Research Summary

I am an imaging scientist and breast cancer researcher with broad experience in the area of biomedical research. Work in my laboratory focuses on the development of MRI techniques for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment response assessment. My laboratory works closely with a multi-disciplinary team of radiologists, surgeons, oncologists, basic science researchers and advocates to optimize MRI methods for the clinical management of breast cancer patients. The overall goal of our interdisciplinary research program is to develop imaging-based biomarkers that can be used in combination with clinical and molecular information to individualize treatment strategies.

I lead as Principal Investigator, the multi-center ACRIN trials 6657 and 6698, evaluating dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) and diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI respectively, for assessing treatment response as part of the ISPY-1 and ISPY-2 neoadjuvant breast cancer trials. Under an NCI Academic-Industrial Partnership (AIP) grant with commercial partner Hologic, Inc., (R01 CA132870), my laboratory developed and deployed a software platform for real-time measurement of breast tumor response using DCE-MRI, for use in clinical trials. The Hologic software received FDA IDE approval in 2010 and is now incorporated in the response-adaptive patient randomization engine of ISPY-2. Under prior funding from the NCI Quantitative Imaging Network (QIN) (U01 CA151235), my laboratory led efforts to improve the integration of quantitative imaging (QI) in breast cancer clinical trials through the development of standards and quality control processes and improved diffusion-weighted MRI approaches for tumor response measurement.

As an applied scientist involved in the early development of breast MRI, I believe I bring a unique perspective and appreciation of the factors that drive and shape the development of new breast imaging technologies. I have served on and chaired numerous grant review panels in both the areas of medical imaging and breast cancer research.

I am an active educator and faculty member at UCSF and in the UCSF/UC Berkeley Bioengineering Graduate Program and I teach formally in the UCSF Master’s in Biomedical Imaging degree program. I have been involved in the training and research supervision of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty for over 20 years.

Research Funding

  • April 25, 2008 - June 30, 2021 - Real-time In Vivo MRI Biomarkers for Breast Cancer Pre-Operative Treatment Trials , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA132870
  • September 26, 2011 - August 31, 2016 - Quantitative Imaging for Assessing Breast Cancer Response to Treatment , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U01CA151235
  • August 23, 2006 - July 31, 2013 - MRI For Staging DCIS and Assessing Response to Treatment , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA116182
  • June 1, 1993 - May 31, 2013 - NMR Imaging and Spectroscopy , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: P41RR008079
  • January 15, 1997 - February 28, 2012 - Anatomic and Biologic Staging of Breast Disease with MRI , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA069587
  • September 26, 2001 - December 31, 2008 - Mechanism-Based Evaluations of ErbB-Targeted Agents , Co-Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: U54CA090788

Education

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), B.S., 1979, Chemical Engineering
Stanford University, Ph.D., 1985, Applied Physics

Honors & Awards

  • 2010
    Komen Scholar, Komen for the Cure
  • 2013
    Distinguished Lectureship Award, Sigma Xi
  • 2013
    Distinguished Investigator Award, Academy of Radiology Research
  • 2017
    Fellow, International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine

