Research Summary

I am a physician scientist focused on the treatment and study of primary liver cancers. I attend in the Gastrointestinal Oncology Group and run a research group in the Quantitive Biosciences Institute. My laboratory applies proteomic methods to identify novel targets and improve the application of existing therapeutics for liver cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma and fibrolamellar liver cancer. We have three major areas of investigation:
1. Mapping oncogenic kinase signaling and its response to targeted therapeutics to define biomarkers and combination treatments for clinically relevant agents
2. Characterizing the impact of hepatitis viruses on liver cancer and its response to treatment
3. Developing small molecule strategies to target Hippo pathway dysregulation

Education

Harvard College, Cambridge, MA, BA, 06/2001, Biochemistry
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, PhD, 12/2007, Cancer Biology
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, MD, 05/2009, Medicine
UC San Francisco, Resident, 06/2011, Internal Medicine
UC San Francisco, Clinical Fellow, 07/12, Hematology/Oncology

Honors & Awards

  • 2022
    NCI R37 Merit Award
  • 2018
    Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists
  • 2015
    American Society for Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award
  • 2014
    American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • 2008
    Saul Winegrad Award for Outstanding Dissertation in Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Pennsylvania

Selected Publications

  1. Gritti I, Wan J, Weeresekara V, Vaz JM, Tarantino G, Bryde TH, Vijay V, Kammula AV, Kattel P, Zhu S, Vu P, Chan M, Wu MJ, Gordan JD, Patra KC, Silveira VS, Manguso RT, Wein MN, Ott CJ, Qi J, Liu D, Sakamoto K, Gujral TS, Bardeesy N. DNAJB1-PRKACA Fusion Drives Fibrolamellar Liver Cancer through Impaired SIK Signaling and CRTC2/p300-Mediated Transcriptional Reprogramming. Cancer Discov. 2025 Feb 07; 15(2):382-400.  View on PubMed
  2. Goyal L, DiToro D, Facchinetti F, Martin EE, Peng P, Baiev I, Iyer R, Maurer J, Reyes S, Zhang K, Majeed U, Berchuck JE, Chen CT, Walmsley C, Pinto C, Vasseur D, Gordan JD, Mody K, Borad M, Karasic T, Damjanov N, Danysh BP, Wehrenberg-Klee E, Kambadakone AR, Saha SK, Hoffman ID, Nelson KJ, Iyer S, Qiang X, Sun C, Wang H, Li L, Javle M, Lin B, Harris W, Zhu AX, Cleary JM, Flaherty KT, Harris T, Shroff RT, Leshchiner I, Parida L, Kelley RK, Fan J, Stone JR, Uboha NV, Hirai H, Sootome H, Wu F, Bensen DC, Hollebecque A, Friboulet L, Lennerz JK, Getz G, Juric D. A Model for Decoding Resistance in Precision Oncology: Acquired Resistance to FGFR inhibitors in Cholangiocarcinoma. Ann Oncol. 2024 Dec 18.  View on PubMed
  3. Turnham RE, Pitea A, Jang GM, Xu Z, Lim HC, Choi AL, Von Dollen J, Levin RS, Webber JT, McCarthy E, Hu J, Li X, Che L, Singh A, Yoon A, Chan GKL, Kelley RK, Swaney DL, Zhang W, Bandyopadhyay S, Theis FJ, Eckhardt M, Chen X, Shokat KM, Ideker T, Krogan NJ, Gordan JD. HBV Remodels PP2A Complexes to Rewire Kinase Signaling in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cancer Res. 2025 Feb 17; 85(4):660-674.  View on PubMed
  4. Kassaye I, Alyafaie A, Zhang K, Lifton J, Gordan JD, Kelley RK, Yung M. Cataracts Associated With Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor Inhibitors for Cholangiocarcinoma. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2024 Dec 01; 142(12):1109-1113.  View on PubMed
  5. Rosenthal KJ, Gordan JD, Scott JD. Protein kinase A and local signaling in cancer. Biochem J. 2024 Nov 20; 481(22):1659-1677.  View on PubMed
  6. Li M, Hannan LM, Goyal L, Bocobo AG, Parks AL, Bauer K, Baiev I, Dinicola C, Gordan JD, Venook AP, Harris WP, Bracci P, Kelley RK. Changes in alpha-fetoprotein across the systemic therapy continuum in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma-a real-world, multicenter study. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2024; 16:17588359241297085.  View on PubMed
  7. Weinfurtner K, Tischfield D, McClung G, Crainic J, Gordan J, Jiao J, Furth EE, Li W, Tuzneen Supan E, Nadolski GJ, Hunt SJ, Kaplan DE, Gade TPF. Human GM-CSF/IL-3 enhance tumor immune infiltration in humanized HCC patient-derived xenografts. bioRxiv. 2024 Oct 31.  View on PubMed
