Research Summary

I am an Associate Professor and Physician Scientist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF), where I specialize in the treatment and investigation of adult and pediatric brain tumors. Eighty percent of my time is protected for laboratory research, and I am also therefore a Principle Investigator in the UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery Brain Tumor Center. My research examines how developmental signaling pathways function in cancer with the overall objectives of shedding light on the fundamental mechanisms of developmental biology, and identifying novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets to improve patient outcomes. To accomplish those goals, my laboratory makes use of biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, mouse genetics, genomics, bioinformatics and pharmacology. Our work has identified novel activators and effectors of oncogenic Hedgehog signaling in medulloblastoma, and revealed a FOXM1/WNT signaling axis that underlies meningioma proliferation. Each of these discoveries serves as the foundation for clinical trials of molecular therapy in medulloblastoma and meningioma patients that are currently under development.

Research Funding

  • August 1, 2021 - July 31, 2026 - Understanding druggable drivers of meningioma tumorigenesis , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA262311
  • July 1, 2021 - April 30, 2026 - Mechanisms of Hedgehog signaling in glioblastoma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R01CA251221
  • July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2022 - Understanding How Ciliary Hedgehog Signaling Causes Medulloblastoma , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: K08CA212279

Education

University of California-Berkeley, B.A. (Honors), 08/00-05/04, Molecular Cell Biology
University of California-Berkeley B.A. (Honors) 08/00 05/04 Cognitive Science
University of Chicago-Chicago M.D. 05/05 06/12 Medicine
University of Chicago-Chicago Ph.D. 07/07 05/10 Pathology
Kaiser Permanente-Santa Clara, Intern, 07/12-06/13, Internal Medicine
University of California-San Francisco, Resident, 07/13-06/17, Radiation Oncology
University of California-San Francisco, Postdoctoral Fellow, 01/15-06/17, Cancer Biology

Honors & Awards

  • 2009
    FASEB Travel Award, FASEB Gastrointestinal Tract XIII Meeting
  • 2009
    DDW Poster of Distinction, Digestive Disease Week Annual Meeting
  • 2009
    Outstanding Graduate Student Oral Presentation, University of Chicago
  • 2010
    Takeda Travel Award, Experimental Biology Annual Meeting
  • 2011
    Naomi Ragins Goldsmith Career Development Award, University of Chicago
  • 2012
    Outstanding Performance in Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago
  • 2013
    Teaching Award in Recognition of Excellent Medical Student Education, Kaiser Permanente
  • 2015
    Clinical & Translational Science Institute Resident Research Travel Program Award, UCSF
  • 2016
    Career Award for Medical Scientists Semifinalist, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
  • 2016
    Radiological Society of North America Roentgen Resident/Fellow Research Award, UCSF
  • 2016
    Biology Abstract Travel Award, American Society for Radiation Oncology Annual Meeting
  • 2016
    Poster Walk Award, Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology
  • 2016
    Top Young Investigator Awardee, ASCO Scientific Career Development Retreat
  • 2017
    Young Oncologist Travel Grant Recipient, American Radium Society Annual Meeting
  • 2017
    Poster of Distinction, American Radium Society Annual Meeting
  • 2017
    Biology Abstract Travel Award, American Society for Radiation Oncology Annual Meeting