Selected Publications

  1. Ramalingam K, Woody R, Glencer A, Schwartz CJ, Mori H, Wong J, Hirst G, Rosenbluth J, Onishi N, Gibbs J, Hylton N, Borowsky AD, Campbell M, Esserman LJ. Intratumoral Injection of mRNA-2752 and Pembrolizumab for High-Risk Ductal Carcinoma In Situ: A Phase 1 Nonrandomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2025 Mar 01; 11(3):288-292.  View on PubMed
  2. Rugo HS, Campbell M, Yau C, Jo Chien A, Wallace AM, Isaacs C, Boughey JC, Han HS, Buxton M, Clennell JL, Asare SM, Steeg K, Wilson A, Singhrao R, Matthews JB, Perlmutter J, Fraser Symmans W, Hylton NM, DeMichele AM, Yee D, Van't Veer LJ, Berry DA, Esserman LJ. Pexidartinib and standard neoadjuvant therapy in the adaptively randomized I-SPY2 trial for early breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2025 Feb; 209(3):487-492.  View on PubMed
  3. Li W, Le NN, Nadkarni R, Onishi N, Wilmes LJ, Gibbs JE, Price ER, Joe BN, Mukhtar RA, Gennatas ED, Kornak J, Magbanua MJM, Van't Veer LJ, LeStage B, Esserman LJ, Hylton NM. Tumor Morphology for Prediction of Poor Responses Early in Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: A Multicenter Retrospective Study. Tomography. 2024 Nov 20; 10(11):1832-1845.  View on PubMed
  4. Campbell MJ, Wolf DM, Yau C, Brown-Swigart L, Wulfkuhle J, Gallagher IR, Zhu Z, Bolen J, Vandenberg S, Hoyt C, Mori H, Borowsky A, Sit L, Perlmutter J, Asare SM, I-SPY2 Investigators, Nanda R, Liu MC, Yee D, DeMichele AM, Hylton NM, Pusztai L, Berry DA, Hirst GL, Petricoin EF, Veer LV, Esserman L. Multi-platform biomarkers of response to an immune checkpoint inhibitor in the neoadjuvant I-SPY 2 trial for early-stage breast cancer. Cell Rep Med. 2024 Nov 19; 5(11):101799.  View on PubMed
  5. Huppert LA, Wolf D, Yau C, Brown-Swigart L, Hirst GL, Isaacs C, Pusztai L, Pohlmann PR, DeMichele A, Shatsky R, Yee D, Thomas A, Nanda R, Perlmutter J, Heditsian D, Hylton N, Symmans F, Van't Veer LJ, Esserman L, Rugo HS. Pathologic complete response (pCR) rates for patients with HR+/HER2- high-risk, early-stage breast cancer (EBC) by clinical and molecular features in the phase II I-SPY2 clinical trial. Ann Oncol. 2025 Feb; 36(2):172-184.  View on PubMed
  6. Khoury K, Meisel JL, Yau C, Rugo HS, Nanda R, Davidian M, Tsiatis B, Chien AJ, Wallace AM, Arora M, Rozenblit M, Hershman DL, Zimmer A, Clark AS, Beckwith H, Elias AD, Stringer-Reasor E, Boughey JC, Nangia C, Vaklavas C, Omene C, Albain KS, Kalinsky KM, Isaacs C, Tseng J, Roussos Torres ET, Thomas B, Thomas A, Sanford A, Balassanian R, Ewing C, Yeung K, Sauder C, Sanft T, Pusztai L, Trivedi MS, Outhaythip A, Li W, Onishi N, Asare AL, Beineke P, Norwood P, Brown-Swigart L, Hirst GL, Matthews JB, Moore B, Fraser Symmans W, Price E, Beedle C, Perlmutter J, Pohlmann P, Shatsky RA, DeMichele A, Yee D, van 't Veer LJ, Hylton NM, Esserman LJ. Datopotamab-deruxtecan in early-stage breast cancer: the sequential multiple assignment randomized I-SPY2.2 phase 2 trial. Nat Med. 2024 Dec; 30(12):3728-3736.  View on PubMed
