Research Summary

Dr. Franklin Huang is a physician-scientist and medical oncologist who cares for patients with prostate cancer.

Dr. Huang's lab examines genetic differences between cancer cells and normal tissue, aiming to determine what makes certain tumors more aggressive. His work seeks to understand prostate cancer in African Americans and to develop better treatments. His other areas of study include finding new drug targets for cancer patients with precision medicine and global oncology (a field focused on expanding access to cancer prevention and treatment). His research receives support from the National Institutes of Health, the United States Department of Defense, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the Benioff Initiative for Prostate Cancer Research, the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub San Francisco, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Huang earned his PhD in genetics from Harvard Medical School and his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and a fellowship in hematology and oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; both hospitals are Harvard affiliates. He is a co-founder of Global Oncology, a nonprofit working to improve cancer care for underserved patients around the world.

Research Funding

  • August 1, 2025 - July 31, 2030 - Interplay of tumor genomic and immune characteristics and external drivers of health to improve cancer health outcomes , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U54CA302452
  • October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2026 - Investigating the mechanisms of aggressive prostate cancer in African American Veterans , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: I01CX002444
  • March 1, 2023 - September 30, 2023 - ShEEP Request for MERSCOPE Instrument , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: IS1BX006324

Education

  • Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, AB, 06/99, Biology
  • Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, MD, 05/08, Medicine
  • Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, PhD, 06/07, Genetics
  • Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 06/08-06/10, Residency in Internal Medicine,
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MAPostdoctoral06/18Hematology and Medical Oncology

 

Honors & Awards

  • 2022
    Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Investigator
  • 2015
    DFCI Community Service Award
  • 2015
    Partners in Excellence Award
  • 2014
    Prostate Cancer Foundation Young Investigator Award
  • 2014
    American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Award
  • 2013
    John R. Svenson Fellowship in Genomics
  • 2006
    Medical Scientist Training Program Award
  • 2006
    Albert J. Ryan Foundation Fellow
  • 2004
    International Bioiron Society Travel Award
  • 2001
    Forum for International Health and Tropical Medicine Travel Award

