Robert Bruno

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Medical Diagnostic & Translational Sciences

Contact Information

2118 HEALTH SCIENCES BLDG
NORFOLK, VA 23529

Biography

Robert Bruno earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2009 for his work on a novel prostate cancer therapeutic (galeterone) which is now in Phase III clinical trials. He then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in the Mammary Stem Cell Section of the Basic Research Laboratory at the Center for Cancer Research. He came to Old Dominion University in 2013 as an Assistant Professor in the School of Medical Diagnostic & Translational Sciences within the College of Health Sciences. His current work applies biomedical engineering principles including 3D bioprinting to study mechanisms of cellular fate determination in development, cancer, and neurodegeneration.

Education/Credentials

Web Link(s)

Bruno Laboratory

Expertise

Biotechnology

stem cells; 3D bioprinting; mammary gland biology; molecular biology; cell biology; developmental biology; cell fate determination

Cancer

Breast Cancer; Prostate Cancer; Tumorigenesis; Cancer reprogramming; three-dimensional models; microenvironment

3D Printing

Bioprinting

Biology

cell biology; molecular biology; mammary gland biology; mammary gland biology; molecular biology; cell biology; developmental biology; cell fate determination
Research Interests

My research focuses on understanding how the local microenvironment controls cellular differentiation and function. We study this in the context of cancer, development, and neurological disorders. Notably, we have shown that we can redirect breast cancer cells to adopt a normal mammary epithelial cell fate by restoring a normal microenvironment around them. This has huge implications for diagnosis and treatment of cancer. We use a combination of techniques including 3D bioprinting, induced pluripotent stem cells, in vivo models, and novel 3D culture techniques to understand the process.

Articles

Mollica, P., Creech, E., Reid, J., Zamponi, M., Sullivan, S., Sachs, P., and Bruno, R. (2019). 3D bioprinted growth of mammary organoids and tumoroids in human mammary derived ECM hydrogels. Acta Biomaterialia

Ragle, L., Bruno, R., Boulanger, C., and Smith, G. (2019). Long-label-retaining mammary epithelial cells are created early in ductal development and distributed throughout the branching ducts. Mechanisms of Development

Reid, J., Palmer, X., Mollica, P., Northam, N., Sachs, P., and Bruno, R. (2019). A 3D bioprinter platform for mechanistic analysis of tumoroids and chimeric mammary organoids. Scientific Reports

Reid, J. A., Mollica, P. M., Bruno, R., and Sachs, P. (2018). Consistent and reproducible cultures of large-scale 3d mammary epithelial structures using an accessible bioprinting platform. Breast Cancer Research, 20 (1), pp. 122.

Wu, V., Auchman, M., Mollica, P. A., Sachs, P., and Bruno, R. (2018). ALDH1A1 positive cells are a unique component of the tonsillar crypt niche and are lost along with NGFR positive stem cells during tumourigenesis.. Pathology, 50 (5), pp. 524-529.

Mollica, P., Zamponi, M., Reid, J., Sharma, D., White, A., Ogle, R., Bruno, R., and Sachs, P. (2018). Epigenetic alterations mediate iPSC normalization of DNA-repair expression and TNR stability in Huntington's disease. Journal of Cell Science

Petrella, R. A., Mollica, P. A., Zamponi, M., Reid, J. A., Xiao, S., Bruno, R., and Sachs, P. (2018). 3D bioprinter applied picosecond pulsed electric fields for targeted manipulation of proliferation and lineage specific gene expression in neural stem cells.. Journal of neural engineering, 15 (5), pp. 056021.

Sachs, P., Mollica, P. A., and Bruno, R. (2017). Tissue specific microenvironments: a key tool for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Journal of Biological Engineering, 11, pp. 1-11.

Bruno, R., Fleming, J. M., George, A. L., Boulanger, C. A., Schedin, P., and Smith, G. H. (2017). Mammary extracellular matrix directs differentiation of testicular and embryonic stem cells to form functional mammary glands in vivo.. Scientific reports, 7, pp. 40196.

Kwegyir-Afful, A. K., Bruno, R., Purushottamachar, P., Murigi, F. N., and Njar, V. C. (2016). Galeterone and VNPT55 disrupts Mnk-eIF4E to inhibit prostate cancer cell migration and invasion.. The FEBS journal

Reid, J. A., Mollica, P. A., Johnson, G. D., Ogle, R., Bruno, R., and Sachs, P. (2016). Accessible bioprinting: adaptation of a low-cost 3D-printer for precise cell placement and stem cell differentiation.. Biofabrication, 8 (2), pp. 025017.

