Research Summary

My laboratory studies ionizing radiation, both as a carcinogen and a therapeutic. I discovered that radiation activates transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) and that TGFβ mediates DNA damage repair by homologous recombination, non-homologous end-joining and alternative end-joining. TGFβ also regulates the composition of the irradiated tumor microenvironment, particularly immune cell phenotypes. Detailed understanding of how TGFβ contributes to therapeutic response in preclinical models of breast, brain, lung and head and neck cancer has generated new rationales for clinical applications of TGFβ inhibitors.

In carcinogenesis, we use mouse models to study the mechanisms by which radiation increases breast cancer. Understanding the etiology of cancer is founded upon understanding of normal tissue biology and is advanced by application of systems biology approaches. We study the mammary gland in terms of stromal-epithelial interactions, regulation of mammary hierarchy and differentiation, and the functions of TGFβ and BRCA1. We have described radiation effects in cell-cell interactions, tissue composition and cell phenotype as a function of radiation type, dose and age at exposure in normal mammary gland and their consequences in carcinogenesis. These studies have generated new understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying radiation risks and insights for the means to protect irradiated populations after exposure.

Research Funding

Education

University of Chicago, A.B., 1978, Biopsychology
University of California, San Francisco, Ph.D., 1986, Experimental Pathology
University of California, Berkeley, Postdoctoral training, 1988, Biophysics

Honors & Awards

  • 1982
    Basic Science Research Award, University of California, San Francisco
  • 1984
    Basic Science Research Award, University of California, San Francisco
  • 1984
    Student Travel Award, Radiation Research Society
  • 1986
    Student Travel Award, Radiation Research Society
  • 1985
    Student Travel Award, Cell Kinetics Society
  • 1986 - 1988
    NIH Fellowship Biophysics Training Grant, University of California, Berkeley
  • 2001
    Co-Chair, Mammary Gland, Gordon Research Conference
  • 2003
    Chair, Mammary Gland Gordon Research Conference
  • 2003 - 2008
    Susan Love MD Breast Cancer Foundation
  • 2003 – 2009
    NASA Radiation Discipline Working Group
  • 2006 - 2010
    Chief Scientist, DOE OBER Low Dose Program
  • 2012 - 2013
    Vice Chair, AACR Tumor Microenvironment Steering Committee
  • 2014
    Co-Chair, AACR 2014 Annual Meeting

