Roles
Clinical Professor
Vice Chair of Clinical and Translational Research
Co-Leader, Cancer Epigenetics Program, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
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Biography
Dr. Lombard received his MD from Harvard Medical School, and his PhD at MIT, where he studied Werner syndrome and related progerias. After Pathology residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Dr. Lombard pursued postdoctoral work in the area of sirtuin biology, supported by an NIA/NIH K08 award. Dr. Lombard was the first to describe a central role for the sirtuin SIRT3 in regulating mitochondrial protein acetylation. He set up his independent lab at the University of Michigan in 2008, where he rose to the rank of tenured Associate Professor and directed the T32-supported Cancer Biology doctoral program.
Dr. Lombard’s research interests focus on the interrelationships between cancer, aging, and metabolism. He was named a New Scholar in Aging of the Ellison Medical Foundation, a member of The American Society for Clinical Investigation, a Scholar-Innovator of the Harrington Discovery Institute, and a recipient of an AACR Innovation and Discovery award. He serves a member of many NIH, DoD, and foundation review panels. Dr. Lombard joined the faculty of the DPLM and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in the spring of 2022. He serves as Vice-Chair for Clinical and Translational Research at the DPLM, and Co-Leader of the Cancer Epigenetics program at the Sylvester. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
Licensures and Certifications
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Honors & Awards
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Teaching Interests
I strongly believe that it is the duty of those of us fortunate enough to engage in careers in biomedical research and patient care to “pay it forward”, by mentoring the next generation of clinicians and investigators. This is a value that I have tried to exemplify throughout my own career. In this regard, I have a deep and long-standing commitment to biomedical education. During my MD/PhD training, I had the privilege of serving as a resident premedical tutor at Dunster House, an undergraduate dormitory at Harvard College, for 11 years. During that time, I advised, and wrote institutional letters of support, for ~250 undergraduate premedical students.
Before recently departing the University of Michigan for the University of Miami, I served as Director of the Cancer Biology Graduate Program, and PI of the associated T32, T32CA009676. Prior to that time, I was Associate Director of this program, in charge of admissions. Our training program emphasized recruiting a highly accomplished and diverse body of trainees, and making them all feel welcomed and valued. I have mentored numerous PhD students and postdocs who have gone on to successful careers, and have served on dozens of dissertation committees. I have also taught dozens of residents and medical students in the context of my clinical speciality, molecular diagnostics. -
Research Interests
Our group is interested in defining the links between aging and cancer. It is well-known that cancer is largely a disease of the elderly. We hope that by improving our understanding of such connections, we will be able to develop new medicines to more effectively treat malignancies, or even prevent their onset altogether. Our work uses cultured cells and mouse models, and we employ advanced approaches to assay cellular metabolism and gene expression. Much of our work involves SIRT5, a member of a family of proteins that play anti-aging functions in some systems, but which we showed can promote tumor growth. We have other related research programs in the lab as well, and we always maintain an eye towards clinical translation of our basic science work. For example, together with a chemist, one of our ongoing projects involves discovery of new drugs to inhibit PAPPA, a protein that promotes aging and cancer. We hope that small molecules discovered in this effort may eventually form the basis for new, next-generation medicines. -
Publications
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Professional Activities
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