Research Summary

I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Our lab focuses on identifying molecular mechanisms mediating immune suppression and evasion in brain tumors, with the goal of developing novel immunotherapeutics for these diseases. My recent research identified that protein phosphatase 2A negatively regulated T cell and macrophage mediated anti-tumor immunity, and further demonstrated that pharmacological inhibition of PP2A synergized with PD-1 blockade in multiple type of resistant tumors including glioblastoma. Based on those findings, a Phase I/II trial (NCT03027388) of PP2A inhibitor in recurrent glioblastoma is ongoing.

Research Funding

  • September 1, 2022 - August 31, 2027 - Regulation of Macrophage- and Microglia-mediated STING Signaling in Glioblastoma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH/NINDS, Sponsor Award ID: RO1NS126501
  • July 15, 2020 - July 15, 2024 - Targeting Protein Phosphatase 2A (PP2A) to Overcome Macrophage-Mediated Immunosuppression in Glioblastoma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: DOD PRCRP, Sponsor Award ID: W81XWH-20-1-0428
  • September 1, 2021 - September 1, 2023 - Role of Aberrant Translational Quality Control in Tumorigenesis in Glioblastoma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, Sponsor Award ID: RP210068
  • September 1, 2022 - August 31, 2023 - Novel Strategy to Target PP2A , PI . Sponsor: NIH SPORE Developmental Research Program Award, Sponsor Award ID:
  • October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022 - Focused Ultrasound Induced Optogenetic Activation of CAR-Macrophage for Glioblastoma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: MDAnderson-UT Austin Collaborative Pilot Project Grant, Sponsor Award ID:

Education

Ph.D., 06/2011 - Cancer Immunology, City of Hope

Honors & Awards

  • DOD Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program Career Development Award, Department of Defense, 2020
  • Keystone Early Career Investigator Award, Keystone Conference, 2020
  • H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation Fellowship, City of Hope, 2008