Selected Publications

  1. Barcellos-Hoff MH, Yom SS. Revisiting the TGFβ paradox: insights from HPV-driven cancer and the DNA damage response. Nat Rev Cancer. 2025 May 19.  View on PubMed
  2. Ma L, Mao JH, Barcellos-Hoff MH Systemic inflammation in response to radiation drives the genesis of an immunosuppressed tumor microenvironment.  View on PubMed
  3. Muñoz DP, Arcuschin CD, Kahrizi K, Sayaman RW, DiBenedetto C, Salaberry PJ, Shen Y, Zakroui O, Schwarzer C, Scapozza A, Betancur P, Saba JD, Coppé JP, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Kappes D, Veer LV', Schor IE. Super-enhancer profiling reveals ThPOK/ZBTB7B, a CD4+ cell lineage commitment factor, as a master regulator that restricts breast cancer cells to a luminal non-migratory phenotype. Res Sq. 2025 Mar 31.  View on PubMed
  4. Espín R, Medina-Jover F, Sigüenza-Andrade J, Farran-Matas S, Mateo F, Figueras A, Sanz RT, Vicent GP, Shabbir A, Ruiz-Auladell L, Racionero-Andrés E, García I, Baiges A, Franco-Luzón L, Martínez-Tebar A, Pardo-Cea MA, Martínez-Iniesta M, Wang XC, Cuyàs E, Menendez JA, Lopez-Cerda M, Muñoz P, Richaud I, Raya A, Fabregat I, Villanueva A, Serrat X, Cerón J, Alemany M, Guix I, Herencia-Ropero A, Serra V, Krishnan R, Mekhail K, Hakem R, Bruna J, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Viñals F, Aytes Á, Pujana MA Harnessing transcriptional regulation of alternative end-joining to predict cancer treatment.  View on PubMed
  5. Moore J, Gkantalis J, Guix I, Chou W, Yuen K, Lazar AA, Spitzer M, Combes A, Barcellos-Hoff MH. Identification of a conserved subset of cold tumors responsive to immune checkpoint blockade. J Immunother Cancer. 2025 Mar 06; 13(3).  View on PubMed
  6. Yan H, Mao AW, Li D, Pérez-Baena MJ, Jiménez-Navas A, Wang D, Hong R, Cai W, Pérez-Losada J, Jen KY, Wang S, Peng S, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Mao JH, Fu Y, Iczkowski KA, Gulati S, Chang H. AI-Powered cellular morphometric biomarkers discovered in needle biopsy of prostatic cancer predict neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy response and prognosis: an international multicenter retrospective study. medRxiv. 2024 Nov 18.  View on PubMed
  7. Arcuschin CD, Kahrizi K, Sayaman RW, DiBenedetto C, Shen Y, Salaberry PJ, Zakroui O, Schwarzer C, Scapozza A, Betancur P, Saba JD, Coppé JP, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Kappes D, van 't Veer L, Schor IE, Muñoz DP. Super-enhancer profiling reveals ThPOK/ZBTB7B, a CD4 + cell lineage commitment factor, as a master regulator that restricts breast cancer cells to a luminal non-migratory phenotype. bioRxiv. 2024 Sep 25.  View on PubMed
  8. Jung J, Schneider EL, Zhang W, Song H, Zhang M, Chou W, Meher N, VanBrocklin HF, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Ozawa T, Gilbert MR, Santi DV. PLX038A, a long-acting SN-38, penetrates the blood-tumor-brain-barrier, accumulates and releases SN-38 in brain tumors to increase survival of tumor bearing mice. Sci Rep. 2024 06 19; 14(1):14175.  View on PubMed
  9. Moore J, Gkantalis J, Guix I, Chou W, Yuen K, Lazar AA, Spitzer M, Combes AJ, Barcellos-Hoff MH. Lack of TGFβ signaling competency predicts immune poor cancer conversion to immune rich and response to checkpoint blockade. bioRxiv. 2024 May 21.  View on PubMed
  10. Chowdhury S, Kennedy JJ, Ivey RG, Murillo OD, Hosseini N, Song X, Petralia F, Calinawan A, Savage SR, Berry AB, Reva B, Ozbek U, Krek A, Ma W, da Veiga Leprevost F, Ji J, Yoo S, Lin C, Voytovich UJ, Huang Y, Lee SH, Bergan L, Lorentzen TD, Mesri M, Rodriguez H, Hoofnagle AN, Herbert ZT, Nesvizhskii AI, Zhang B, Whiteaker JR, Fenyo D, McKerrow W, Wang J, Schürer SC, Stathias V, Chen XS, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Starr TK, Winterhoff BJ, Nelson AC, Mok SC, Kaufmann SH, Drescher C, Cieslik M, Wang P, Birrer MJ, Paulovich AG. Proteogenomic analysis of chemo-refractory high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Cell. 2024 Feb 15; 187(4):1016.  View on PubMed
