Research Summary

I am a dermatologist and dermatopathologistwith expertise in diagnosing and treating patients with cutaneous neoplasms. I have expertise in molecular cancer genetics and molecular pathology and lead a research laboratory at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Since 1997 my research has focused on the molecular pathogenesis of melanoma and revealed the existence of distinct disease subtypes that differ in their underlying genetic alterations, epidemiology, anatomic distribution, clinical and microscopic appearance, evolution from precursor lesions, role of UV radiation, and cell of origin. The Bastian Lab also has contributed to the discovery of oncogenic alterations such as mutations in KIT, GNAQ, GNA11, HRAS, and a whole panel of oncogenic fusion genes of various receptor tyrosine and threonine kinases in various melanocytic neoplasms. I have developed clinical tests to assist pathologists with the diagnosis of histologically ambiguous lesions, which have been adopted word-wide. I have proposed a two-dimensional taxonomy of melanocytic neoplasia that has been adopted as the framework for the revised WHO Classification of Skin Tumors. I founded and direct the Clinical Cancer Genomics Laboratory at UCSF, which performs genomic analyses of tumor samples of patients seen at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and have additional clinical responsibilities in the in the Dermatopathology Section of the Departments of Dermatology and Pathology.

Research Funding

  • September 15, 2017 - August 31, 2024 - Molecular and immunologic evolution of melanomas from pre-neoplastic lesions, Principal Investigator. Sponsor: NIH/NCI, Sponsor Award ID: R35CA220481
  • September 12, 2013 - August 31, 2018 - Molecular Pathology of Cancer, Co-Principal Investigator. Sponsor: NIH/NCI, Sponsor Award ID: T32CA177555
  • January 1, 1980 - March 31, 2016 - Human Melanoma: Etiology, Progression and Therapy, Co-Investigator. Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P01CA025874
  • December 1, 2009 - November 30, 2015 - The GNAQ pathway as a therapeutic target in uveal melanoma, Principal Investigator. Sponsor: NIH/NCI, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA142873

Education

Humboldt-Gymnasium, Solingen, Germany, Baccalaureate, 1980
University of Munich, Germany, M.D., 1988, Medicine
University of Munich, Germany, Dr. med., 1989, Laboratory Medicine
University of Wurzburg, Germany, Residency, 1994, Dermatology
University of California, San Francisco, Postdoctoral, 1999, Cancer Genetics

Honors & Awards

  • 1995
    Graduate Stipend of the Novartis Foundation for Therapeutic Research
  • 1997
    Habilitandenstipendium of the German Research Society (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
  • 2000
    American Melanoma Foundation Research Award
  • 2001
    American Skin Association Research Scientist Development Award
  • 2005
    Hermann Pinkus Lectureship and Award, American Society of Dermatopathology
  • 2006
    Stewart Trust Award
  • 2007
    Melanoma Research Foundation Individual Investigator Award
  • 2008
    Abby S. and Howard P. Milstein Innovation Award for Skin Cancer Research, American Skin Association
  • 2011-2013
    President, Society of Melanoma Research
  • 2011
    German National Academy of Science (Leopoldina)
  • 2012
    Helwig Award, American Society of Dermatopathology
  • 2012
    Scientific Leadership Award, Melanoma Research Foundation
  • 2014
    Lifetime Achievement Award, Society of Melanoma Research
  • 2015
    Stein Innovation Award, Research to Prevent Blindness
  • 2016
    Research Achievement Award in Melanoma and Skin Cancer Research, American Skin Association
  • 2017
    Lila and Murray Gruber Memorial Cancer Research Award, American Academy of Dermatology
  • 2017
    NCI Outstanding Investigator Award

