Max Spurrell
he/him/his
About
Research
Publications
2025
Batch correcting single-cell spatial transcriptomics count data with Crescendo improves visualization and detection of spatial gene patterns
Millard N, Chen J, Palshikar M, Pelka K, Spurrell M, Price C, He J, Hacohen N, Raychaudhuri S, Korsunsky I. Batch correcting single-cell spatial transcriptomics count data with Crescendo improves visualization and detection of spatial gene patterns. Genome Biology 2025, 26: 36. PMID: 40001084, PMCID: PMC11863647, DOI: 10.1186/s13059-025-03479-9.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsBatch effectsVisualization of gene expression patternsSpatial gene patternsGene expression analysis of cellsGene expression patternsGene expression analysisGene expression levelsGene colocalizationAnalysis of cellsGene patternsTranscriptome analysisLigand-receptor interactionsExpression patternsSpatial transcriptomicsSpatial transcriptomic analysisExpression levelsGenesMultiple samplesSpatial patternsTranscriptomeColocalizationAnatomical contextPatternsCount data
2024
Human lung cancer harbors spatially organized stem-immunity hubs associated with response to immunotherapy
Chen J, Nieman L, Spurrell M, Jorgji V, Elmelech L, Richieri P, Xu K, Madhu R, Parikh M, Zamora I, Mehta A, Nabel C, Freeman S, Pirl J, Lu C, Meador C, Barth J, Sakhi M, Tang A, Sarkizova S, Price C, Fernandez N, Emanuel G, He J, Van Raay K, Reeves J, Yizhak K, Hofree M, Shih A, Sade-Feldman M, Boland G, Pelka K, Aryee M, Mino-Kenudson M, Gainor J, Korsunsky I, Hacohen N. Human lung cancer harbors spatially organized stem-immunity hubs associated with response to immunotherapy. Nature Immunology 2024, 25: 644-658. PMID: 38503922, DOI: 10.1038/s41590-024-01792-2.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchT cellsDendritic cellsImmune hubAssociated with response to immunotherapyMature tertiary lymphoid structuresOrganization of immune cellsIntratumoral immune responsePD-1 blockadeRegulatory dendritic cellsResponse to immunotherapyAbundant T cellsRegulatory T cellsTertiary lymphoid structuresLung cancer specimensHuman lung cancerImmunogenic tumorsImmunotherapy outcomesPD-1Lymphoid structuresCancer specimensImmune cellsLung cancerHuman tumorsImmune responseTumor
2023
Spatial analysis of human lung cancer reveals organized immune hubs enriched for stem-like CD8 T cells and associated with immunotherapy response.
Chen JH, Nieman LT, Spurrell M, Jorgji V, Richieri P, Xu KH, Madhu R, Parikh M, Zamora I, Mehta A, Nabel CS, Freeman SS, Pirl JD, Lu C, Meador CB, Barth JL, Sakhi M, Tang AL, Sarkizova S, Price C, Fernandez NF, Emanuel G, He J, Raay KV, Reeves JW, Yizhak K, Hofree M, Shih A, Sade-Feldman M, Boland GM, Pelka K, Aryee M, Korsunsky I, Mino-Kenudson M, Gainor JF, Hacohen N. Spatial analysis of human lung cancer reveals organized immune hubs enriched for stem-like CD8 T cells and associated with immunotherapy response. BioRxiv 2023 PMID: 37066412, DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.04.535379.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCombined PD-1, BRAF and MEK inhibition in BRAFV600E colorectal cancer: a phase 2 trial
Tian J, Chen J, Chao S, Pelka K, Giannakis M, Hess J, Burke K, Jorgji V, Sindurakar P, Braverman J, Mehta A, Oka T, Huang M, Lieb D, Spurrell M, Allen J, Abrams T, Clark J, Enzinger A, Enzinger P, Klempner S, McCleary N, Meyerhardt J, Ryan D, Yurgelun M, Kanter K, Van Seventer E, Baiev I, Chi G, Jarnagin J, Bradford W, Wong E, Michel A, Fetter I, Siravegna G, Gemma A, Sharpe A, Demehri S, Leary R, Campbell C, Yilmaz O, Getz G, Parikh A, Hacohen N, Corcoran R. Combined PD-1, BRAF and MEK inhibition in BRAFV600E colorectal cancer: a phase 2 trial. Nature Medicine 2023, 29: 458-466. PMID: 36702949, PMCID: PMC9941044, DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-02181-8.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPrimary end pointColorectal cancerResponse rateEnd pointPD-1Immune responseSingle-arm phase 2 clinical trialMAPK inhibitionMEK inhibitionPhase 2 clinical trialTreatment tumor biopsiesDisease control rateSecondary end pointsPhase 2 trialProgression-free survivalBetter clinical outcomesDuration of responseOverall response rateTumor immune responseFurther clinical evaluationTumor cell-intrinsic mechanismsMAPK pathway inhibitionPatient-derived organoidsCell-intrinsic mechanismsOverall survival
2022
Gene regulatory divergence amongst echinoderms underlies appearance of pigment cells in sea urchin development
Spurrell M, Oulhen N, Foster S, Perillo M, Wessel G. Gene regulatory divergence amongst echinoderms underlies appearance of pigment cells in sea urchin development. Developmental Biology 2022, 494: 13-25. PMID: 36519720, PMCID: PMC9870932, DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2022.11.008.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPigment cell-specific genePigment gene expressionCell-specific genesSea starsSea urchinsGene expressionPigment cellsHomologous gene expressionGene regulatory divergenceSea urchin developmentTemporal expression profilesScRNA-seq analysisSitu RNA hybridizationPigment biosynthesisRegulatory divergenceGene activationPigment genesStrongylocentrotus purpuratusImmune related genesPatiria miniataCell lineagesExpression profilesRelated genesRNA hybridizationMigratory cells
2020
Methodology for Whole Mount and Fluorescent RNA In Situ Hybridization in Echinoderms: Single, Double, and Beyond
Perillo M, Paganos P, Spurrell M, Arnone M, Wessel G. Methodology for Whole Mount and Fluorescent RNA In Situ Hybridization in Echinoderms: Single, Double, and Beyond. Methods In Molecular Biology 2020, 2219: 195-216. PMID: 33074542, PMCID: PMC7583651, DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0974-3_12.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchRegulation of dynamic pigment cell states at single-cell resolution
Perillo M, Oulhen N, Foster S, Spurrell M, Calestani C, Wessel G. Regulation of dynamic pigment cell states at single-cell resolution. ELife 2020, 9: e60388. PMID: 32812865, PMCID: PMC7455242, DOI: 10.7554/elife.60388.Peer-Reviewed Original Research