  7. Shatsky RA, Trivedi MS, Yau C, Nanda R, Rugo HS, Davidian M, Tsiatis B, Wallace AM, Chien AJ, Stringer-Reasor E, Boughey JC, Omene C, Rozenblit M, Kalinsky K, Elias AD, Vaklavas C, Beckwith H, Williams N, Arora M, Nangia C, Roussos Torres ET, Thomas B, Albain KS, Clark AS, Falkson C, Hershman DL, Isaacs C, Thomas A, Tseng J, Sanford A, Yeung K, Boles S, Chen YY, Huppert L, Jahan N, Parker C, Giridhar K, Howard FM, Blackwood MM, Sanft T, Li W, Onishi N, Asare AL, Beineke P, Norwood P, Brown-Swigart L, Hirst GL, Matthews JB, Moore B, Symmans WF, Price E, Heditsian D, LeStage B, Perlmutter J, Pohlmann P, DeMichele A, Yee D, van 't Veer LJ, Hylton NM, Esserman LJ. Datopotamab-deruxtecan plus durvalumab in early-stage breast cancer: the sequential multiple assignment randomized I-SPY2.2 phase 2 trial. Nat Med. 2024 Dec; 30(12):3737-3747.  View on PubMed
  8. Greenwood HI, Maldonado Rodas CK, Freimanis RI, Glencer AC, Miller PN, Mukhtar RA, Brabham C, Yau C, Rosenbluth JM, Hirst GL, Campbell MJ, Borowsky A, Hylton N, Esserman LJ, Basu A. Magnetic resonance imaging insights from active surveillance of women with ductal carcinoma in situ. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2024 Aug 04; 10(1):71.  View on PubMed
  9. Magbanua MJM, Ahmed Z, Sayaman RW, Brown Swigart L, Hirst GL, Yau C, Wolf DM, Li W, Delson AL, Perlmutter J, Pohlmann P, Symmans WF, Yee D, Hylton NM, Esserman LJ, DeMichele AM, Rugo HS, van 't Veer LJ. Cell-free DNA Concentration as a Biomarker of Response and Recurrence in HER2-Negative Breast Cancer Receiving Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy. Clin Cancer Res. 2024 Jun 03; 30(11):2444-2451.  View on PubMed
  10. Diwanji D, Onishi N, Hathi DK, Lawhn-Heath C, Kornak J, Li W, Guo R, Molina-Vega J, Seo Y, Flavell RR, Heditsian D, Brain S, Esserman LJ, Joe BN, Hylton NM, Jones EF, Ray KM. 18F-FDG Dedicated Breast PET Complementary to Breast MRI for Evaluating Early Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy. Radiol Imaging Cancer. 2024 03; 6(2):e230082.  View on PubMed
  11. Albain KS, Yau C, Petricoin EF, Wolf DM, Lang JE, Chien AJ, Haddad T, Forero-Torres A, Wallace AM, Kaplan H, Pusztai L, Euhus D, Nanda R, Elias AD, Clark AS, Godellas C, Boughey JC, Isaacs C, Tripathy D, Lu J, Yung RL, Gallagher RI, Wulfkuhle JD, Brown-Swigart L, Krings G, Chen YY, Potter DA, Stringer-Reasor E, Blair S, Asare SM, Wilson A, Hirst GL, Singhrao R, Buxton M, Clennell JL, Sanil A, Berry S, Asare AL, Matthews JB, DeMichele AM, Hylton NM, Melisko M, Perlmutter J, Rugo HS, Symmans WF, Van't Veer LJ, Yee D, Berry DA, Esserman LJ. Neoadjuvant Trebananib plus Paclitaxel-based Chemotherapy for Stage II/III Breast Cancer in the Adaptively Randomized I-SPY2 Trial-Efficacy and Biomarker Discovery. Clin Cancer Res. 2024 02 16; 30(4):729-740.  View on PubMed
  12. Li W, Partridge SC, Newitt DC, Steingrimsson J, Marques HS, Bolan PJ, Hirano M, Bearce BA, Kalpathy-Cramer J, Boss MA, Teng X, Zhang J, Cai J, Kontos D, Cohen EA, Mankowski WC, Liu M, Ha R, Pellicer-Valero OJ, Maier-Hein K, Rabinovici-Cohen S, Tlusty T, Ozery-Flato M, Parekh VS, Jacobs MA, Yan R, Sung K, Kazerouni AS, DiCarlo JC, Yankeelov TE, Chenevert TL, Hylton NM. Breast Multiparametric MRI for Prediction of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Response in Breast Cancer: The BMMR2 Challenge. Radiol Imaging Cancer. 2024 01; 6(1):e230033.  View on PubMed
