Research Summary

I am a physician-scientist whose research program focuses on mouse cancer modeling, molecular therapeutics, functional genomics, and biomarker discovery in hematologic cancers. Our recent data indicate that targeting downstream Ras effector pathways and aberrant transcriptional programs is highly synergistic in vivo and represents a novel approach for the treatment of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Additional contributions to science include collaborations that have involved targeting RAS/NF1-driven cancers and the implementation of computational pipelines for analyzing integrated (epi)genetic preclinical and clinical data. These collaborations include recent projects that incorporate primary samples from patients enrolled on North American Children's Oncology Group clinical trials, as well as early phase clinical trials.

As a represented example, the use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) or bone marrow transplantation (BMT) as consolidation therapy for AML diagnosed in children, adolescents, and young adults has been debated for decades. We combined clinical, laboratory, and high-throughput sequencing data from the last two frontline AML clinical trials through the Children’s Oncology Group. Our study includes the largest contemporary pediatric AML BMT study cohort and is the first study to incorporate cryptic high-risk fusions that are only identified using RNA high-throughput sequencing methodologies. The results of our analysis are the first to indicate that children, adolescents, and young adults with high-risk AML defined by contemporary criteria benefit from HSCT or BMT in first complete remission.

Our overall goal is to develop new therapeutic strategies in AML to inform biology-driven, genetically stratified trials of innovative drug combinations.

Education

University of California, Berkeley, BS, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences
University of California, San Francisco, MD, Medicine
University of California, San Francisco, Residency, Pediatrics
University of California, San Francisco, Fellowship, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

Honors & Awards

  • 2006
    UC Berkeley Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award
  • 2009
    Alpha Omega Alpha, Medical Honor Society
  • 2010
    UCSF School of Medicine Essential Core Teaching Award
  • 2011
    UCSF Pediatric Residency Ahmad Ghanea Bassiri Award Finalist
  • 2013
    UCSF Pediatric Residency Rudolph Award Finalist
  • 2014
    UCSF School of Medicine Core Clerkship Teaching Award
  • 2016
    St. Baldrick’s Foundation Fellowship Award
  • 2017
    Bleecher Junior Faculty Research Award
  • 2019
    Hyundai Hope on Wheels Scholar Award
  • 2020
    St. Baldrick's Foundation Scholar Award
  • 2020
    Rally Foundation Career Development Award