Selected Publications

  1. Robertson SJ, Orme L, Teixeira R, Shamassi M, Newell F, Patch AM, Yeh I, Gard G, Wilmott J, Jackett L, LeBoit P, Fellowes A, MacArthur G, Fox S, Hayward NK, Bastian B, Scolyer R, Waddell N, Penington A, Shackleton M. Evaluation of Crizotinib Treatment in a Patient With Unresectable GOPC-ROS1 Fusion Agminated Spitz Nevi. JAMA Dermatol. 2021 Jul 01; 157(7):836-841.  View on PubMed
  2. Yeh I, Bastian BC. Melanoma pathology: new approaches and classification. Br J Dermatol. 2021 08; 185(2):282-293.  View on PubMed
  3. Roy SF, Bastian BC, Maguiness S, Giubellino A, Vemula SS, McCalmont TH, Yeh I. Multiple desmoplastic Spitz nevi with BRAF fusions in a patient with ring chromosome 7 syndrome. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2021 Sep; 34(5):987-993.  View on PubMed
  4. Tang J, Fewings E, Chang D, Zeng H, Liu S, Jorapur A, Belote RL, McNeal AS, Tan TM, Yeh I, Arron ST, Judson-Torres RL, Bastian BC, Shain AH. Publisher Correction: The genomic landscapes of individual melanocytes from human skin. Nature. 2021 Feb; 590(7844):E20.  View on PubMed
  5. Ma J, Weng L, Bastian BC, Chen X. Functional characterization of uveal melanoma oncogenes. Oncogene. 2021 01; 40(4):806-820.  View on PubMed
  6. Tang J, Fewings E, Chang D, Zeng H, Liu S, Jorapur A, Belote RL, McNeal AS, Tan TM, Yeh I, Arron ST, Judson-Torres RL, Bastian BC, Shain AH. The genomic landscapes of individual melanocytes from human skin. Nature. 2020 10; 586(7830):600-605.  View on PubMed
  7. Raghavan SS, Kapler ES, Dinges MM, Bastian BC, Yeh I. Eruptive Spitz nevus, a striking example of benign metastasis. Sci Rep. 2020 10 01; 10(1):16216.  View on PubMed
  8. de la Fouchardière A, Tee MK, Peternel S, Valdebran M, Pissaloux D, Tirode F, Busam KJ, LeBoit PE, McCalmont TH, Bastian BC, Yeh I. Fusion partners of NTRK3 affect subcellular localization of the fusion kinase and cytomorphology of melanocytes. Mod Pathol. 2021 04; 34(4):735-747.  View on PubMed
  9. Watkins TBK, Lim EL, Petkovic M, Elizalde S, Birkbak NJ, Wilson GA, Moore DA, Grönroos E, Rowan A, Dewhurst SM, Demeulemeester J, Dentro SC, Horswell S, Au L, Haase K, Escudero M, Rosenthal R, Bakir MA, Xu H, Litchfield K, Lu WT, Mourikis TP, Dietzen M, Spain L, Cresswell GD, Biswas D, Lamy P, Nordentoft I, Harbst K, Castro-Giner F, Yates LR, Caramia F, Jaulin F, Vicier C, Tomlinson IPM, Brastianos PK, Cho RJ, Bastian BC, Dyrskjøt L, Jönsson GB, Savas P, Loi S, Campbell PJ, Andre F, Luscombe NM, Steeghs N, Tjan-Heijnen VCG, Szallasi Z, Turajlic S, Jamal-Hanjani M, Van Loo P, Bakhoum SF, Schwarz RF, McGranahan N, Swanton C. Pervasive chromosomal instability and karyotype order in tumour evolution. Nature. 2020 11; 587(7832):126-132.  View on PubMed
  10. Shain AH, Bastian BC. Author Correction: From melanocytes to melanomas. Nat Rev Cancer. 2020 Jun; 20(6):355.  View on PubMed
  11. Elder DE, Bastian BC, Cree IA, Massi D, Scolyer RA. The 2018 World Health Organization Classification of Cutaneous, Mucosal, and Uveal Melanoma: Detailed Analysis of 9 Distinct Subtypes Defined by Their Evolutionary Pathway. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2020 04; 144(4):500-522.  View on PubMed
  12. Lee HJ, Pham T, Chang MT, Barnes D, Cai AG, Noubade R, Totpal K, Chen X, Tran C, Hagenbeek T, Wu X, Eastham-Anderson J, Tao J, Lee W, Bastian BC, Carbone M, Webster JD, Dey A. The Tumor Suppressor BAP1 Regulates the Hippo Pathway in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Cancer Res. 2020 04 15; 80(8):1656-1668.  View on PubMed
  13. Raghavan SS, Peternel S, Mully TW, North JP, Pincus LB, LeBoit PE, McCalmont TH, Bastian BC, Yeh I. Spitz melanoma is a distinct subset of spitzoid melanoma. Mod Pathol. 2020 06; 33(6):1122-1134.  View on PubMed
  14. Afshar AR, Pekmezci M, Bloomer MM, Cadenas NJ, Stevers M, Banerjee A, Roy R, Olshen AB, Van Ziffle J, Onodera C, Devine WP, Grenert JP, Bastian BC, Solomon DA, Damato BE. Next-Generation Sequencing of Retinoblastoma Identifies Pathogenic Alterations beyond RB1 Inactivation That Correlate with Aggressive Histopathologic Features. Ophthalmology. 2020 06; 127(6):804-813.  View on PubMed
  15. Houlier A, Pissaloux D, Masse I, Tirode F, Karanian M, Pincus LB, McCalmont TH, LeBoit PE, Bastian BC, Yeh I, de la Fouchardière A. Melanocytic tumors with MAP3K8 fusions: report of 33 cases with morphological-genetic correlations. Mod Pathol. 2020 05; 33(5):846-857.  View on PubMed
  16. Burbidge TE, Bastian BC, Guo D, Li H, Morris DG, Monzon JG, Leung G, Yang H, Cheng T. Association of Indoor Tanning Exposure With Age at Melanoma Diagnosis and BRAF V600E Mutations. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2019 11 01; 111(11):1228-1231.  View on PubMed
  17. Fernandez KS, Turski ML, Shah AT, Bastian BC, Horvai A, Hardee S, Sweet-Cordero EA. Ewing sarcoma in a child with neurofibromatosis type 1. Cold Spring Harb Mol Case Stud. 2019 10; 5(5).  View on PubMed
  18. Botton T, Talevich E, Mishra VK, Zhang T, Shain AH, Berquet C, Gagnon A, Judson RL, Ballotti R, Ribas A, Herlyn M, Rocchi S, Brown KM, Hayward NK, Yeh I, Bastian BC. Genetic Heterogeneity of BRAF Fusion Kinases in Melanoma Affects Drug Responses. Cell Rep. 2019 10 15; 29(3):573-588.e7.  View on PubMed
  19. Yeh I, Jorgenson E, Shen L, Xu M, North JP, Shain AH, Reuss D, Wu H, Robinson WA, Olshen A, von Deimling A, Kwok PY, Bastian BC, Asgari MM. Targeted Genomic Profiling of Acral Melanoma. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2019 10 01; 111(10):1068-1077.  View on PubMed
  20. Torres R, Lang UE, Hejna M, Shelton SJ, Joseph NM, Shain AH, Yeh I, Wei ML, Oldham MC, Bastian BC, Judson-Torres RL. MicroRNA Ratios Distinguish Melanomas from Nevi. J Invest Dermatol. 2020 01; 140(1):164-173.e7.  View on PubMed

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