Selected Publications

  1. Nejo T, Krishna S, Jimenez C, Yamamichi A, Young JS, Lakshmanachetty S, Chen T, Phyu SSS, Ogino H, Watchmaker P, Diebold D, Choudhury A, Daniel AGS, Raleigh DR, Hervey-Jumper SL, Okada H. Glioma-neuronal circuit remodeling induces regional immunosuppression. bioRxiv. 2023 Aug 06.  View on PubMed
  2. Daggubati V, Vykunta A, Choudhury A, Qadeer Z, Mirchia K, Saulnier O, Zakimi N, Hines K, Paul M, Wang L, Jura N, Xu L, Reiter J, Taylor M, Weiss W, Raleigh D. Hedgehog target genes regulate lipid metabolism to drive basal cell carcinoma and medulloblastoma. Res Sq. 2023 Aug 03.  View on PubMed
  3. Vasudevan HN, Delley C, Chen WC, Mirchia K, Pan S, Shukla P, Aabedi AA, Nguyen MP, Morshed RA, Young JS, Boreta L, Fogh SE, Nakamura JL, Theodosopoulos PV, Phillips J, Hervey-Jumper SL, Daras M, Pike L, Aghi MK, Tsai K, Raleigh DR, Braunstein SE, Abate AR. Molecular Features of Resected Melanoma Brain Metastases, Clinical Outcomes, and Responses to Immunotherapy. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 08 01; 6(8):e2329186.  View on PubMed
  4. Raleigh D, Mirchia K, Choudhury A, Joseph T, Birrueta J, Phillips J, Bhaduri A, Crouch E, Perry A. Meningeal solitary fibrous tumor cell states phenocopy cerebral vascular development and homeostasis. Res Sq. 2023 Jul 26.  View on PubMed
  5. Choudhury A, Cady MA, Lucas CG, Najem H, Phillips JJ, Palikuqi B, Zakimi N, Joseph T, Birrueta JO, Chen WC, Bush NAO, Hervey-Jumper SL, Klein OD, Toedebusch CM, Horbinski CM, Magill ST, Bhaduri A, Perry A, Dickinson PJ, Heimberger AB, Ashworth A, Crouch EE, Raleigh DR. NOTCH3 drives meningioma tumorigenesis and resistance to radiotherapy. bioRxiv. 2023 Jul 11.  View on PubMed
  6. Wang JZ, Patil V, Liu J, Dogan H, Tabatabai G, Yefet LS, Behling F, Hoffman E, Bunda S, Yakubov R, Kaloti R, Brandner S, Gao A, Cohen-Gadol A, Barnholtz-Sloan J, Skardelly M, Tatagiba M, Raleigh DR, Sahm F, Boutros PC, Aldape K, International Consortium on Meningiomas (ICOM), Nassiri F, Zadeh G. Correction: Increased mRNA expression of CDKN2A is a transcriptomic marker of clinically aggressive meningiomas. Acta Neuropathol. 2023 Jul; 146(1):171-172.  View on PubMed
  7. Nandoliya KR, Sadagopan NS, Thirunavu V, Houskamp EJ, Karras CL, Chaliparambil RK, Sriram N, Jamshidi P, Raleigh DR, Lukas RV, Magill ST. Post-Surgical Prognosis of Patients with Pineoblastoma: A Systematic Review and Individual Patient Data Analysis with Trends over Time. Cancers (Basel). 2023 Jun 27; 15(13).  View on PubMed
  8. Chen WC, Lucas CG, Magill ST, Rogers CL, Raleigh DR. Radiotherapy and radiosurgery for meningiomas. Neurooncol Adv. 2023 May; 5(Suppl 1):i67-i83.  View on PubMed
  9. Lucas CH, Mirchia K, Seo K, Najem H, Chen W, Zakimi N, Choudhury A, Liu SJ, Phillips J, Magill S, Horbinski C, Solomon D, Perry A, Vasudevan H, Heimberger A, Raleigh D. Spatial genomic, biochemical, and cellular mechanisms drive meningioma heterogeneity and evolution. Res Sq. 2023 May 15.  View on PubMed
  10. Krishna S, Choudhury A, Keough MB, Seo K, Ni L, Kakaizada S, Lee A, Aabedi A, Popova G, Lipkin B, Cao C, Nava Gonzales C, Sudharshan R, Egladyous A, Almeida N, Zhang Y, Molinaro AM, Venkatesh HS, Daniel AGS, Shamardani K, Hyer J, Chang EF, Findlay A, Phillips JJ, Nagarajan S, Raleigh DR, Brang D, Monje M, Hervey-Jumper SL. Glioblastoma remodelling of human neural circuits decreases survival. Nature. 2023 05; 617(7961):599-607.  View on PubMed
