Research Summary

I have been heavily involved in the field of salivary gland cancer research since my postdoctoral experience during residency in the lab of Drs. David Sidransky and Joseph Califano. I joined the Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology as a faculty member in 2006 and chose to focus my research efforts on salivary gland tumors, with several NIH and foundation grants awarded since 2007. My focus was on the epigenetic mechanisms of adenoid cystic carcinoma, and the pathways that might lead to its development. Since moving to UCSF in 2015, our lab has pivoted to studying the function of the Myb-NFIB fusion oncogene present in adenoid cystic carcinoma in an effort to better understand the molecular underpinnings of this elusive cancer. We continue to work with many collaborators at UCSF and throughout the world. As a practicing head and neck surgeon, I bring additional clinical expertise which can offer access to tissue banking and patients, as well as an understanding of the relevant translational questions.

Research Funding

  • September 1, 2012 - August 31, 2017 - Integrated pathway analysis of altered driver genes in adenoid cystic carcinoma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01DE023227
  • July 13, 2012 - June 30, 2014 - array-based screening for the expression and regulation of tumor supressor genes , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R03DE022591
  • July 1, 2007 - December 30, 2012 - The role of promoter hypermethylation in adenoid cystic carcinoma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: K08DE018463

Education

Harvard College, BA, 1991-95, Biology
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, MD, 1995-99, Medicine
Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology, Residency, 1999-2006, Otolaryngology
Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology, Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2000-2002, Molecular Genetics
Johns Hopkins Department of Otolaryngology, Advanced training, 2006, Head and Neck Surgery

Honors & Awards

  • 1999
    Elected Alpha Omega Alpha, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
  • 2005
    Recipient of the Henkel Chief Resident Teacher of the Year Award
  • 2006
    Tilghman Travel Fellowship recipient for training in endoscopic laser surgery
  • 2007/11
    Recipient of the Otolaryngology Faculty Teaching Award
  • 2020
    Excellence in Teaching for Clinical Faculty Award
  • 2020
    The Ernest H. Rosenbaum, MD Commitment to Patient Care Award
  • 2022
    Exceptional Physician Award, UCSF
  • 2022
    Francis A. Sooy, MD Award for Clinical Excellence

