Assistant Professor

Areas of Interest
pediatric surgical oncology, pediatric solid tumors, minimally invasive neonatal and pediatric surgery

Biography

Dr. Laura Stafman joined the faculty of the UAB Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pediatric Surgery in October 2023.

She graduated from medical school at the University of Florida and subsequently obtained her Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) under the mentorship of Dr. Elizabeth Beierle. She also completed a general surgery internship and residency at UAB and a pediatric surgery fellowship at Vanderbilt University. Stafman is general surgery board-certified.

Selected Publications

Julson JR, Marayati R, Beierle EA, Stafman LL. The Role of PIM Kinases in Pediatric Malignancies. Cancers. 2022, July; 14(15): 3565.

Hanna DN, Haddadin Z, Stafman LL, Godfrey CM, Huang EY, Aiello B, Greeno AL, Unni P, Lovvorn HN. Sledding while towed behind motorized vehicles associates with more severe and lethal injuries. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2022, Mar; ePub ahead of print.

Marayati R, Stafman LL, Williams AP, Bownes LV, Quinn CH, Markert HR, Easlick JL, Stewart JE, Crossman DK, Mroczek-Musulman E, Beierle EA. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of PIM3 suppresses tumorigenesis and cancer cell stemness in human hepatoblastoma cells. Cancer Gene Therapy. 2021, May; 29(5): 558.

Marayati R, Stafman LL, Williams AP, Bownes LV, Quinn CH, Aye JM, Stewart JE, Yoo KJ, Anderson JC, Willey CD, Beierle EA. PIM kinases mediate resistance to cisplatin chemotherapy in hepatoblastoma. Scientific Reports. 2021, Mar; 16(11): 5984.

Bownes LV, Williams AP, Marayati R, Stafman LL, Markert H, Quinn CH, Wadhwani N, Aye JM, Stewart JE, Yoon KJ, Mroczek-Musulman E, Beierle EA. EZH2 inhibition decreases neuroblastoma proliferation and in vivo tumor growth. PLoS One. 2021, Mar; 9(16): e0246244.

Marayati R, Bownes LV, Stafman LL, Williams AP, Quinn CH, Atigadda V, Aye JM, Stewart JE, Yoon KJ, Beierle EA. 9-cis-UAB30, a novel rexinoid agonist, decreases tumorigenicity and cancer cell stemness of human neuroblastoma patient-derived xenografts. Translational Oncology. 2021, Jan; 14(1): 100893.

Aye JM, Stafman LL, Williams AP, Garner EF, Stewart JS, Anderson JC, Mruthyunjayappa S, Waldrop MG, Goolsby CD, Markert HR, Quinn CH, Marayati R, Mroczek-Musulman E, Willey CD, Yoon KJ, Whelan K, Beierle EA. The effects of focal adhesion kinase and platelet-derived growth factor receptor beta inhibition in a patient-derived xenograft model of primary and metastatic Wilms tumor. Oncotarget. 2019, Sep; 10(53): 5534.

Stafman LL, Williams AP, Marayati R, Aye JM, Markert HR, Garner EF, Quinn CH, Lallani SB, Stewart JE, Yoon KJ, Whelan K, Beierle EA. Focal adhesion kinase inhibition contributes to tumor cell survival and motility in patient-derived xenografls. Scientific Reports. 2019, Sep; 9(1): 13259.

Williams AP, Garner EF, Stafman LL, Aye JM, Quinn CH, Marayati R, Atigadda VR, MroczekMusulman E, Moore BP, Beierle EA. UAB30, a novel rexinoid agonist, decreases sternness in group 3 medulloblastoma human cell line xenografts. Translational Oncology. 2019, Jul; 12(10): 1364.

Stafman LL, Williams AP, Aye JM, Stewart JE, Mroczek-Musulman E, Beierle EA. PP2A activation alone and in combination with cisplatin decreases tumorigenicity in human hepatoblastoma. PLoS One. 2019, Apr; 14(4): e0214469.

Education

Medical School
University of Florida

Internship
University of Alabama at Birmingham
General Surgery

Residency
University of Alabama at Birmingham
General Surgery

Fellowship
Vanderbilt University
Pediatric Surgery Fellowship

Graduate School
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Ph.D. in Cancer Biology

Contact

Campus Address
Lowder 300

Phone
Patient Appointments and Questions: (205) 638-9688
Academic Office: (205) 638-6253

Email
lstafman@uabmc.edu