Mollica, P. A., Reid, J. A., Ogle, R., Sachs, P., and Bruno, R. (2016). DNA Methylation Leads to DNA Repair Gene Down-Regulation and Trinucleotide Repeat Expansion in Patient-Derived Huntington Disease Cells.. The American journal of pathology

Godbole, A. M., Ramalingam, S., Ramamurthy, V. P., Khandelwal, A., Bruno, R., Upreti, V. V., Gediya, L. K., Purushottamachar, P., Mbatia, H. W., Addya, S., Ambulos, N., and Njar, V. C. (2014). VN/14-1 induces ER stress and autophagy in HP-LTLC human breast cancer cells and has excellent oral pharmacokinetic profile in female Sprague Dawley rats.. European journal of pharmacology, 734, pp. 98-104.

Bruno, R., and Smith, G. H. (2014). A potential mechanism for extracellular matrix induction of breast cancer cell normality.. Breast cancer research : BCR, 16 (1), pp. 302.

Bruno, R., Boulanger, C. A., Rosenfield, S. M., Anderson, L. H., Lydon, J. P., and Smith, G. H. (2014). Paracrine-rescued lobulogenesis in chimeric outgrowths comprising progesterone-receptor-null mammary epithelium and redirected wild-type testicular cells.. Journal of cell science, 127 (Pt 1), pp. 27-32.

Bruno, R., Rosenfield, S. M., and Smith, G. H. (2013). Late developing mammary tumors and hyperplasia induced by a low-oncogenic variant of mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) express genes identical to those induced by canonical MMTV.. Molecular cancer, 12, pp. 79.

Boulanger, C. A., Bruno, R., Mack, D. L., Gonzales, M., Castro, N. P., Salomon, D. S., and Smith, G. H. (2013). Embryonic stem cells are redirected to non-tumorigenic epithelial cell fate by interaction with the mammary microenvironment.. PloS one, 8 (4), pp. e62019.

Bruno, R., and Smith, G. H. (2012). Reprogramming non-mammary and cancer cells in the developing mouse mammary gland.. Seminars in cell & developmental biology, 23 (5), pp. 591-8.

Boulanger, C. A., Bruno, R., Rosu-Myles, M., and Smith, G. H. (2012). The mouse mammary microenvironment redirects mesoderm-derived bone marrow cells to a mammary epithelial progenitor cell fate.. Stem cells and development, 21 (6), pp. 948-54.

Bruno, R., Boulanger, C. A., and Smith, G. H. (2012). Notch-induced mammary tumorigenesis does not involve the lobule-limited epithelial progenitor.. Oncogene, 31 (1), pp. 60-7.

Bruno, R., Vasaitis, T. S., Gediya, L. K., Purushottamachar, P., Godbole, A. M., Ates-Alagoz, Z., Brodie, A. M., and Njar, V. C. (2011). Synthesis and biological evaluations of putative metabolically stable analogs of VN/124-1 (TOK-001): head to head anti-tumor efficacy evaluation of VN/124-1 (TOK-001) and abiraterone in LAPC-4 human prostate cancer xenograft model.. Steroids, 76 (12), pp. 1268-79.

Bruno, R., and Smith, G. H. (2011). Functional characterization of stem cell activity in the mouse mammary gland.. Stem cell reviews, 7 (2), pp. 238-47.

Vasaitis, T. S., Bruno, R., and Njar, V. C. (2011). CYP17 inhibitors for prostate cancer therapy.. The Journal of steroid biochemistry and molecular biology, 125 (1-2), pp. 23-31.

Bruno, R., and Smith, G. H. (2011). Role of epithelial stem/progenitor cells in mammary cancer.. Gene expression, 15 (3), pp. 133-40.

Bussard, K. M., Boulanger, C. A., Booth, B. W., Bruno, R., and Smith, G. H. (2010). Reprogramming human cancer cells in the mouse mammary gland.. Cancer research, 70 (15), pp. 6336-43.