Selected Publications

  1. Hu KH, Kuhn NF, Courau T, Tsui J, Samad B, Ha P, Kratz JR, Combes AJ, Krummel MF. Transcriptional space-time mapping identifies concerted immune and stromal cell patterns and gene programs in wound healing and cancer. Cell Stem Cell. 2023 06 01; 30(6):885-903.e10.  View on PubMed
  2. Gulati A, Plonowska-Hirschfeld K, Stephens EM, Kansara S, Zebolsky AL, Ochoa E, Xu MJ, Ha PK, Heaton CM, Yom SS, Chan JW, Algazi AP, Kang H, Ryan WR. A prospective evaluation of neck and shoulder function following treatments of early-stage human papillomavirus-associated oropharynx cancer. Clin Otolaryngol. 2023 Sep; 48(5):756-765.  View on PubMed
  3. Stephens EM, Plonowska-Hirschfeld K, Gulati A, Kansara S, Qualliotine J, Zelbolsky AL, van Zante A, Ha PK, Heaton CM, Ryan WR. Prospective quality of life outcomes for human papillomavirus associated oropharynx cancer patients after surgery alone. Am J Otolaryngol. 2023 Jul-Aug; 44(4):103915.  View on PubMed
  4. Rahim MK, Okholm TLH, Jones KB, McCarthy EE, Liu CC, Yee JL, Tamaki SJ, Marquez DM, Tenvooren I, Wai K, Cheung A, Davidson BR, Johri V, Samad B, O'Gorman WE, Krummel MF, van Zante A, Combes AJ, Angelo M, Fong L, Algazi AP, Ha P, Spitzer MH. Dynamic CD8+ T cell responses to cancer immunotherapy in human regional lymph nodes are disrupted in metastatic lymph nodes. Cell. 2023 03 16; 186(6):1127-1143.e18.  View on PubMed
  5. Lee RH, Evans C, Laus J, Sanchez C, Wai KC, Knott PD, Seth R, El-Sayed IH, George JR, Ryan WR, Heaton CM, Park AM, Ha PK. Patterns of Postoperative Trismus Following Mandibulectomy and Fibula Free Flap Reconstruction. Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jan 16; 15(2).  View on PubMed
  6. Nolan MB, Piasecki TM, Smith SS, Baker TB, Fiore MC, Adsit RT, Bolt DM, Conner KL, Bernstein SL, Eng OD, Lazuk D, Gonzalez A, Hayes-Birchler T, Jorenby DE, D'Angelo H, Kirsch JA, Williams BS, Kent S, Kim H, Lubanski SA, Yu M, Suk Y, Cai Y, Kashyap N, Mathew J, McMahan G, Rolland B, Tindle HA, Warren GW, Abu-El-Rub N, An LC, Boyd AD, Brunzell DH, Carrillo VA, Chen LS, Davis JM, Deshmukh VG, Dilip D, Goldstein AO, Ha PK, Iturrate E, Jose T, Khanna N, King A, Klass E, Lui M, Mermelstein RJ, Poon C, Tong E, Wilson KM, Theobald WE, Slutske WS. Relations of Current and Past Cancer with Severe Outcomes among 104,590 Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: The COVID EHR Cohort at the University of Wisconsin. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2023 01 09; 32(1):12-21.  View on PubMed
  7. Okerosi S, Mokoh LW, Rubagumya F, Niyibizi BA, Nkya A, Van Loon K, Buckle G, Bent S, Ha P, Fagan JJ, Ng D, Aswani J, Xu MJ. Human Papillomavirus-Associated Head and Neck Malignancies in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review. JCO Glob Oncol. 2023 01; 9:e2200259.  View on PubMed
  8. Lee RH, Wai KC, Chan JW, Ha PK, Kang H. Approaches to the Management of Metastatic Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Nov 20; 14(22).  View on PubMed
  9. Qureshy Z, Li H, Zeng Y, Rivera J, Cheng N, Peterson CN, Kim MO, Ryan WR, Ha PK, Bauman JE, Wang SJ, Long SR, Johnson DE, Grandis JR. STAT3 Activation as a Predictive Biomarker for Ruxolitinib Response in Head and Neck Cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 11 01; 28(21):4737-4746.  View on PubMed
  10. Madeleine P. Strohl, Patrick K. Ha, Kaveh Zakeri, Nancy Lee. De-intensification Strategies for Head and Neck Cancer. . 2022 Sep 10; 1-12.  View on PubMed
  11. Kidane J, Laus J, Gulati A, Gochman GE, Schneider SL, Chan JW, Yom SS, Ha P, Boscardin WJ, Ryan WR, Ma Y. Longitudinal Analysis of Swallowing Displacement Kinematics After Oropharyngeal Cancer Treatment. Laryngoscope. 2023 06; 133(6):1339-1348.  View on PubMed
  12. Mukherjee A, Ha P, Wai KC, Naara S. The Role of ECM Remodeling, EMT, and Adhesion Molecules in Cancerous Neural Invasion: Changing Perspectives. Adv Biol (Weinh). 2022 Sep; 6(9):e2200039.  View on PubMed
  13. Joseph O. Humtsoe, Leilani Jones, Shorook Naara, Francesca Zammarchi, Nicole Spardy Burr, Patrick H. van Berkel, Patrick K. Ha, Hyunseok Kang. Abstract LB084: AXL as a therapeutic target in adenoid cystic carcinoma: preclinical evaluation of AXL targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADCT-601). Cancer Research. 2022 Jun 15; 82(12_Supplement):lb084-lb084.  View on PubMed
  14. Cheung CK, Chew J, Wai K, Calkins SM, Ha PK, Ryan WR, Cunha A, Yom SS, Hsu IC, Chan JW. Feasibility of accelerated image-guided high-dose-rate interstitial brachytherapy with inverse planning simulated annealing (IPSA-HDRBT) for post-operative treatment of pathologically node-negative squamous cell carcinomas of the oral tongue. Brachytherapy. 2022 Sep-Oct; 21(5):686-691.  View on PubMed
  15. Humtsoe JO, Kim HS, Jones L, Cevallos J, Boileau P, Kuo F, Morris LGT, Ha P. Development and Characterization of MYB-NFIB Fusion Expression in Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Apr 30; 14(9).  View on PubMed
  16. 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
  17. Scott-Wittenborn N, D'Souza G, Tewari S, Rooper L, Troy T, Drake V, Bigelow EO, Windon MJ, Ryan WR, Ha PK, Kiess AP, Miles B, Westra WH, Mydlarz WK, Eisele DW, Fakhry C. Prevalence of human papillomavirus in head and neck cancers at tertiary care centers in the United States over time. Cancer. 2022 05 01; 128(9):1767-1774.  View on PubMed
  18. Li H, Peyser ND, Zeng Y, Ha PK, Johnson DE, Grandis JR. NSAIDs Overcome PIK3CA Mutation-Mediated Resistance to EGFR Inhibition in Head and Neck Cancer Preclinical Models. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Jan 20; 14(3).  View on PubMed
  19. Combes AJ, Samad B, Tsui J, Chew NW, Yan P, Reeder GC, Kushnoor D, Shen A, Davidson B, Barczak AJ, Adkisson M, Edwards A, Naser M, Barry KC, Courau T, Hammoudi T, Argüello RJ, Rao AA, Olshen AB, Immunoprofiler Consortium, Cai C, Zhan J, Davis KC, Kelley RK, Chapman JS, Atreya CE, Patel A, Daud AI, Ha P, Diaz AA, Kratz JR, Collisson EA, Fragiadakis GK, Erle DJ, Boissonnas A, Asthana S, Chan V, Krummel MF. Discovering dominant tumor immune archetypes in a pan-cancer census. Cell. 2022 01 06; 185(1):184-203.e19.  View on PubMed
  20. Stanford-Moore GB, Sola AM, Chan J, El-Sayed I, George J, Ha P, Ryan WR, Heaton CM. Adjuvant therapy improves survival in pT4aN0 oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma with bone invasion. Am J Otolaryngol. 2022 Mar-Apr; 43(2):103303.  View on PubMed

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