John Quadarella
PhD Student
Short Bio
John D. Quadarella is a PhD student in the Biochemistry, Structural & Molecular Biology program at Thomas Jefferson University, working in Dr. Yohei Kirino’s lab within the Computational Medicine Center.
He earned his B.S. in Cell and Molecular Biology from Northeastern University, where he conducted synthetic biology research in Dr. Elizabeth Libby’s lab, developing CRISPR-based biosensors and optimizing synthetic genetic circuits for biological threat detection. Following his undergraduate studies, he worked in Dr. Ravindra Uppaluri’s lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, investigating how epigenetic modulation could sensitize immunotherapy-resistant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma to anti-PD1 therapy.
Grounded in molecular biology, John has cultivated an interdisciplinary approach applied across RNA biology, cancer immunology, and bioengineering. In Dr. Kirino’s lab, he integrates these perspectives to investigate novel mechanisms of tRNA cleavage and the downstream immunological signaling triggered by specific RNA fragments.
Beyond the laboratory, John is a dedicated advocate for organ and tissue donation. He currently serves as the inaugural Alumni Liaison on the Student Organ Donation Advocates (SODA) Board of Directors, sharing his own transplant narrative to encourage registration and honor donors.
Publications
2026
- Li, Z, Fu, C, Sehgal, K, Egloff, AM, Thai, TC, Monge, OA, Chuong, CL, Senent, Y, Lineberry, MS, Eschle, BK, Haratani, K, Ivanova, EV, Campisi, M, Mahadevan, NR, Quadarella, JD, Gedeon, PC, Schoenfeld, JD, Kono, M, Fahey, CG, Chayawatto, C, Ngo, K, Paweletz, CP, Gokhale, PC, Manguso, RT, Uppaluri, R, Barbie, DA. PTPN2 inhibition unleashes response to STING agonism in head and neck squamous cell cancer. Nat Commun. 2026; :. doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-72372-1. PubMed PMID:42069723 .