Research Summary

The overarching goal of my research is to improve treatment options and outcomes in patients with primary cancers of the liver and bile ducts through clinical and translational research of novel drugs and combinations along with biomarker analyses to identify the patients most likely to respond. My current work in hepatobiliary cancers includes leading multiple clinical trials of new immunotherapy treatment combinations, ranging from large, international phase 3 trials to smaller, investigator-initiated institutional trials with translational biomarker endpoints. I am also the PI of the UCSF Hepatobiliary Tissue Bank and Registry (HBTBR), initiated in 2012 to serve as a platform for translational and epidemiology research using fresh and archival tumor tissue samples, blood samples, and longitudinal clinical data from patients with hepatobiliary cancers who receive cancer care at UCSF. The HBTBR has enrolled over 500 cases since its activation in late 2012 and has contributed samples and data to multiple projects, including the NCI/NHGRI The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) liver and cholangiocarcinoma cohorts, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in HCC and cholangiocarcinoma, a University of California consortium project to develop minority patient-derived xenografts including hepatocellular carcinoma for tumor genomic analyses, the NCI's National Translational Science Network of Precision-Based Immunotherapy for Primary Liver Cancer, and many collaborative, retrospective studies of clinical outcomes.

Education

Harvard College, Boston, MA, B.A., 1993-97, Biochemistry
UCLA, M.D., 1998-2002, Medicine
UCLA, Intern, 2002-03, Medicine
UCLA, Resident, 2003-05, Medicine
UCLA, Chief Resident, 2005-06, Medicine
UCSF, Fellow, 2006-09, Hematology/Oncology

Honors & Awards

  • 1993-1997
    Harvard College Scholarship, Harvard College
  • 1993-1997
    Elizabeth Cary Agassiz Merit Award, Harvard College
  • 1997-1998
    Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, Costa Rica
  • 2001
    Alpha Omega Alpha, UCLA School of Medicine
  • 2001
    Merck Book Award, UCLA School of Medicine
  • 2001
    Janet M. Glascow Memorial Achievement Citation, American Medical Women's Association
  • 2004, 2006
    Solomon Scholars Resident Research Day Award, UCLA Department of Medicine
  • 2006
    Medical Student Teaching Award, UCLA Department of Medicine
  • 2009
    ASCO Cancer Foundation Merit Award, Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium
  • 2010
    ASCO Young Investigator Award
  • 2014
    Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Selected Publications