Selected Publications

  • Huang BJ*, Meyer LK*, Alonzo TA, Wang Y-C, Lamble AJ, Ries RE, Wang W, Hirsch B, Raca G, Ma X, Gamis AS, Aplenc R, Kolb EA, Cooper TM, Tarlock K, Loken MR, Meshinchi S, Chewning JH, Woods WG, Horan JT. Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Outcomes for High-Risk Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Report from the Children’s Oncology Group. J Clin Oncol. 2025 Apr 28:JCO2401841. doi: 10.1200/JCO-24-01841. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40294366. [*contributed equally]
  • D’Souza J, Leung CJ, Ballapuram AC, Lin AS, Batingana A, Lamble AJ, Ries RE, Morales CE, Cottonham C, Gona P, Fan L, Ma X, Shannon K, Meshinchi S, Braun BS, Huang BJ. TP53 Inactivation Confers Resistance to the Menin Inhibitor Revumenib in Acute Myeloid Leukemia. bioRxiv. 2025 Mar 24: 2025.03.24.644993. doi: 10.1101/2025.03.24.644993. PMID: 40196700.
  • Decker M*, Huang BJ*, Ware T*, Boone C, Tang M, Ybarra J, Ballapuram AC, Taran KA, Chen P-Y, Armendariz M, Leung CJ, Harris M, Tjoa K, Hongo H, Abelson S, Rivera J, Ngo N, Herbst DM, Suciu RM, Guijas C, Sedighi K, Andalis T, Roche E, Xie B, Liu Y, Smith CC, Stieglitz E, Niphakis MJ, Cravatt BF, Shannon K. In vivo validation of the palmitoylation cycle as a therapeutic target in NRAS-mutant cancer. bioRxiv. 2025 Mar 20. 2025.03.20.644389. doi: 10.1101/2025.03.20.644389. PMID: 40166265. [*contributed equally]
  • Zhang JZ, Li X, Batingana A, Liu C, Jiang H, Shannon K, Huang BJ, Wu K, Baker D. De novo design of Ras isoform selective binders. bioRxiv. 2025 Feb 5:2024.08.29.610300. doi: 10.1101/2024.08.29.610300. PMID: 39975043.
  • Morstein J, Bowcut V, Fernando M, Yang Y, Zhu L, Jenkins ML, Evans JT, Guiley KZ, Peacock DM, Krahnke S, Lin Z, Taran KA, Huang BJ, Stephen AG, Burke JE, Lightstone FC, Shokat KM. Targeting Ras-, Rho-, and Rab-Family GTPases via a Conserved Cryptic Pocket. Cell. 2024 Oct 31;187(22):6379-6392.e17. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.08.017. PMID: 39255801.
  • Levinson A, Shannon K, Huang BJ. Targeting Hyperactive Ras Signaling in Pediatric Cancer. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med. 2024 Jul 15:a041572. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a041572. PMID: 39009442.
  • Umeda M, Ma J, Westover T, Ni Y, Song G, Maciaszek JL, Rusch M, Rahbarinia D, Foy S, Huang BJ, Walsh MP, Kumar P, Liu Y, Ma X, Wang L, Rubnitz JE, Pounds S, Klco JM. A new genomic framework to categorize pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Nat Genetics. 2024 Feb;56(2):281-293. doi: 10.1038/s41588-023-01640-3. PMID: 38212634.
  • Mandal K, Wicaksono G, Yu C, Adams JJ, Hoopman MR, Temple WC, Patino Escobar B, Gorelik M, Ihling CH, Nix MA, Naik A, Ramos E, Kasap C, Steri V, Camara Serrano J, Salangsang F, Phojanakong P, McMillan M, Gavallos V, Leavitt AD, Sinz A, Huang BJ, Stieglitz E, Smith CC, Moritz RL, Sidhu SS, Huang L, Wiita AP. Structural surfaceomics reveals an AML-specific conformation of Integrin-β2 as an immunotherapeutic target. Nat Cancer. 2023 Nov;4(11):1592-1609. doi: 10.1038/s43018-023-00652-6. PMID: 37904046.
  • Chen P-Y*, Huang BJ*, Harris M, Boone C, Wang W, Carias H, Mesiona B, Mavrici D, Kohler A, Bollag G, Zhang C, Zhang Y, Shannon K. Structural and functional analyses of a germline KRAS T50I mutation provide insights into Raf activation. JCI Insight. 2023 Sep 8;8(17):e168445. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.168445. PMID: 37681415. [*contributed equally]
  • Farrar JE, Smith JL, Othus M, Huang BJ, Wang Y-C, Ries RE, Hylkema T, Pogosova-Agadjanyan EL, Challa S, Leonti AR, Shaw TI, Triche TJ, Gamis AS, Aplenc R, Kolb EA, Ma X, Stirewalt DL, Alonzo TA, Meshinchi S. Long Non-Coding RNA Expression Independently Predicts Outcome in Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia. J Clin Oncol. 2023 Jun 1;41(16):2949-2962. doi: 10.1200/JCO.22.01114. PMID: 36795987.
  • Le Q, Hadland B, Smith JL, Leonti A, Huang BJ, Ries R, Hylkema TA, Castro S, Tang TT, McKay CN, Perkins L, Pardo L, Sarthy J, Beckman AK, Williams R, Idemmili R, Furlan S, Ishida T, Call L, Srivastava S, Loeb AM, Milano F, Imren S, Morris SM, Pakiam F, Olson JM, Loken MR, Eidenschink Brodersen L, Riddell SR, Tarlock K, Bernstein ID, Loeb KR, Meshinchi S. CBFA2T3-GLIS2 model of pediatric acute megakaryoblastic leukemia identifies FOLR1 as a CAR T cell target. J Clin Invest. 2022 Sep 22:e157101. doi: 10.1172/JCI157101. PMID: 36136600.
