Research Summary

My clinical research interests are first-in-human early phase clinical trials of novel compounds and alternative strategies for the treatment and prevention of cancer. I have been involved in clinical and translational research in early phase clinical trials since 1998. As the program leader for Development Therapeutics and the PI of a peer-reviewed basic science lab, my main focus is on translating preclinical findings into early-stage clinical trials with extensive PK and integration of PD correlative studies and molecular imaging for patients with advanced stage cancer.

My basic research interest is centered on the role of epigenetic modification in therapy resistance in breast cancer and epigenetic priming. In addition to studying basic mechanisms of hormone therapy resistance, we have shown that epigenetic modification plays a crucial role in the hormonal regulation and carcinogenesis of breast cancer.

Research Funding

  • July 1, 2017 - May 31, 2022 - Developing silastic-silicone for the local delivery of hormonal therapy to prevent and treat breast cancer , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA220131
  • May 12, 2014 - February 29, 2020 - Translating HP 13C MRI as a Novel Paradigm for Assessing Drug Target Inhibition , Co-Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA183071
  • September 19, 2011 - July 31, 2017 - The role of HDAC2 in hormone therapy resistance , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA152989
  • May 18, 2007 - July 31, 2012 - The Role of Selective HDAC Enzymes in Drug Sensitivity , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA122657
  • February 6, 2006 - July 31, 2008 - Potentiation of Topo Inhibitors by the HDACi, SAHA , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21CA112913
  • September 30, 2004 - May 31, 2007 - Potentiation of Topo Inhibitors by HDAC Inhibitors , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R21CA105875

Education

Kantonsschule Sargans, Switzerland, Baccalaureate, 1983, Sciences, Liberal Arts
University of Bern Switzerland, Doctorate, 1990, Medicine
University of Bern Switzerland, MD Thesis, 1992, Medicine

Honors & Awards

  • 1998
    John Mendelsohn House staff Teaching Award
  • 1999
    AACR-AFLAC Young Investigators Scholar Award 1999
  • 2000, 2001
    Byrne Fund Award
  • 2003-2005
    Don Shula Career Development Award, 2003-2005
  • 2007-2008
    Greatest Number of Investigator-Initiated Trials Written & Implemented, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
  • 2008
    Research Highlights, Department of Defense, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs

Selected Publications

  1. Nguyen HG, van den Berg NS, Antaris AL, Xue L, Greenberg S, Rosenthal JW, Muchnik A, Klaassen A, Simko JP, Dutta S, Sorger JM, Munster P, Carroll PR. First-in-human Evaluation of a Prostate-specific Membrane Antigen-targeted Near-infrared Fluorescent Small Molecule for Fluorescence-based Identification of Prostate Cancer in Patients with High-risk Prostate Cancer Undergoing Robotic-assisted Prostatectomy. Eur Urol Oncol. 2024 Feb; 7(1):63-72.  View on PubMed
  2. Tsang ES, Munster PN. Vaccinia (Smallpox) for the Treatment of Ovarian Cancer-Turning an Old Foe Into a Friend? JAMA Oncol. 2023 07 01; 9(7):894-896.  View on PubMed
  3. Raj N, Chan JA, Wang SJ, Aggarwal RR, Calabrese S, DeMore A, Fong L, Grabowsky J, Hope TA, Kolli KP, Mulvey CK, Munster PN, Perez K, Punn S, Reidy-Lagunes D, Von Fedak S, Zhang L, Bergsland EK. Pembrolizumab alone and pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in previously treated, extrapulmonary poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas. Br J Cancer. 2023 08; 129(2):291-300.  View on PubMed
  4. Li X, Chung CI, Yang J, Chaudhuri S, Munster PN, Shu X. ATM-SPARK: A GFP phase separation-based activity reporter of ATM. Sci Adv. 2023 03; 9(9):eade3760.  View on PubMed
  5. Tsang ES, Munster PN. Targeting RAD51-Mediated Homologous Recombination as a Treatment for Advanced Solid and Hematologic Malignancies: Opportunities and Challenges Ahead. Onco Targets Ther. 2022; 15:1509-1518.  View on PubMed
  6. Munster PN, Greenstein AE, Fleming GF, Borazanci E, Sharma MR, Custodio JM, Tudor IC, Pashova HI, Shepherd SP, Grauer A, Sachdev JC. Overcoming Taxane Resistance: Preclinical and Phase 1 Studies of Relacorilant, a Selective Glucocorticoid Receptor Modulator, with Nab-Paclitaxel in Solid Tumors. Clin Cancer Res. 2022 08 02; 28(15):3214-3224.  View on PubMed
  7. Ho AL, Foster NR, Zoroufy AJ, Campbell JD, Worden F, Price K, Adkins D, Bowles DW, Kang H, Burtness B, Sherman E, Morton R, Morris LGT, Nadeem Z, Katabi N, Munster P, Schwartz GK. Phase II Study of Enzalutamide for Patients With Androgen Receptor-Positive Salivary Gland Cancers (Alliance A091404). J Clin Oncol. 2022 12 20; 40(36):4240-4249.  View on PubMed
  8. Tsang ES, Aggarwal RR, Dhawan MS, Bergsland EK, Alvarez EA, Calabrese S, Pacaud R, Garcia J, Fattah D, Thomas S, Grabowsky J, Moasser MM, Munster PN. A Phase IB Trial of the PI3K Inhibitor Alpelisib and Weekly Cisplatin in Patients with Solid Tumor Malignancies. Cancer Res Commun. 2022 07; 2(7):570-576.  View on PubMed
  9. Modlin EW, Slavotinek AM, Darling TN, Lipkowitz S, Barr FG, Munster PN, Biesecker LG, Ours CA. Late-onset Proteus syndrome with cerebriform connective tissue nevus and subsequent development of intraductal papilloma. Am J Med Genet A. 2022 09; 188(9):2766-2771.  View on PubMed
  10. Odia Y, Cavalcante L, Safran H, Powell SF, Munster PN, Ma WW, Carneiro BA, Bastos BR, Mikrut S, Mikrut W, Giles FJ, Sahebjam S. Malignant glioma subset from actuate 1801: Phase I/II study of 9-ING-41, GSK-3β inhibitor, monotherapy or combined with chemotherapy for refractory malignancies. Neurooncol Adv. 2022 Jan-Dec; 4(1):vdac012.  View on PubMed
  11. Pivonello R, Munster PN, Terzolo M, Ferrigno R, Simeoli C, Puglisi S, Bali U, Moraitis AG. Glucocorticoid Receptor Antagonism Upregulates Somatostatin Receptor Subtype 2 Expression in ACTH-Producing Neuroendocrine Tumors: New Insight Based on the Selective Glucocorticoid Receptor Modulator Relacorilant. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021; 12:793262.  View on PubMed
  12. Fakih MG, Kopetz S, Kuboki Y, Kim TW, Munster PN, Krauss JC, Falchook GS, Han SW, Heinemann V, Muro K, Strickler JH, Hong DS, Denlinger CS, Girotto G, Lee MA, Henary H, Tran Q, Park JK, Ngarmchamnanrith G, Prenen H, Price TJ. Sotorasib for previously treated colorectal cancers with KRASG12C mutation (CodeBreaK100): a prespecified analysis of a single-arm, phase 2 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2022 01; 23(1):115-124.  View on PubMed
  13. Harding JJ, Telli M, Munster P, Voss MH, Infante JR, DeMichele A, Dunphy M, Le MH, Molineaux C, Orford K, Parlati F, Whiting SH, Bennett MK, Tannir NM, Meric-Bernstam F. A Phase I Dose-Escalation and Expansion Study of Telaglenastat in Patients with Advanced or Metastatic Solid Tumors. Clin Cancer Res. 2021 09 15; 27(18):4994-5003.  View on PubMed
  14. Wang VE, Blaser BW, Patel RK, Behbehani GK, Rao AA, Durbin-Johnson B, Jiang T, Logan AC, Settles M, Mannis GN, Olin R, Damon LE, Martin TG, Sayre PH, Gaensler KM, McMahon E, Flanders M, Weinberg V, Ye CJ, Carbone DP, Munster PN, Fragiadakis GK, McCormick F, Andreadis C. Inhibition of MET Signaling with Ficlatuzumab in Combination with Chemotherapy in Refractory AML: Clinical Outcomes and High-Dimensional Analysis. Blood Cancer Discov. 2021 09; 2(5):434-449.  View on PubMed
  15. Lee PM, Chen HY, Gordon JW, Zhu Z, Larson PEZ, Dwork N, Van Criekinge M, Carvajal L, Ohliger MA, Wang ZJ, Xu D, Kurhanewicz J, Bok RA, Aggarwal R, Munster PN, Vigneron DB. Specialized computational methods for denoising, B1 correction, and kinetic modeling in hyperpolarized 13 C MR EPSI studies of liver tumors. Magn Reson Med. 2021 11; 86(5):2402-2411.  View on PubMed
  16. Martin TG, Shah N, Richter J, Vesole DH, Wong SW, Huang CY, Madduri D, Jagannath S, Siegel DS, Biran N, Wolf JL, Parekh S, Cho HJ, Munster P, Richard S, Ziti-Ljajic S, Chari A. Phase 1b trial of isatuximab, an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, in combination with carfilzomib as treatment of relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Cancer. 2021 06 01; 127(11):1816-1826.  View on PubMed
  17. Bao R, Surriga O, Olson DJ, Allred JB, Strand CA, Zha Y, Carll T, Labadie BW, Bastos BR, Butler M, Hogg D, Musi E, Ambrosini G, Munster P, Schwartz GK, Luke JJ. Transcriptional analysis of metastatic uveal melanoma survival nominates NRP1 as a therapeutic target. Melanoma Res. 2021 02 01; 31(1):27-37.  View on PubMed
  18. Jelinek MJ, Foster NR, Zoroufy AJ, Schwartz GK, Munster PN, Seiwert TY, de Souza JA, Vokes EE. A phase I trial adding poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor veliparib to induction carboplatin-paclitaxel in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Alliance A091101. Oral Oncol. 2021 03; 114:105171.  View on PubMed
  19. Sachdev JC, Munster P, Northfelt DW, Han HS, Ma C, Maxwell F, Wang T, Belanger B, Zhang B, Moore Y, Thiagalingam A, Anders C. Phase I study of liposomal irinotecan in patients with metastatic breast cancer: findings from the expansion phase. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2021 Feb; 185(3):759-771.  View on PubMed
  20. De Souza A, Tavora FA, Mahalingam D, Munster PN, Safran HP, El-Deiry WS, Carneiro BA. Commentary: GSK-3 Inhibition as a Therapeutic Approach Against SARs CoV2: Dual Benefit of Inhibiting Viral Replication While Potentiating the Immune Response. Front Immunol. 2020; 11:595289.  View on PubMed

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