  1. Mohanty A, Stead AE, Telep LE, Singer AW, Curteis T, Zolotor A, Frenette C, Khoshabafard D, Hammond K, McQuaid T, Kelley RK. Hepatocellular carcinoma risk reduction associated with antiviral treatment in patients with noncirrhotic chronic hepatitis B: a systematic literature review and comparative meta-analysis. BMC Gastroenterol. 2026 Jun 26. View on PubMed
  2. Lombardi P, Ramon-Gil E, Raja RQ, Brunetti L, Manfredi GF, Zhou Z, Merces G, Cappuyns S, Fulgenzi CAM, D'Alessio A, Torkpour A, Celsa C, Stefanini B, Yang H, Crowley F, Marron TU, Saeed A, Pinter M, Scheiner B, Huang YH, Lee PC, Nishida N, Po-Ting Lin R, Dalbeni A, Vivaldi C, Masi G, Rohlen N, von Felden J, Kaseb A, Galle PR, Kudo M, Hsu WF, Rimassa L, Parisi A, Kelley RK, Toyoda H, Pirisi M, Jabar F, Rakaee M, Cabibbo G, Cammà C, Piscaglia F, Hwang S, Shin DJ, Li M, Dekervel J, Guerra N, Meyer T, Reeves HL, Bengsch B, Daniele G, Mann DA, Chon HJ, Leslie J, Pinato DJ. A myeloid immunosuppressive phenotype defines primary refractoriness to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in hepatocellular carcinoma. J Hepatol. 2026 Jun 15. View on PubMed
  3. Llovet JM, Mauro E, Rimassa L, Mazzaferro V, Pinter M, Kelley RK, Chan SL, Kulik L, Pillai A, Roberts L, Sangro B, Casanovas T, Kaplan DE, Vogel A, Yarchoan M, Finn RS, Meyer T, Singal AG. Trial design and end points in hepatocellular carcinoma: an EASL-AASLD-ILCA consensus statement. Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2026 Aug; 23(8):619-647. View on PubMed
  4. Rimassa L, Chan SL, Sangro B, Lau G, Kudo M, Reig M, Breder V, Ryu MH, Ostapenko Y, Sukeepaisarnjaroen W, Varela M, Tougeron D, Crysler OV, Bouattour M, Dao TV, Tam VC, Faccio A, Furuse J, Jeng LB, Kang YK, Kelley RK, Kurland JF, Balaji K, Abou-Alfa GK. Plain language summary of five-year overall survival update from the HIMALAYA study of tremelimumab plus durvalumab in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer). Future Oncol. 2026 May; 22(12):1359-1372. View on PubMed
  5. Llovet JM, Pinyol R, Affo S, Yarchoan M, Gores GJ, Kelley RK, Lowe SW, Sia D, Villanueva A. Hallmarks of liver cancer: Therapeutic implications. Cell. 2026 Apr 16; 189(8):2490-2514. View on PubMed
  6. Reig M, Sanduzzi-Zamparelli M, Forner A, Rimola J, Ferrer-Fàbrega J, Burrel M, Garcia-Criado Á, Díaz A, Llarch N, Iserte G, Mollà M, Kelley RK, Galle PR, Mazzaferro V, Salem R, Sangro B, Singal A, Vogel A, Yanagihara TK, Ayuso C, Torres F, Bruix J. Erratum to 'BCLC strategy for prognosis prediction and treatment recommendations: The 2026 update' [J Hepatol (2026) 631-654]. J Hepatol. 2026 Jun; 84(6):1193-1195. View on PubMed
  7. Montoya T, Lee JV, Qiu L, Krall A, Matulionis N, Seo Y, Finck BN, Kelley RK, Christofk H, Goga A. Alanine catabolism as a targetable vulnerability for MYC-driven liver cancer. Cell Rep. 2026 Mar 17; 45(4):117107. View on PubMed
  8. Keenan BP, Fan Z, Le BK, Harris Q, Chen J, Clark M, Lea A, Zhang L, Cheung A, Lara F, Gordan JD, Bracci P, Behr SC, Fong L, Venook AP, Kim EJ, Kelley RK. Phase II trial with nivolumab and sorafenib in HCC identified enrichment of immunosuppressive monocytes in patients with Child-Pugh B liver dysfunction. JHEP Rep. 2026 May; 8(5):101817. View on PubMed
  9. Wan J, Saatcioglu HD, Ellis H, Aguado-Fraile E, Xu Q, Kondo H, Manguso RT, Gritti I, Norden BL, Noble C, Corcoran RB, Lubner SJ, Javle M, Abou-Alfa GK, Cleary JM, Kelley RK, Borad MJ, Macarulla T, Oh DY, Daigle S, Gliser C, Pandya S, Choe S, Tron AE, Bardeesy N. MAPK Pathway Mutations Emerge in Mutant IDH1 Inhibitor-Resistant Cholangiocarcinoma and Attenuate the IFN Response. Clin Cancer Res. 2026 Mar 02; 32(5):925-937. View on PubMed
  10. Chan SL, Yau T, Kelley RK, Finn RS, Yoo C, Furuse J, Ren Z, Klümpen HJ, Ozaka M, Pelzer U, Arslan C, Park JO, Edeline J, Valle JW, Ueno M, Vogel A, Starkopf L, Malhotra U, Siegel AB, Qin S. Impact of Hepatitis B Virus Infection on the Efficacy and Safety of Pembrolizumab plus Chemotherapy for Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer in the KEYNOTE-966 Study. Cancer Res Commun. 2026 03 01; 6(3):577-584. View on PubMed
  11. Kelley RK, Lee Y, Conway J, Kurland JF, McCoon P. T-Cell Receptor and Immune Gene Expression Pharmacodynamics for Durvalumab Alone and with Tremelimumab or Bevacizumab in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2026 Feb 17; 32(4):694-704. View on PubMed
