanis, Aglaia Pappa, Antonis Giannakakis, Evripidis Lanitis, Denarda Dangaj, Raphael Sandaltzopoulos “Reactive Oxygen Species and HIF-1 Signalling in Cancer”, Review, Cancer Letters 2008 Jul 18;266(1):12-20. 3