  11. Chowdhury S, Kennedy JJ, Ivey RG, Murillo OD, Hosseini N, Song X, Petralia F, Calinawan A, Savage SR, Berry AB, Reva B, Ozbek U, Krek A, Ma W, da Veiga Leprevost F, Ji J, Yoo S, Lin C, Voytovich UJ, Huang Y, Lee SH, Bergan L, Lorentzen TD, Mesri M, Rodriguez H, Hoofnagle AN, Herbert ZT, Nesvizhskii AI, Zhang B, Whiteaker JR, Fenyo D, McKerrow W, Wang J, Schürer SC, Stathias V, Chen XS, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Starr TK, Winterhoff BJ, Nelson AC, Mok SC, Kaufmann SH, Drescher C, Cieslik M, Wang P, Birrer MJ, Paulovich AG. Proteogenomic analysis of chemo-refractory high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Cell. 2023 08 03; 186(16):3476-3498.e35.  View on PubMed
  12. Gregucci F, Spada S, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Bhardwaj N, Chan Wah Hak C, Fiorentino A, Guha C, Guzman ML, Harrington K, Herrera FG, Honeychurch J, Hong T, Iturri L, Jaffee E, Karam SD, Knott SRV, Koumenis C, Lyden D, Marciscano AE, Melcher A, Mondini M, Mondino A, Morris ZS, Pitroda S, Quezada SA, Santambrogio L, Shiao S, Stagg J, Telarovic I, Timmerman R, Vozenin MC, Weichselbaum R, Welsh J, Wilkins A, Xu C, Zappasodi R, Zou W, Bobard A, Demaria S, Galluzzi L, Deutsch E, Formenti SC. Updates on radiotherapy-immunotherapy combinations: Proceedings of 6th annual ImmunoRad conference. Oncoimmunology. 2023; 12(1):2222560.  View on PubMed
  13. Ma L, Gonzalez-Junca A, Chou W, Barcellos-Hoff MH. Monitoring TGFβ signaling in irradiated tumors. Methods Cell Biol. 2023; 180:49-67.  View on PubMed
  14. Barcellos-Hoff MH, Gulley JL. Molecular Pathways and Mechanisms of TGFβ in Cancer Therapy. Clin Cancer Res. 2023 06 01; 29(11):2025-2033.  View on PubMed
  15. Guix I, Liu Q, Pujana MA, Ha P, Piulats J, Linares I, Guedea F, Mao JH, Lazar A, Chapman J, Yom SS, Ashworth A, Barcellos-Hoff MH. Validation of Anticorrelated TGFβ Signaling and Alternative End-Joining DNA Repair Signatures that Predict Response to Genotoxic Cancer Therapy. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 04 01; 28(7):1372-1382.  View on PubMed
  16. Yu T, Cazares O, Tang AD, Kim HY, Wald T, Verma A, Liu Q, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Floor SN, Jung HS, Brooks AN, Klein OD. SRSF1 governs progenitor-specific alternative splicing to maintain adult epithelial tissue homeostasis and renewal. Dev Cell. 2022 03 14; 57(5):624-637.e4.  View on PubMed
  17. Chang H, Yang X, Moore J, Liu XP, Jen KY, Snijders AM, Ma L, Chou W, Corchado-Cobos R, García-Sancha N, Mendiburu-Eliçabe M, Pérez-Losada J, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Mao JH. From Mouse to Human: Cellular Morphometric Subtype Learned From Mouse Mammary Tumors Provides Prognostic Value in Human Breast Cancer. Front Oncol. 2021; 11:819565.  View on PubMed
  18. Barcellos-Hoff MH. The radiobiology of TGFβ. Semin Cancer Biol. 2022 11; 86(Pt 3):857-867.  View on PubMed
  19. Gulley JL, Schlom J, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Wang XJ, Seoane J, Audhuy F, Lan Y, Dussault I, Moustakas A. Dual inhibition of TGF-β and PD-L1: a novel approach to cancer treatment. Mol Oncol. 2022 06; 16(11):2117-2134.  View on PubMed
  20. Moore J, Ma L, Lazar AA, Barcellos-Hoff MH. Mammary Tumor-Derived Transplants as Breast Cancer Models to Evaluate Tumor-Immune Interactions and Therapeutic Responses. Cancer Res. 2022 02 01; 82(3):365-376.  View on PubMed

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