  12. Han Y, Byun J, VanLith CJ, Cooley MA, Shaw VR, Hatia RI, Ahmed FY, Giama NH, Ali HM, Campbell NA, Hassan M, Andersen JB, Ankoma-Sey V, Banales JM, Bujanda L, Bathe OF, Bekaii-Saab TS, Borad MJ, Björkström NK, Chan CHF, Cleary SP, Cornillet M, Folseraas T, Galle PR, Genkinger JM, MacInnis RJ, Gores GJ, Goyal L, Houlston RS, Ilyas SI, Javle M, Johansen JS, Christensen TD, Kamath AS, Kelley RK, Khan SA, Kim RD, Kwee SA, Lamarca A, Lammert F, LaRusso NF, Lindsey S, Macias RIR, Malhi H, Patel TC, Permuth JB, Reeves HL, Rossi S, Sanchez W, Smoot RL, Swerdlow AJ, Tran Cao HS, Valle JW, Weinmann A, Weinmann-Menke J, Wong LL, Zhang X, Zimmer V, Zhu AX, Lazaridis KN, Juran BD, Jalal P, Knox JJ, Hutchinson A, Hicks B, Koshiol JE, Chanock SJ, Hassan MM, Amos CI, McGlynn KA, Roberts LR. Uncovering the genetic landscape of cholangiocarcinoma and its subtypes via GWAS and integrative analyses. Hepatology. 2026 Feb 02. View on PubMed
  13. Saj F, Namayanja FK, Xiao L, Borad MJ, Kelley RK, Goyal L, Azad NS, Bachini M, Lindsey S, Pant S, Valle JW, Fashoyin-Aje LA, Javle M. Broadening the gates: Analysis of potentially modifiable study entry criteria in pancreatic and biliary tract cancer trials. Cancer. 2026 Jan 01; 132(1):e70227. View on PubMed
  14. Chan SL, Kudo M, Sangro B, Kelley RK, Kim JH, Pham B, Hong JY, Waldschmidt DT, Marino D, Joycelyn Lee JX, Gerolami R, Burgoyne AM, Li Q, Nakamura H, Sun P, Baur B, Rimassa L. Early Safety Results from the Phase 3b SIERRA Study of Durvalumab and Tremelimumab as First-Line Treatment for Participants with Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma and a Poor Prognosis. Liver Cancer. 2025 Dec 18. View on PubMed
  15. Celsa C, Pressiani T, Nishida N, Chamseddine SM, Arvind A, Li M, Fortuny M, Khaled NB, Iavarone M, Toyoda H, Rapposelli IG, Casadei-Gardini A, Vivaldi C, Ulahannan S, Andanamala H, Scheiner B, Pinter M, Orlandi E, Fulgenzi CAM, Manfredi GF, Lombardi P, D'Alessio A, Stefanini B, Villani R, Ponziani FR, Stella L, Carminati O, Ricci AD, Gonzalez M, Sparacino A, Di Maria G, Vaccaro M, Cabibbo G, Cammà C, Reig M, Kelley RK, Singal AG, Kaseb AO, Kudo M, Rimassa L, Pinato DJ. Reproducible safety and efficacy of durvalumab with or without tremelimumab for hepatocellular carcinoma in clinical practice: Results of the DT-real study. JHEP Rep. 2026 Mar; 8(3):101685. View on PubMed
  16. Singal AG, Garcia-Reyes K, Kelley RK, Kim E. Impact of LEAP-012 and EMERALD-1 in the management of HCC. JHEP Rep. 2026 Jan; 8(1):101664. View on PubMed
  17. Reig M, Sanduzzi-Zamparelli M, Forner A, Rimola J, Ferrer-Fàbrega J, Burrel M, Garcia-Criado Á, Díaz A, Llarch N, Iserte G, Mollà M, Kelley RK, Galle PR, Mazzaferro V, Salem R, Sangro B, Singal AG, Vogel A, Yanagihara TK, Ayuso C, Torres F, Bruix J. BCLC strategy for prognosis prediction and treatment recommendations: The 2026 update. J Hepatol. 2026 Mar; 84(3):631-654. View on PubMed
  18. Li M, Kelley RK. Immunotherapy and Cirrhosis: Expanding Child-Pugh Boundaries in Liver Cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2025 Oct 15; 31(20):4220-4222. View on PubMed
  19. Han Y, Shaw VR, Byun J, Thrift AP, Zhu C, Li D, Hatia RI, Kelley RK, Cleary SP, Lok AS, Bracci PM, Permuth JB, Bucur R, Knox J, Yuan JM, Singal AG, Jalal PK, Ghobrial RM, Kono Y, Shah DP, Nguyen MH, Parikh ND, Kim R, Wu HC, El-Serag H, Chang P, Chun YS, Gu J, Huff C, Rashid A, Hwang LY, Klein AP, Khaderi SA, Kaseb AO, McGlynn KA, Roberts LR, Hassan MM, Amos CI. Linkage disequilibrium score regression identifies genetic correlations between hepatocellular carcinoma and clinically relevant traits. Int J Cancer. 2026 Mar 01; 158(5):1193-1203. View on PubMed
  20. Vijay V, Karisani N, Shi L, Hung YH, Vu P, Kattel P, Kenney L, Merritt J, Adil R, Wu Q, Zhen Y, Morris R, Kreuzer J, Kathiresan M, Herrera Lopez XI, Ellis H, Gritti I, Lecorgne L, Farag I, Popa A, Shen W, Kato H, Xu Q, Balasooriya ER, Wu MJ, Wan J, Kondo H, Chaturantabut S, Raghavan S, Hall MD, Patnaik S, Shen M, Kelley RK, Cleary JM, Lawrence MS, Root DE, Patra KC, Silveira VS, Benes CH, Deshpande V, Juric D, Sellers WR, Ferrone CR, Haas W, Vazquez F, Getz G, Bardeesy N. Generation of a Biliary Tract Cancer Cell Line Atlas Identifies Molecular Subtypes and Therapeutic Targets. Cancer Discov. 2025 Sep 04; 15(9):1858-1882. View on PubMed

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