Bruno, R., Gover, T. D., Burger, A. M., Brodie, A. M., and Njar, V. C. (2008). 17alpha-Hydroxylase/17,20 lyase inhibitor VN/124-1 inhibits growth of androgen-independent prostate cancer cells via induction of the endoplasmic reticulum stress response.. Molecular cancer therapeutics, 7 (9), pp. 2828-36.

Purushottamachar, P., Khandelwal, A., Vasaitis, T. S., Bruno, R., Gediya, L. K., and Njar, V. C. (2008). Potent anti-prostate cancer agents derived from a novel androgen receptor down-regulating agent.. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry, 16 (7), pp. 3519-29.

Bruno, R., and Njar, V. C. (2007). Targeting cytochrome P450 enzymes: a new approach in anti-cancer drug development.. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry, 15 (15), pp. 5047-60.

Purushottamachar, P., Khandelwal, A., Chopra, P., Maheshwari, N., Gediya, L. K., Vasaitis, T. S., Bruno, R., Clement, O. O., and Njar, V. C. (2007). First pharmacophore-based identification of androgen receptor down-regulating agents: discovery of potent anti-prostate cancer agents.. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry, 15 (10), pp. 3413-21.
Presentations

Sachs, P., Bruno, R., Reid, J. A., Mollica, P. A., and Booth, E. (September 23, 2017). Breast-derived ECM and 3D bioprinting: A precise biomimetic system for the study of breast cancer. Oral Presentation presented at Commonwealth of Virginia Cancer Research Conference Charlottesville, VA.

Bruno, R., Sachs, P., Reid, J. A., Mollica, P. A., and Northam, N. (September 23, 2017). Microenvironmental control of cell fate in the mammary gland: From mice to bioprinted human organoids. Oral Presentation presented at Commonwealth of Virginia Cancer Research Conference Charlottesville, VA.

Bruno, R., Sachs, P., Reid, J., and Mollica, P. (June 13, 2017). 3D bioprinting of mammary structures into biomimetic human breast tissue derived hydrogels Poster presented at Gordon Research Conference: Mammary gland biology Stowe, VT.

Bruno, R., Sachs, P., Reid, J., and Mollica, P. (June 11, 2017). Generation of chimeric mammary structures using a 3D bioprinter Poster presented at Gordon Research Conference: Mammary gland biology Stowe, VT.

Bruno, R., Smith, G., Flemming, J., Schedin, P., and George, A. (June 11, 2017). Mammary extracellular matrix directs differentatiation of testicular and embryonic stem cells to form functional mammary glands in vivo Oral Presentation presented at Gordon Research Conference: Mammary gland biology Stowe, VT.

Reid, J., Mollica, P., Bruno, R., and Sachs, P. (May 2, 2017). Microextrusion based bioprinting apparatus provides valuable method for exploring the 'self - organization' of mammary epithelial branching morphogenesis Poster presented at AIPP Horizons 3D Bioprinting: Physical and Chemical Processes Winston-Salem NC.

Reid, J., Mollica, P., Sachs, P., and Bruno, R. (December 13, 2016). Directed Mammary Epithelial Structure Formation Using 3D Bioprinting Poster presented at TERMIS-AM Annual Meeting San Diego, California USA.

Mollica, P., Reid, J., Ogle, R., Bruno, R., and Sachs, P. (December 11, 2016). Huntington’s Disease Induced-Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Neural Stem Cells Show Minimal Trinucleotide Repeat Instability Poster presented at TERMIS-AM Annual Meeting San Diego, California USA.

Mollica, P., Reid, J., Ogle, R., Bruno, R., and Sachs, P. (May 24, 2016). Huntington’s disease induced-pluripotent stem cells show enhanced DNA repair gene expression and contraction-biased trinucleotide repeat instability Poster presented at Brain Rx: A symposium on drug discovery for the brain Richmond, Virginia .

Bruno, R. (2015). Finding your niche: cell fate determination in the mouse mammary microenvironment Lecture presented at Bioelectrics Seminar Series Norfolk, VA.

Bruno, R., Sachs, P., Reid, J., and Mollica, P. (June 10, 2015). Luminal and basal breast cancer tumors retain identical differentiation repertoire upon redirection in a normal mammary microenvironment Poster presented at Gordon Research Conference: Mammary Gland Biology Dover, VT.

Bruno, R., and Smith, G. (June 8, 2015). Label retaining mammary epithelial cells retain proliferative potential and respond to hormones Poster presented at Gordon Research Conference: Mammary Gland Biology Dover, VT.