  11. Wang JZ, Patil V, Liu J, Dogan H, Tabatabai G, Yefet LS, Behling F, Hoffman E, Bunda S, Yakubov R, Kaloti R, Brandner S, Gao A, Cohen-Gadol A, Barnholtz-Sloan J, Skardelly M, Tatagiba M, Raleigh DR, Sahm F, Boutros PC, Aldape K, International Consortium on Meningiomas (ICOM), Nassiri F, Zadeh G. Increased mRNA expression of CDKN2A is a transcriptomic marker of clinically aggressive meningiomas. Acta Neuropathol. 2023 07; 146(1):145-162.  View on PubMed
  12. Raleigh D, Chen W, Choudhury A, Youngblood M, Polley MY, Lucas CH, Mirchia K, Maas S, Suwala A, Won M, Bayley J, Harmanci A, Harmanci A, Klisch T, Nguyen M, Vasudevan H, McCortney K, Yu T, Bhave V, Lam TC, Pu J, Leung G, Chang J, Perlow H, Palmer J, Haberler C, Berghoff A, Preusser M, Nicolaides T, Mawrin C, Agnihotri S, Resnick A, Rood B, Chew J, Young J, Boreta L, Braunstein S, Schulte J, Butowski N, Santagata S, Spetzler D, Bush NAO, Villanueva-Meyer J, Chandler J, Solomon D, Rogers C, Pugh S, Mehta M, Sneed P, Berger M, Horbinski C, McDermott M, Perry A, Bi W, Patel A, Sahm F, Magill S. Targeted gene expression profiling predicts meningioma outcomes and radiotherapy responses. Res Sq. 2023 Mar 20.  View on PubMed
  13. Choudhury A, Chen WC, Lucas CG, Bayley JC, Harmanci AS, Maas SLN, Santagata S, Klisch T, Perry A, Bi WL, Sahm F, Patel AJ, Magill ST, Raleigh DR. Hypermitotic meningiomas harbor DNA methylation subgroups with distinct biological and clinical features. Neuro Oncol. 2023 03 14; 25(3):520-530.  View on PubMed
  14. Eaton C, Avalos L, Liu SJ, Casey-Clyde T, Bisignano P, Lucas CH, Stevenson E, Choudhury A, Vasudevan H, Magill S, Krogan N, Villanueva-Meyer J, Swaney D, Raleigh D. MerlinS13 phosphorylation controls meningioma Wnt signaling and magnetic resonance imaging features. Res Sq. 2023 Mar 14.  View on PubMed
  15. Khan AB, English CW, Chen WC, Athukuri P, Bayley JC, Brandt VL, Shetty A, Hadley CC, Choudhury A, Lu HC, Harmanci AO, Harmanci AS, Magill ST, Raleigh DR, Klisch TJ, Patel AJ. Even heterozygous loss of CDKN2A/B greatly accelerates recurrence in aggressive meningioma. Acta Neuropathol. 2023 04; 145(4):501-503.  View on PubMed
  16. Tang V, Lu R, Mirchia K, Van Ziffle J, Devine P, Lee J, Phillips JJ, Perry A, Raleigh DR, Lucas CG, Solomon DA. Loss of p16 expression is a sensitive marker of CDKN2A homozygous deletion in malignant meningiomas. Acta Neuropathol. 2023 04; 145(4):497-500.  View on PubMed
  17. Lee D, Gimple RC, Wu X, Prager BC, Qiu Z, Wu Q, Daggubati V, Mariappan A, Gopalakrishnan J, Sarkisian MR, Raleigh DR, Rich JN. Superenhancer activation of KLHDC8A drives glioma ciliation and hedgehog signaling. J Clin Invest. 2023 01 17; 133(2).  View on PubMed
  18. Susko MS, Raleigh DR. Radiotherapy for Meningioma. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2023; 1416:95-106.  View on PubMed
  19. Wang L, Jung J, Babikir H, Shamardani K, Jain S, Feng X, Gupta N, Rosi S, Chang S, Raleigh D, Solomon D, Phillips JJ, Diaz AA. A single-cell atlas of glioblastoma evolution under therapy reveals cell-intrinsic and cell-extrinsic therapeutic targets. Nat Cancer. 2022 12; 3(12):1534-1552.  View on PubMed
  20. Vasudevan HN, Susko MS, Ma L, Nakamura JL, Raleigh DR, Boreta L, Fogh S, Theodosopoulos PV, McDermott MW, Tsai KK, Sneed PK, Braunstein SE. Mutational Status and Clinical Outcomes Following Systemic Therapy with or without Focal Radiation for Resected Melanoma Brain Metastases. World Neurosurg. 2023 02; 170:e514-e519.  View on PubMed

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