Selected Publications

  1. Balas J, Bowling L, Shakhnazaryan N, Aggarwal RR, Borno HT, Hong JC, Huang FW, Tong B, Kwon DH. Evaluation of an Artificial Intelligence Communication Platform for Racial Biases in Pretest Education About Prostate Cancer Germline Testing. JCO Clin Cancer Inform. 2026 Jul-Sep; 10(3):e2500385. View on PubMed
  2. Kamran SC, Borges M, Michalski J, Lee WR, Sandler HM, Crook J, Pollack A, Hurwitz MD, Valicenti RK, Bruner DW, Lukka H, Jones CU, Roach M, Lawton C, Rosenthal SA, Pisansky TM, Spratt D, Vapiwala N, Efstathiou J, Miyamoto D, Mouw K, Vyfhuis M, Le QT, Willers H, Van Allen E, Huang F, Bahary JP, Helou J, Pugh SL, Wenzel J, Tran P. Participant Heterogeneity in the Prostate Cancer Biobank of the NRG: An Obstacle to Broadening the Reach of Precision Oncology. JCO Precis Oncol. 2026 Jul; 10(7):e2600158. View on PubMed
  3. Saglam A, Kumar J, Van Ziffle J, Mukherjee S, Singh K, Ruiz-Cordero R, Morrison M, Huang F, Cagdas D, Ozogul E, Uner A, Ohgami RS. Study of inborn errors of immunity associated lymphoid proliferations identifies association of presence of somatic variations with large cell morphology, copy number alterations in TNFAIP3 and heterozygous variants in EMSY. Virchows Arch. 2026 Jun 20. View on PubMed
  4. Asiimwe E, Hu D, Cheng J, Wu AHB, Kushi LH, Huang FW, Kachuri L, Oni-Orisan A, Ziv E. Clinical Implications of the Duffy-Null Genotype in Patients on Azathioprine or Methotrexate in the All of Us Cohort. J Appl Lab Med. 2026 May 22. View on PubMed
  5. Motegi T, Huang F, Campbell JD. Benchmarking of local ancestry inference with different assays and parameters. bioRxiv. 2026 May 21. View on PubMed
  6. Song H, Xu J, Velazquez-Arcelay K, Demirci A, Raizenne BL, Hsu SC, Choi J, Pham JH, Chen YA, Weinstein HNW, Salzman I, Tsui M, Akutagawa J, Adingo W, Goldschmidt E, Carroll PR, Hong JC, Heaphy CM, Cooperberg MR, Greenland N, Campbell JD, Huang FW. Defining the combinatorial nature of gene modules in prostate cancer underlying lineage plasticity and metastasis. Res Sq. 2026 May 11. View on PubMed
  7. Chen DD, Zimmer A, Yang DD, Francini E, Patton R, Crowdis J, Chandra P, Bin Riaz I, Hanratty B, Rickles-Young M, Tsuji J, Cibulskis C, Fleharty M, Whelpley B, Reardon B, Park J, Nelson PS, Huang FW, Van Allen EM, Ha G, Choudhury AD. Multi-modal circulating cell-free DNA profiling to predict response to docetaxel in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. NPJ Precis Oncol. 2026 Apr 28; 10(1). View on PubMed
  8. Tsui M, Hu K, Song H, Hsu SC, Chen YA, Nuniz L, Pham JH, Chang CH, Hui KSF, Quigley DA, Li J, Huang FW. Landscape of Allele-Specific Expression in Prostate Cancer Reveals Recurrent, Stage-Specific Events in AR Signaling and Resistance Pathways. Mol Cancer Res. 2026 04 02; 24(4):242-257. View on PubMed
  9. Song H, Xu J, Velazquez-Arcelay K, Demirci A, Raizenne BL, Hsu SC, Choi J, Pham JH, Chen YA, Weinstein HNW, Salzman I, Tsui M, Akutagawa J, Adingo W, Goldschmidt E, Carroll PR, Hong JC, Heaphy CM, Cooperberg MR, Greenland N, Campbell JD, Huang FW. A single-cell and spatial atlas of prostate cancer reveals the combinatorial nature of gene modules underlying lineage plasticity and metastasis. bioRxiv. 2026 Mar 27. View on PubMed
  10. Unno R, Akutagawa J, Song H, Hui K, Chen YA, Pham JH, Lee J, Yang H, Huang FW, Chi T. A single cell transcriptional profile of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Sci Rep. 2026 Mar 14; 16(1). View on PubMed
  11. Fergus KB, Newberg J, Greenstein R, Fejerman L, Carvajal-Carmona L, Collisson E, Dixit N, Frampton G, Huang FW, Neuhausen SL, Ziv E. Association between ancestry and tumor somatic mutations in a large national cohort of women with breast cancer. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2025 Oct 29; 11(1):117. View on PubMed
  12. Kwon DH, Scheuner MT, McPhaul M, Hearst EL, Sumra S, Ursem C, Walker E, Wang S, Kaur G, Nesheiwat S, Huang FW, Aggarwal RR, Belkora J. Veterans' Decision Making for Prostate Cancer Germline Testing After Informed Consent With Their Oncologist: A Mixed-Methods Study. JCO Oncol Pract. 2026 Mar; 22(3):502-515. View on PubMed
  13. Yang H, Song H, Yip E, Gilpatrick T, Chang K, Allegakoen P, Lu KL, Hui K, Pham JH, Kasap C, Kumar V, Gayle J, Stohr BA, Cornelia Ding CK, Wiita AP, Meng MV, Chou J, Porten SP, Huang FW. Bladder cancer variants share aggressive features including a CA125+ cell state and targetable TM4SF1 expression. Nat Commun. 2025 Jun 17; 16(1):5312. View on PubMed
  14. Yu X, Cheng X, Wei H, Xu X, Gong C, Li G, Yao H, Zhou L, Zhong Y, Yang Y, Luo F, Zhang Y, Huang F, Shi X, Cabri P, Luo X. A Phase 3, Open-Label, Single-Arm Trial of the Efficacy and Safety of Triptorelin 6-Month Formulation in Chinese Children with Central Precocious Puberty. Adv Ther. 2024 12; 41(12):4537-4556. View on PubMed
  15. Kwon DH, Scheuner MT, McPhaul M, Hearst E, Sumra S, Ursem C, Walker E, Wang S, Huang FW, Aggarwal RR, Belkora J. Germline testing for veterans with advanced prostate cancer: concerns about service-connected benefits. JNCI Cancer Spectr. 2024 Sep 02; 8(5). View on PubMed
  16. Weinstein HNW, Hu K, Fish L, Chen YA, Allegakoen P, Pham JH, Hui KSF, Chang CH, Tutar M, Benitez-Rivera L, Baco MB, Song H, Giacomelli AO, Vazquez F, Ghandi M, Goodarzi H, Huang FW. RPL22 is a tumor suppressor in MSI-high cancers and a splicing regulator of MDM4. Cell Rep. 2024 08 27; 43(8):114622. View on PubMed
  17. Choudhury AD, Kwak L, Cheung A, Allaire KM, Marquez J, Yang DD, Tripathi A, Kilar JM, Flynn M, Maynard B, Reichel R, Pace AF, Chen BK, Van Allen EM, Kilbridge K, Wei XX, McGregor BA, Pomerantz MM, Bhatt RS, Sweeney CJ, Bubley GJ, Jacene HA, Taplin ME, Huang FW, Harshman LC, Fong L. Randomized Phase II Study Evaluating the Addition of Pembrolizumab to Radium-223 in Metastatic Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer. Cancer Immunol Res. 2024 06 04; 12(6):704-718. View on PubMed
  18. Weinstein HNW, Hu K, Fish L, Chen YA, Allegakoen P, Hui KSF, Pham JH, Baco MB, Song H, Giacomelli AO, Vazquez F, Ghandi M, Goodarzi H, Huang FW. RPL22 is a tumor suppressor in MSI-high cancers and a key splicing regulator of MDM4. bioRxiv. 2023 Dec 10. View on PubMed
  19. COVID Tissue Atlas Consortium, Granados AA, Bucher S, Song H, Agrawal A, Chen AT, Peng T, Neff N, Pisco AO, Huang F, Wang B. Single-nuclei characterization of pervasive transcriptional signatures across organs in response to COVID-19. Elife. 2023 10 13; 12. View on PubMed
  20. Luo X, Zhang C, Yang Y, Xu X, Cheng X, Wei H, Wang L, Huang F, Shi X, Cabri P. Efficacy and Safety of Triptorelin 3-Month Formulation in Chinese Children with Central Precocious Puberty: A Phase 3, Open-Label, Single-Arm Study. Adv Ther. 2023 10; 40(10):4574-4588. View on PubMed

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