  13. Gallagher RI, Wulfkuhle J, Wolf DM, Brown-Swigart L, Yau C, O'Grady N, Basu A, Lu R, Campbell MJ, Magbanua MJ, Coppé JP, I-SPY 2 Investigators, Asare SM, Sit L, Matthews JB, Perlmutter J, Hylton N, Liu MC, Symmans WF, Rugo HS, Isaacs C, DeMichele AM, Yee D, Pohlmann PR, Hirst GL, Esserman LJ, van 't Veer LJ, Petricoin EF. Protein signaling and drug target activation signatures to guide therapy prioritization: Therapeutic resistance and sensitivity in the I-SPY 2 Trial. Cell Rep Med. 2023 12 19; 4(12):101312.  View on PubMed
  14. Onishi N, Bareng TJ, Gibbs J, Li W, Price ER, Joe BN, Kornak J, Esserman LJ, Newitt DC, Hylton NM, I-SPY 2 Imaging Working Group, I-SPY 2 Investigator Network. Effect of Longitudinal Variation in Tumor Volume Estimation for MRI-guided Personalization of Breast Cancer Neoadjuvant Treatment. Radiol Imaging Cancer. 2023 07; 5(4):e220126.  View on PubMed
  15. Yu K, Basu A, Yau C, Wolf DM, Goodarzi H, Bandyopadhyay S, Korkola JE, Hirst GL, Asare S, DeMichele A, Hylton N, Yee D, Esserman L, van 't Veer L, Sirota M. Computational drug repositioning for the identification of new agents to sensitize drug-resistant breast tumors across treatments and receptor subtypes. Front Oncol. 2023; 13:1192208.  View on PubMed
  16. Arasu VA, Habel LA, Achacoso NS, Buist DSM, Cord JB, Esserman LJ, Hylton NM, Glymour MM, Kornak J, Kushi LH, Lewis DA, Liu VX, Lydon CM, Miglioretti DL, Navarro DA, Pu A, Shen L, Sieh W, Yoon HC, Lee C. Comparison of Mammography AI Algorithms with a Clinical Risk Model for 5-year Breast Cancer Risk Prediction: An Observational Study. Radiology. 2023 06; 307(5):e222733.  View on PubMed
  17. Magbanua MJM, Brown Swigart L, Ahmed Z, Sayaman RW, Renner D, Kalashnikova E, Hirst GL, Yau C, Wolf DM, Li W, Delson AL, Asare S, Liu MC, Albain K, Chien AJ, Forero-Torres A, Isaacs C, Nanda R, Tripathy D, Rodriguez A, Sethi H, Aleshin A, Rabinowitz M, Perlmutter J, Symmans WF, Yee D, Hylton NM, Esserman LJ, DeMichele AM, Rugo HS, van 't Veer LJ. Clinical significance and biology of circulating tumor DNA in high-risk early-stage HER2-negative breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Cancer Cell. 2023 06 12; 41(6):1091-1102.e4.  View on PubMed
  18. Chitalia R, Miliotis M, Jahani N, Tastsoglou S, McDonald ES, Belenky V, Cohen EA, Newitt D, Van't Veer LJ, Esserman L, Hylton N, DeMichele A, Hatzigeorgiou A, Kontos D. Radiomic tumor phenotypes augment molecular profiling in predicting recurrence free survival after breast neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Commun Med (Lond). 2023 Mar 30; 3(1):46.  View on PubMed
  19. Chung M, Calabrese E, Mongan J, Ray KM, Hayward JH, Kelil T, Sieberg R, Hylton N, Joe BN, Lee AY. Deep Learning to Simulate Contrast-enhanced Breast MRI of Invasive Breast Cancer. Radiology. 2023 Mar; 306(3):e239004.  View on PubMed
  20. Lang JE, Forero-Torres A, Yee D, Yau C, Wolf D, Park J, Parker BA, Chien AJ, Wallace AM, Murthy R, Albain KS, Ellis ED, Beckwith H, Haley BB, Elias AD, Boughey JC, Yung RL, Isaacs C, Clark AS, Han HS, Nanda R, Khan QJ, Edmiston KK, Stringer-Reasor E, Price E, Joe B, Liu MC, Brown-Swigart L, Petricoin EF, Wulfkuhle JD, Buxton M, Clennell JL, Sanil A, Berry S, Asare SM, Wilson A, Hirst GL, Singhrao R, Asare AL, Matthews JB, Melisko M, Perlmutter J, Rugo HS, Symmans WF, van 't Veer LJ, Hylton NM, DeMichele AM, Berry DA, Esserman LJ. Safety and efficacy of HSP90 inhibitor ganetespib for neoadjuvant treatment of stage II/III breast cancer. NPJ Breast Cancer. 2022 Dec 01; 8(1):128.  View on PubMed

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