Bruno, R., Wu, V., Yu, T., and Harding, B. (April, 2015). Stem cell markers within tonsillar crypt epithelium Poster presented at American Head and Neck Society Translational Research Meeting Boston, MA.

Bruno, R., Wu, V., Harding, B., and Yu, T. (April 20, 2015). Unraveling the cellular hierarchy within tonsillar crypts and OPSCC tumors Poster presented at 2015 Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Bruno, R., Boulanger, C., Anderson, L., Lydon, J., and Smith, G. (June, 2013). Developmental rescue of progesterone receptor null mammary epithelium by redirected testicular cells in vivo Poster presented at Gordon Research Conference: Mammary Gland Biology Stowe, VT.

Bruno, R., Boulanger, C., and Smith, G. (June, 2011). Notch induced tumorigenesis does not involve the lobule-limited progenitor Poster presented at Gordon Research Conference: Mammary Gland Biology Newport, RI.

Bruno, R., Gediya, L., Brodie, A., and Njar, V. (April, 2009). Lyase inhibitor/androgen receptor modulator VN/124-1 (TOK-001) shows improved efficacy over abiraterone in a LAPC-4 prostate cancer xenograft model Poster presented at 2009 Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Denver, CO.

Bruno, R., Burger, A., Brodie, A., and Njar, V. (April, 2008). Lyase inhibitor/anti-androgen VN/124-1 inhibits growth of androgen independent prostate cancer cells through induction of the endoplasmic reticulum stress response Oral Presentation presented at 2009 Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research San Diego, CA.

2010: National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Kappa Phi
2010: NCI Director’s Intramural Innovation Award, National Cancer Institute
2008: Most Cited Paper Award, Journal of Bioorganic Medicinal Chemistry
2008: Nominated for "Otani Award", University of Maryland Baltimore
2007: Nominated for Ph.D. Scholar Award, Graduate Program in Life Sciences
2007: Outstanding Student Award, Graduate Program in Molecular Medicine

Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research

Bruno, R.; Sachs, P. "A three dimensional bioprinting approach to mapping critical determinants of stem cell asymmetric divisions" $451,210. Federal. January, 2019 - December, 2022

Bruno, R.; Sachs, P.; Mollica, P.; Xiao, S. "Investigating the effects of sub-nanosecond pulsed electric fields as a potential protein disaggregation agent in Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease neurons" $45,000. State. July 1, 2018 - September 30, 2019

Bruno, R.; Sachs, P. "Three dimensional bioprinting for high-throughput in vitro modeling of asymmetric stem cell divisions" $100,000. Private. June 30, 2017 - June 29, 2018

Bruno, R.; Sachs, P. "Chimeric mammary models for elucidating microenvironment contributions to tumor suppression and promotion" $306,000. State. July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2017

Bruno, R.; Wu, V. "Unravelling the cellular hierarchy within human tonsilar crypt epithelium and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma tumors" $50,000. Private. July, 2014 - March, 2016

Bruno, R.; Sachs, P. "Development of a Three-Dimensional Human Breast Model for the Advancement of the in-vitro Study of Breast Cancer" $50,000. Old Dominion University. January 1, 2014 - January 1, 2015

, "Development of novel real-time PCR based assay for tracking chromosome segregation in asymmetric cell divisions" $7,000. Old Dominion University. May 1, 2014 - September 1, 2014
Intellectual Property

3D bioprinter assisted formation of tumorous in tissue specific ECM

Patent/Copyright: Patent

Type: Provisional

Inventors:
Bruno, R.
Sachs, P.
Reid, J.

CNC driven exposure system for large area delivering of pulsed electric fields that modulate cell differentiation and proliferation

Patent/Copyright: Patent

Type: Provisional

Inventors:
Bruno, R.
Sachs, P.
Xiao, S.

Compositions and Methods of Inducing Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response

Patent/Copyright: Patent

Type: Regular

Patent Nationality: United States

Inventors:
Bruno, R.
Njar, V.
Brodie, A.

Old Dominion University

Idea Fusion

Robert Bruno

Robert Bruno

Contact Information

Organizational Chart

Biography

Education/Credentials

Web Link(s)

Expertise

Research Interests

Articles

Presentations

Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research

Intellectual Property