Author Profile

Erin Podolak, MA

Managing Editor

Erin Podolak

Erin Podolak, MA, is Managing Editor, Scientific Communication in the Strategic Communication Education and Outreach Department at St. Jude.

Stories by Erin Podolak

Paul Wise giving a lecture
Paul Wise giving a lecture
Clinical

SAFER Ukraine: a framework for responding to global conflicts

Erin Podolak, MA

What lessons can be learned from the remarkable success of SAFER Ukraine?

Fabio Demontis
Fabio Demontis
Research

Research points to a way to reduce cachexia, a cancer-induced muscle wasting disorder

Erin Podolak, MA

Muscle signaling provide clues for treatment of the muscle-wasting disorder cachexia, which affects cancer patients.

Amar Gajjar, MD., with patient Charlotte and her mother
Amar Gajjar, MD., with patient Charlotte and her mother
Clinical

Reflecting on nearly 40 years of progress against pediatric brain tumors

Erin Podolak, MA

May is Brain Tumor Awareness Month and a good time to learn more about the diverse group of diseases that make up the most common childhood solid tumor.

Marta Salek, M.D., at work at the Unicorn Marian Wilemski Clinic in Poland.
Marta Salek, M.D., at work at the Unicorn Marian Wilemski Clinic in Poland.
Outreach

Polish roots led Marta Salek, M.D., to a leading role in SAFER Ukraine effort

Erin Podolak, MA

Dr. Marta Salek of St. Jude was in Poland visiting family when Russia invaded Ukraine. She jumped in to help launch the humanitarian effort SAFER Ukraine.

Stephen Mack, MD, PhD
Stephen Mack, MD, PhD
Research

Metabolic processes may yield a new therapeutic window for hard-to-treat brain tumors

Erin Podolak, MA

In his laboratory at St. Jude, Stephen Mack, PhD, is researching how metabolic and epigenetic pathways might be perturbed to help treat DIPG, a lethal childhood brain tumor.

Sima Jeha, MD, and colleagues meet around a table
Sima Jeha, MD, and colleagues meet around a table
Outreach

Lessons from Lebanon: St. Jude Global reacts to war in Ukraine

Erin Podolak, MA

Lessons learned from previous global crises inform the St. Jude Global response to childhood cancer patients displaced by the war in Ukraine.

posterior fossa
posterior fossa
Research

Getting to the bottom of a medulloblastoma mystery

Erin Podolak, MA

Posterior fossa syndrome develops in some children following surgery for the brain tumor medulloblastoma. St. Jude research offers fresh insight into the mysterious syndrome and advice on how to avoid it.

Blocking the progression of pre-leukemic disorders
Blocking the progression of pre-leukemic disorders
Research

Blocking the progression of pre-leukemic disorders

Erin Podolak, MA

Genetic changes in the biology of blood cells can lead them down a path to cancer. This researcher is figuring out how that happens.

Why do many promising experimental drugs fail? Data-driven research may hold the answer
Why do many promising experimental drugs fail? Data-driven research may hold the answer
Research

Why do many promising experimental drugs fail? Data-driven research may hold the answer

Erin Podolak, MA

G-protein-coupled receptors are a popular target for drug therapies. This researcher is finding out why some drugs targeting GPCRs fail.

SMARCB1: Genetic ‘canary in a coal mine’ sparks research
SMARCB1: Genetic ‘canary in a coal mine’ sparks research
Research

SMARCB1: Genetic ‘canary in a coal mine’ sparks research

Erin Podolak, MA

Scientist spent more than a decade finding out how this genetic mutation causes different cancers.