Selected Publications

  1. Mondal I, Das O, Sun R, Gao J, Yu B, Diaz A, Behnan J, Dubey A, Meng Z, Eskandar E, Xu B, Lu R*, and Ho W* corresponding author. PP2Ac Deficiency Enhances Tumor Immunogenicity by Activating STING-Type I Interferon Signaling in Glioblastoma. Cancer Research. 2023.  View on PubMed
  2. Ho WS*, Mondal I*, Xu B*, Das O*, Sun R, Chiou P, Lyu J, Li L, Cai X, Tahmasebinia F, Wu C Y-J, Wu Z, Matsui W, Lim M, Meng Z, Lu RO* corresponding author. PP2A/STRN4 Negatively Regulates STING-Type I Interferon Signaling in Tumor Associated Macrophages. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2023.  View on PubMed
  3. Huang Y, Wan Z, Tang Y, Xu J, Laboret B, Nallamothu S, Yang C, Liu B, Lu RO, Lu B, Feng J, Cao J, Hayflick S, Wu Z, Zhou B. Pantothenate kinase 2 interacts with PINK1 to regulate mitochondrial quality control via acetyl-CoA metabolism. Nat Commun. 2022 05 03; 13(1):2412.  View on PubMed
  4. Wu Z, Ho WS, Lu R. Targeting Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation in Glioblastoma Therapy. Neuromolecular Med. 2022 03; 24(1):18-22.  View on PubMed
  5. Lu RO, Ho WS. Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Macrophage, and Microglia in Brain Cancer. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2020; 8:620788.  View on PubMed
  6. Maggio D, Ho WS, Breese R, Walbridge S, Wang H, Cui J, Heiss JD, Gilbert MR, Kovach JS, Lu RO*, Zhuang Z. corresponding author. Inhibition of protein phosphatase-2A with LB-100 enhances antitumor immunity against glioblastoma. J Neurooncol. 2020; 2(148):231-244.  View on PubMed
  7. Ho WS, Wang H, Maggio D, Kovach JS, Zhang Q, Song Q, Marincola FM, Heiss JD, Gilbert MR, Lu R* corresponding author. Pharmacologic inhibition of protein phosphatase-2A achieves durable immune-mediated antitumor activity when combined with PD-1 blockade. Nat Commun. 2019; 1(9):2126.  View on PubMed
  8. Bedognetti D, Ceccarelli M, Galluzzi L, Lu R, Palucka K, Samayoa J, Spranger S, Warren S, Wong KK, Ziv E, Chowell D, Coussens LM, De Carvalho DD, DeNardo DG, Galon J, Kaufman HL, Kirchhoff T, Lotze MT, Luke JJ, Minn AJ, Politi K, Shultz LD, Simon R, Thórsson V, Weidhaas JB, Ascierto ML, Ascierto PA, Barnes JM, Barsan V, Bommareddy PK, Bot A, Church SE, Ciliberto G, De Maria A, Draganov D, Ho WS, McGee HM, Monette A, Murphy JF, Nisticò P, Park W, Patel M, Quigley M, Radvanyi L, Raftopoulos H, Rudqvist NP, Snyder A, Sweis RF, Valpione S, Zappasodi R, Butterfield LH, Disis ML, Fox BA, Cesano A, Marincola FM, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Cancer Immune Responsiveness Task Force and Working Group. Toward a comprehensive view of cancer immune responsiveness: a synopsis from the SITC workshop. J Immunother Cancer. 2019 05 22; 7(1):131.  View on PubMed
  9. Danaher P, Warren S, Lu R, Samayoa J, Sullivan A, Pekker I, Wallden B, Marincola FM, Cesano A. Pan-cancer adaptive immune resistance as defined by the Tumor Inflammation Signature (TIS): results from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). J Immunother Cancer. 2018 06 22; 6(1):63.  View on PubMed
  10. Turan T, Kannan D, Patel M, Matthew Barnes J, Tanlimco SG, Lu R, Halliwill K, Kongpachith S, Kline DE, Hendrickx W, Cesano A, Butterfield LH, Kaufman HL, Hudson TJ, Bedognetti D, Marincola F, Samayoa J. Immune oncology, immune responsiveness and the theory of everything. J Immunother Cancer. 2018 06 05; 6(1):50.  View on PubMed
  11. Lu R, Turan T, Samayoa J, Marincola FM. Cancer immune resistance: can theories converge? Emerg Top Life Sci. 2017 Dec 12; 1(5):411-419.  View on PubMed
  12. Ho WS, Sizdahkhani S, Hao S, Song H, Seldomridge A, Tandle A, Maric D, Kramp T, Lu R, Heiss JD, Camphausen K, Gilbert MR, Zhuang Z, Park DM. LB-100, a novel Protein Phosphatase 2A (PP2A) inhibitor, sensitizes malignant meningioma cells to the therapeutic effects of radiation. Cancer Lett. 2018 02 28; 415:217-226.  View on PubMed
  13. Rutz S, Kayagaki N, Phung QT, Eidenschenk C, Noubade R, Wang X, Lesch J, Lu R, Newton K, Huang OW, Cochran AG, Vasser M, Fauber BP, DeVoss J, Webster J, Diehl L, Modrusan Z, Kirkpatrick DS, Lill JR, Ouyang W, Dixit VM. Deubiquitinase DUBA is a post-translational brake on interleukin-17 production in T cells. Nature. 2015 Feb 19; 518(7539):417-21.  View on PubMed
  14. Noubade R, Wong K, Ota N, Rutz S, Eidenschenk C, Valdez PA, Ding J, Peng I, Sebrell A, Caplazi P, DeVoss J, Soriano RH, Sai T, Lu R, Modrusan Z, Hackney J, Ouyang W. NRROS negatively regulates reactive oxygen species during host defence and autoimmunity. Nature. 2014 May 08; 509(7499):235-9.  View on PubMed
  15. Xin H, Lu R, Lee H, Zhang W, Zhang C, Deng J, Liu Y, Shen S, Wagner KU, Forman S, Jove R, Yu H. G-protein-coupled receptor agonist BV8/prokineticin-2 and STAT3 protein form a feed-forward loop in both normal and malignant myeloid cells. J Biol Chem. 2013 May 10; 288(19):13842-9.  View on PubMed
  16. Lu R, Pan H, Shively JE. CEACAM1 negatively regulates IL-1β production in LPS activated neutrophils by recruiting SHP-1 to a SYK-TLR4-CEACAM1 complex. PLoS Pathog. 2012; 8(4):e1002597.  View on PubMed
  17. Lu R, Kujawski M, Pan H, Shively JE. Tumor angiogenesis mediated by myeloid cells is negatively regulated by CEACAM1. Cancer Res. 2012 May 01; 72(9):2239-50.  View on PubMed
  18. Lu R, Niesen MJ, Hu W, Vaidehi N, Shively JE. Interaction of actin with carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1) receptor in liposomes is Ca2+- and phospholipid-dependent. J Biol Chem. 2011 Aug 05; 286(31):27528-36.  View on PubMed

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