  8. Zeme EL, Van Loon K, Kelley RK, Gordan JD. Emerging Therapies for the Management of Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2-/ERBB2-Altered Advanced Biliary Tract Cancers. J Clin Oncol. 2024 Sep 20; 42(27):3170-3176.  View on PubMed
  9. Rose MG, Kennedy EB, Abou-Alfa GK, Finn RS, Gade T, Kelley RK, Taddei T, Gordan JD. Systemic Therapy for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: ASCO Guideline Update Clinical Insights. JCO Oncol Pract. 2024 Aug; 20(8):1035-1039.  View on PubMed
  10. Ma RK, Tsai PY, Farghli AR, Shumway A, Kanke M, Gordan JD, Gujral TS, Vakili K, Nukaya M, Noetzli L, Ronnekleiv-Kelly S, Broom W, Barrow J, Sethupathy P. DNAJB1-PRKACA fusion protein-regulated LINC00473 promotes tumor growth and alters mitochondrial fitness in fibrolamellar carcinoma. PLoS Genet. 2024 Mar; 20(3):e1011216.  View on PubMed
  11. Gordan JD, Kennedy EB, Abou-Alfa GK, Beal E, Finn RS, Gade TP, Goff L, Gupta S, Guy J, Hoang HT, Iyer R, Jaiyesimi I, Jhawer M, Karippot A, Kaseb AO, Kelley RK, Kortmansky J, Leaf A, Remak WM, Sohal DPS, Taddei TH, Wilson Woods A, Yarchoan M, Rose MG. Systemic Therapy for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: ASCO Guideline Update. J Clin Oncol. 2024 May 20; 42(15):1830-1850.  View on PubMed
  12. Lauer SM, Omar MH, Golkowski MG, Kenerson HL, Lee KS, Pascual BC, Lim HC, Forbush K, Smith FD, Gordan JD, Ong SE, Yeung RS, Scott JD. Recruitment of BAG2 to DNAJ-PKAc scaffolds promotes cell survival and resistance to drug-induced apoptosis in fibrolamellar carcinoma. Cell Rep. 2024 02 27; 43(2):113678.  View on PubMed
  13. Myint KZ, Sueca-Comes M, Collier P, Balasubramanian B, Venkatraman S, Gordan J, Zaitoun AM, Mukherjee A, Arora A, Larbcharoensub N, Suriyonplengsaeng C, Wongprasert K, Janvilisri T, Gomez D, Grabowska AM, Tohtong R, Bates DO, Yacqub-Usman K. Preclinical evidence for anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors as novel therapeutic treatments for cholangiocarcinoma. Front Oncol. 2023; 13:1184900.  View on PubMed
  14. Gordan JD, Keenan BP, Lim HC, Yarchoan M, Kelley RK. New Opportunities to Individualize Frontline Therapy in Advanced Stages of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Drugs. 2023 Aug; 83(12):1091-1109.  View on PubMed
  15. Lauer SM, Omar MH, Golkowski MG, Kenerson HL, Pascual BC, Forbush K, Smith FD, Gordan J, Ong SE, Yeung RS, Scott JD. Recruitment of BAG2 to DNAJ-PKAc scaffolds promotes cell survival and resistance to drug-induced apoptosis in fibrolamellar carcinoma. bioRxiv. 2023 Jun 28.  View on PubMed
  16. Zack T, Losert KP, Maisel SM, Wild J, Yaqubie A, Herman M, Knox JJ, Mayer RJ, Venook AP, Butte A, O'Neill AF, Abou-Alfa GK, Gordan JD. Defining incidence and complications of fibrolamellar liver cancer through tiered computational analysis of clinical data. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2023 Mar 23; 7(1):29.  View on PubMed
  17. Chan GKL, Maisel S, Hwang YC, Pascual BC, Wolber RRB, Vu P, Patra KC, Bouhaddou M, Kenerson HL, Lim HC, Long D, Yeung RS, Sethupathy P, Swaney DL, Krogan NJ, Turnham RE, Riehle KJ, Scott JD, Bardeesy N, Gordan JD. Oncogenic PKA signaling increases c-MYC protein expression through multiple targetable mechanisms. Elife. 2023 01 24; 12.  View on PubMed
  18. Wu Q, Zhen Y, Shi L, Vu P, Greninger P, Adil R, Merritt J, Egan R, Wu MJ, Yin X, Ferrone CR, Deshpande V, Baiev I, Pinto CJ, McLoughlin DE, Walmsley CS, Stone JR, Gordan JD, Zhu AX, Juric D, Goyal L, Benes CH, Bardeesy N. EGFR Inhibition Potentiates FGFR Inhibitor Therapy and Overcomes Resistance in FGFR2 Fusion-Positive Cholangiocarcinoma. Cancer Discov. 2022 05 02; 12(5):1378-1395.  View on PubMed
  19. Qing T, Liu J, Liu F, Mitchell DC, Beresis RT, Gordan JD. Methods to assess small molecule allosteric modulators of the STRAD pseudokinase. Methods Enzymol. 2022; 667:427-453.  View on PubMed
  20. Dinh TA, Utria AF, Barry KC, Ma R, Abou-Alfa GK, Gordan JD, Jaffee EM, Scott JD, Zucman-Rossi J, O'Neill AF, Furth ME, Sethupathy P. A framework for fibrolamellar carcinoma research and clinical trials. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022 05; 19(5):328-342.  View on PubMed

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