Ioannis Zervantonakis, Ph.D.

  • Assistant Professor
  • Department of Bioengineering

Education & Training

  • Postdoc,Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School-2019
  • Ph.D.,Mechanical/Biological Engineering, MIT-2013
  • BSc, Mechanical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens &Technical University of Munich-2006

Research Interest Summary

We employ a quantitative approach that integrates microfluidics, systems biology modeling, and in vivo experiments to investigate the role of the tumor microenvironment on breast and ovarian cancer growth, metastasis and drug resistance.

Research Categories

Research Interests

Understanding cell behavior in native tumor microenvironments and developing new strategies to deliver therapeutics directly to tumor cells are critical in improving and extending patients’ lives. Our lab employs a quantitative approach that integrates microfluidics, systems biology modeling, and in vivo experiments to investigate the role of the tumor microenvironment on breast and ovarian cancer growth, metastasis and drug resistance. Our goal is to develop bioengineered tumor microenvironment platforms and apply them to improve understanding of tumor-stromal signaling mechanisms in order to: (1) discover biomarkers that guide new drug development and improve prognosis, (2) develop new strategies to improve existing treatment protocols and (3) engineer microfabricated tools that enable screening and personalization of cancer therapies.

Representative Publications

C. Iavarone, I.K. Zervantonakis, L.M. Selfors, S. Palakurthi, J.F. Liu, R. Drapkin, D. Sampath, G.B. Mills and J.S. Brugge. Combined MEK and Bcl-2/XL inhibition is effective in high-grade serous ovarian cancer patient–derived xenograft models and BIM levels are predictive of responsiveness. Molecular cancer therapeutics, 18(3), 642-655. (2019)

I.K. Zervantonakis, C. Iavarone, H.S Chen,  L.M. Selfors, S. Palakurthi, J.F. Liu, R. Drapkin, U. Matulonis, J.D. Leverson, D. Sampath, G.B. Mills and J.S. Brugge. “Systems analysis of apoptotic priming in ovarian cancer identifies vulnerabilities and predictors of drug response”, Nature Communications 8(1): 365 (2017)

I.K. Zervantonakis & C.D. Arvanitis. Controlled Drug Release and Chemotherapy Response in a novel 3D Acoustofluidic Platform. Small  12 (19), 2616-2626. (2016)

M.P. Iwanicki, H.Y. Chen, C. Iavarone, I.K. Zervantonakis, T. Muranen, M. Novak, T.A. Ince, R. Drapkin, J.S. Brugge. "Mutant p53 regulates ovarian cancer transformed phenotypes through autocrine matrix deposition", JCI Insight 1 (10) (2016)

I.K. Zervantonakis, S. K. Alford-Hughes, J. L. Charest, F. B. Gertler, J. C. Condeelis and R. D. Kamm. "Three-dimensional microfluidic tumor-vascular interface model: Tumor cell intravasation and endothelial barrier function." PNAS, 109 (34), 13515-13520. (2012)

Full List of Publications