  • Huang BJ, Smith JL, Farrar JE, Wang YC, Umeda M, Ries RE, Leonti AR, Crowgey E, Furlan SN, Tarlock K, Armendariz M, Liu Y, Shaw TI, Wei L, Gerbing R, Cooper TM, Gamis AS, Aplenc R, Kolb EA, Rubnitz J, Ma J, Klco JM, Ma X, Alonzo TA, Triche T, Meshinchi S. Integrated stem cell signature and cytomolecular risk determination in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Nat Commun. 2022 Sep 19;13(1):5487. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-33244-6. PMID: 36123353.
  • Umeda M, Ma J, Huang BJ, Hagiwara K, Westover T, Abdelhamed S, Barajas JM, Thomas ME, Walsh MP, Song G, Miller J, Hiltenbrand R, Liu Y, Chen X, Foy X, Iacobucci I, Kleist AB, Ries RE, Wu H, Rusch M, Alonzo TA, Maciaszek JL, Inaba H, Wu G, Valentine V, Valentine M, Liu YC, Mullighan CG, Pounds S, Babu MM, Zhang J, Rubnitz JE, Meshinchi S, Ma X, Klco JM. Integrated genomic analysis identifies UBTF tandem duplications as a recurrent lesion in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Blood Cancer Discov. 2022 Feb 16. doi: 10.1158/2643-3230.BCD-21-0160. PMID: 35176137.
  • Huang BJ, Smith JL, Shaw TI, Furlan SN, Ries RE, Leonti AR, Crowgey EL, Wei L, Farrar JE, Trich T, Ma X, Le Q, Meshinchi S. Integrated transcriptomics and proteomics identifies therapeutic targets in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia. Blood. 2021 Nov 5;138(S1):1296. doi: 10.1182/blood-2021-153970.
  • Huang BJ, Smith JL, Wang YC, Taghizadeh K, Leonti AR, Ries RE, Liu Y, Kolekar P, Tarlock K, Gerbing R, Crowgey EL, Furlan SN, Shaw TI, Hagiwara K, Wei L, Cooper TM, Gamis AS, Aplenc R, Kolb EA, Farrar JE, Triche T, Alonzo TA, Ma X, Meshinchi S. CBFB-MYH11 fusion transcripts distinguish acute myeloid leukemias with distinct molecular landscapes and outcomes. Blood Adv. 2021 Dec 14;5(23):4963-4968. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2021004965. PMID: 34547772.
  • Remsberg J, Suciu R, Zambetti N, Hanigan T, Firestone A, Inguva A, Long A, Ngo N, Lum K, Henry C, Richardson S, Predovic M, Huang BJ, Howell A, Niphakis M, Shannon K, Cravatt B. ABHD17 enzymes regulate dynamic plasma membrane palmitoylation and N-Ras-dependent cancer growth. Nat Chem Biol. 2021 Apr 29. doi: 10.1038/s41589-021-00785-8. PMID: 33927411.
  • Peretz C, McGary L, Kumar T, Jackson H, Jacob J, Durruthy-Durruthy R, Levis M, Perl A, Huang BJ, Smith C. Single cell DNA sequencing reveals complex mechanisms of resistance to quizartinib. Blood Adv. 2021 Mar 9;5(5):1437-1441. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2020003398. PMID: 33666651.
  • Huang BJ, Wang X, Harris M, Wandler A, Hwang E, Burgess MR, Li Q, Severson P, Powell B, Kolb EA, Meshinchi S, Taylor BS, Bollag G, Shannon K. Co-Targeting BET bromodomain proteins and aberrant signaling in AML. Blood. 2020 Nov 5;136(S1):5-6. doi: 10.1182/blood-2020-142921.
  • Zambetti NA, Firestone AJ, Remsberg JR, Huang BJ, Wong JC, Long AM, Predovic M, Suciu RM, Inguva A, Kogan SC, Haigis KM, Cravatt BF, Shannon K. Genetic disruption of palmitoylation abrogates hematopoietic transformation by NrasG12D in vivo. Blood. 2020 May 14;135(20):1772-1782. doi: 10.1182/blood.2019003530. PMID: 32219446.
  • Meyer LK, Huang BJ, Delgado-Martin C, Roy R, Hechmer A, Wandler AM, Vincent TL, Olshen A, Wood BL, Horton TM, Shannon KM, Teachey DT, Hermiston ML. Glucocorticoids paradoxically facilitate steroid resistance in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias. J Clin Invest. 2020 Feb 3;130(2):863-876. doi: 10.1172/JCI130189. PMID: 31687977.
  • Huang BJ, Wandler A, Meyer L, Dail M, Daemen A, Sampath D, Li Q, Wang X, Wong JC, Nakitandwe J, Downing JR, Zhang J, Taylor B, Shannon K. Convergent Genetic Aberrations in Murine and Human T Lineage Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemias. PLoS Genet. 2019 Jun 14;15(6):e1008168. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008168. PMID: 31199785.
  • Burgess MR, Hwang E, Mroue R, Bielski CM, Wandler AM, Huang BJ, Firestone AJ, Young A, LaCap J, Crocker L, Asthana S, Davis EM, Xu J, Akagi K, Le Beau MM, Li Q, Stokoe D, Sampath D, Taylor BS, Evangelista M, Shannon K. KRAS Allelic Imbalance Enhances Fitness and Modulates MAP Kinase Dependence in Cancer. Cell. 2017 Feb 23;168(5):817-829.e15. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.01.020. PMID: 28215705.

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