Charles J. Dimitroff is a tenured professor and translational glycobiology researcher whose lab investigates how complex sugars, or glycans, regulate immune and cancer cell functions to advance new approaches that strengthen the immune system, fight disease, and slow cancer progression.
An internationally recognized leader in glycobiology, Dimitroff has studied lectin–carbohydrate interactions and their role in inflammation and cancer for nearly three decades. His research, funded by the NIH for over 20 years, includes both in vitro and in vivo studies that characterize the identity and function of lectins and their carbohydrate-binding ligands on leukocytes and cancer cells. He has developed a unique expertise in glycobiological mechanisms of tumor biology, metastasis, and adaptive immunity, and he conducts pre-clinical investigations into how glycome-related molecules drive the pathogenesis of inflammation and cancer.
The Dimitroff Lab employs advanced tools such as carbohydrate inhibitors, MALDI-TOF-TOF MS/MS, selectin/galectin chimeras, glycosyltransferase mutant models, and human tissues to study inflammation, tumorigenesis, metastasis, tumor immune evasion, and lymphomagenesis.
Areas of Expertise
- Cancer biology
- Immunology
- Vascular biology
- Glycobiology
Research Interests
- Lectin–carbohydrate interactions in inflammation and cancer
- Identity and function of lectins and their carbohydrate-binding ligands on leukocytes and cancer cells
- Glycobiological (glycome) mechanisms in tumor biology, metastasis, and adaptive immunity
- Role of glycome-related molecules in the pathogenesis of inflammation and cancer
- Pre-clinical investigations using in vitro and in vivo models
See research publications and more on FIU Discovery.
Honors & Awards
- NIH (NCI) National Research Service Award
- The Society for Investigative Dermatology, Albert M. Kligman Fellowship Award, 2002 -2003
- American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award, 2005
- Junior Mentor Award, Harvard Medical School, 2011
- BWH Center for Faculty Development & Diversity, Faculty Mentoring Leadership, 2013
- BWH Center for Faculty Development & Diversity, Community Service Award, 2014
- Innovation Recognition Award by Partners Healthcare, 2017
- Recognition in Mentoring, FIU MARC U*STAR and Transdisciplinary Biomolecular and Biomedical Sciences Program, 2022
Education
- Ph.D., Cancer Pharmacology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Molecular Therapeutics, Roswell Park Cancer Institute Graduate Division
- M.S., Tumor Biology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Roswell Park Cancer Institute Graduate Division
- B.A., Political Science, Columbia College, Columbia University