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Anushka Dongre, PhD

Anushka Dongre, PhD

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Assistant Professor

Dongre Lab

Department of Biomedical Sciences
Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
T7 012A Veterinary Research Tower, Box 17
Ithaca, NY 14853-6401

Phone: 607-253-2197
Fax: 607-253-4447
Email: ad789@cornell.edu

Research Interest

Although immune checkpoint blockade therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, a subset of tumors, such as those of the breast, are still largely unresponsive. The Dongre Lab is focused on understanding mechanisms that can potentiate the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade therapy in the context of poorly responding tumors. We specifically focus on understanding how the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), a cell-biological process that is associated with metastatic dissemination, contributes to immunosuppression and resistance to checkpoint blockade immunotherapies in the context of breast carcinomas.

We have observed that the residence of carcinoma cells in distinct cell biological states (epithelial versus quasi-mesenchymal) directly impacts their susceptibility to anti-tumor immune attack and elimination by checkpoint blockade immunotherapies. Specifically, while epithelial tumors are highly sensitive to such therapies, mesenchymal tumors are resistant to the same. Moreover, a minority population of more-mesenchymal cancer cells can cross-protect their epithelial neighbors residing in the same tumor from immune attack. In addition, perturbation of several cell-intrinsic pathways that are specifically associated with the quasi-mesenchymal state, can potentiate the efficacy of anti-CTLA4 immunotherapy and render highly refractory mesenchymal tumors responsive to such therapy. The central focus of my laboratory is to understand the mechanisms by which this occurs.

In order to do so, we utilize in vitro cell biological models of epithelial and quasi-mesenchymal breast cancer as well as in vivo, preclinical models of epithelial and quasi-mesenchymal breast tumors in conjunction with spatial transcriptomics, CRISPR/Cas9, imaging techniques and flow cytometry. 

Teaching Interest

Dr. Dongre is a tutor group facilitator for Block IIIa. In addition, she also given guest lectures on cancer progression and tumor immunology for various graduate and undergraduate classes including BIOMG7810, Critical Thinking in Genetics and Development, BIOMS6251, Methods and Design Course, BIOAP3160, Cellular Physiology.

Education

  • Postdoc, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research (Advisor: Robert A. Weinberg)
  • PhD, University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Advisor: Barbara A. Osborne)
  • MS, University of Mumbai, India
  • BS, University of Mumbai, India

Biography/Professional Experience

Dr. Anushka Dongre is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. She obtained her BS and MS degrees in Microbiology from the University of Mumbai, India. Her graduate training in T-cell biology was supervised by Dr. Barbara A. Osborne, at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where she studied the role of non-canonical Notch signaling in regulating T-cell function. For her postdoctoral training, she was keen on applying her skills as an immunologist to better understand cancer progression. This led her to pursue her postdoctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. Robert A. Weinberg, at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA. Here, she demonstrated that the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) contributes to immunosuppression and drives refractory responses of breast cancers to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. She also demonstrated that quasi-mesenchymal breast tumors can be completely sensitized to anti-CTLA4 immune checkpoint blockade therapy by perturbing cancer cell-intrinsic expression of certain paracrine factors. These studies have been published as cover page articles in leading journals. Anushka is passionate about Immunology and Cancer Biology, and is firmly committed to mentoring the next generation of graduate and undergraduate students.

 Professional Publications

  1. Chandraganti S, Sams C, Sahoo S, Feng B, O’Connell I, Li L, Nepal S, Pulukuri S, Bakhle K, Thiru P, Simian C, Bell GW, Jolly MK, Dongre A. CD4+ T-cells sensitize quasi-mesenchymal breast tumors lacking CD73 to anti-CTLA4 immune checkpoint blockade therapy. bioRxiv., 2025 May 13. doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.12.653467

  2. O’Connell I and Dongre A. Immunotherapy for Breast Cancer: Lessons from Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition., Mol Diagn Ther. 27, 433–444, 2023.

  3. Dongre A*, Ortiz-Cuaran S, and Korkaya H. Editorial: The role of the EMT program in regulating the immune response in carcinoma., Frontiers in Immunology, 2022, 940164. * co-corresponding author

  4. Dongre A, Rashidian M, Eaton NE, Reinhardt F, Thiru P, Zagorulya M, Nepal S, Banaz T, Martner AM, Spranger S and Weinberg RA. Direct and Indirect regulators of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition induced Immunosuppression in Breast Carcinomas. Cancer Discovery. 2021;11:1–20. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-0603.
  5. Dongre A, Weinberg RA. New insights into the mechanisms of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and implications for cancer. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2019 Feb;20(2):69-84. doi: 10.1038/s41580-018-0080-4. Review.
  6. Dongre A, Rashidian M, Reinhardt F, Bagnato A, Keckesova Z, Ploegh HL, Weinberg RA. Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Contributes to Immunosuppression in Breast Carcinomas. Cancer Res. 2017 Aug 1;77(15):3982-3989. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-16-3292. Epub 2017 Apr 20. (Cover Page Article)
  7. Dongre A, Surampudi L, Lawlor RG, Fauq AH, Miele L, Golde TE, Minter LM, Osborne BA. Non-Canonical Notch Signaling Drives Activation and Differentiation of Peripheral CD4(+) T Cells. Front Immunol. 2014 Feb 12;5:54
  8. Rashidian M, LaFleur MW, Verschoor VL, Dongre A, Zhang Y, Nguyen TH, Kolifrath S, Aref AR, Lau CJ, Paweletz CP, Bu X, Freeman GJ, Barrasa MI, Weinberg RA, Sharpe AH, Ploegh HL. Immuno-PET identifies the myeloid compartment as a key contributor to the outcome of the antitumor response under PD-1 blockade. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 Aug 20;116(34):16971-16980. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1905005116. Epub 2019 Aug 2.
  9. Rashidian M, Ingram JR, Dougan M, Dongre A, Whang KA, LeGall C, Cragnolini JJ, Bierie B, Gostissa M, Gorman J, Grotenbreg GM, Bhan A, Weinberg RA, Ploegh HL. Predicting the response to CTLA-4 blockade by longitudinal noninvasive monitoring of CD8 T cells. J Exp Med. 2017 Aug 7;214(8):2243-2255. doi: 10.1084/jem.20161950. Epub 2017 Jun 30.
  10. De Cock JM, Shibue T, Dongre A, Keckesova Z, Reinhardt F, Weinberg RA. Inflammation triggers Zeb1-dependent escape from tumor latency. Cancer Res. 2016 Dec 1;76(23):6778-6784.

For a complete list of Dr. Dongre's published works, please see her PubMed page.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Dongre was awarded the Byron Prize for outstanding PhD dissertation for her graduate work on non-canonical Notch signaling in T-cells. Her postdoctoral work on the EMT program as a driver of resistance to immune attack was supported by the Ludwig Cancer Research Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Whitehead Institute Postdoc Association Education Award, the Keystone Symposia Future of Science Fund Scholarship, the AACR Scholar-In-Training Award and a K22 Transition Career Development Award. Dr. Dongre was recently awarded an Affinito-Stewart Grant Award from the President’s Council of Cornell Women, a faculty award from the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester. She is also the inaugural recipient of the prestigious Judy A. Appleton, Ph.D. Early Career Excellence in Research Award.

Professional/Academic Affiliations

  • American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
  • Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC)
  • The EMT International Association (TEMTIA)