Moses M Kasembeli, Ph.D.
Department of Infectious Diseases, Infection Control, and Employee Health, Division of Internal Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Instructor, Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2003 | Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, US, Ph.D. in Biochemistry |
Postgraduate Training
| 2004-2010 | Postdoctoral studies, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Instructor, Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 2010 - 2015
Other Professional Positions
Assistant Professor, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2015 - Present
Selected Presentations & Talks
National Presentations
- 2012. Role of TRiC/CCT in STAT3 folding and activity FASEB Science Research Conference on Protein Folding in the Cell. Conference. Role of TRiC/CCT in STAT3 folding and activity FASEB Science Research Conference on Protein Folding in the Cell. Saxtons River, VT, US.
- 2011. Hyper-lgE (Job's) Syndrome: Characterization of autosomal dominant hyper-lgE syndrome as a Stat3 proteostasis disease. Conference. Hyper-lgE (Job's) Syndrome: Characterization of autosomal dominant hyper-lgE syndrome as a Stat3 proteostasis disease. Boston, MA, US.
- 2002. Interactions of the N-terminal domain of dynein intermediate chain with the light chain subunits of cytoplasmic dynein. Conference. Interactions of the N-terminal domain of dynein intermediate chain with the light chain subunits of cytoplasmic dynein. San Francisco, CA, US.
- 2002. Heteronuclear NMR characterization of Drosophila Tctex-1, a 25 kda homodimeric dynein subunit. Conference. Heteronuclear NMR characterization of Drosophila Tctex-1, a 25 kda homodimeric dynein subunit. San Francisco, CA, US.
- 2001. Physical charcterization of Tctex-1, a dynein light chain: dimerization, folding and role in dynein assembly. Conference. Physical charcterization of Tctex-1, a dynein light chain: dimerization, folding and role in dynein assembly. Boston, MA, US.
International Presentations
- 2010. Hyper-lgE (Job's) Syndrome: a Protein Misfolding disease Resulting From Reduced Interaction of Mutated Stat3 with TRiC Chaperonin. Conference. Hyper-lgE (Job's) Syndrome: a Protein Misfolding disease Resulting From Reduced Interaction of Mutated Stat3 with TRiC Chaperonin. Vancouver, CA.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2022 - Present |
| Title: | “Targeting STAT3 to Prevent Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)," |
| Funding Source: | National Cancer Institute |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Date: | 2022 - Present |
| Title: | “Genetic validation and mechanism of action of TTI-101 in cancer cell lines” |
| Funding Source: | Tvardi Therapeutics |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| ID: | TTI-101 |
| Date: | 2010 - 2012 |
| Title: | Targeting Oncoprotein Folding Intermediates to Treat Cancer |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | RP110291 |
| Date: | 2009 - 2009 |
| Title: | DLDCC Pilot Project |
| Funding Source: | DLDCC |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Date: | 2008 - 2010 |
| Title: | Scale-up Project |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NEI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | PN1EY016525 (Chiu) |
| Date: | 2007 - 2009 |
| Title: | Gulf Coast Consotia for Chemical Genomics |
| Funding Source: | UTHSC |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Title: | “Targeting STAT3 Signaling to Promote Recovery from Neuropathic Pain” |
| Funding Source: | Department of Defense (DOD) |
| Role: | Co-I |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Kettner, NM, Bui, T, Navarro-Yepes, J, Ghotbaldini, S, Quintela, B, Luo, CK, Lam, N, Rao, X, Singareeka Raghavendra, A, Wang, Y, Azizian, NG, Kris Eckols, T, Kasembeli, MM, Evans, KW, Yi, M, Wingate, H, Wang, J, Sahin, AA, Meric-Bernstam, F, Hunt, KK, Damodaran, S, Tweardy, D, Tripathy, D, Keyomarsi, K. IL-6 predicts CDK4/6 inhibitor resistance, identifying STAT3 as a target in HR + /HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. npj Precision Oncology 9(1), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40715551.
- Robinson, P, Italia, Z, Italia, Z, Hoang, T, Rodriguez, E, Eckols, TK, Kasembeli, MM, Zorrilla, LH, Solis Soto, LM, Mahalingam, R, Tweardy, D. STAT3 Inhibition to Treat Ulcerative Colitis-Associated Colorectal Cancer. International journal of molecular sciences 26(21), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41226842.
- Clowers, MJ, Rahal, Z, Cho, SN, Krishna, A, Yuan, B, Hamana Zorrilla, L, Eckols, TK, Kasembeli, MM, Liu, S, Peng, SA, Ramos-Castañeda, M, Thompson, AL, Rodriguez Reyna, CI, Larsen, KE, Grimaldo, MT, Deng, S, Karimi, N, Chou, C, Velasco, WV, Zarghooni, M, Alekseev, S, Solis Soto, LM, Ostrin, EJ, Kadara, HN, Ekmekcioglu, S, Tweardy, D, Moghaddam, SM. Selective inhibition of canonical STAT3 signaling suppresses K-ras mutant lung tumorigenesis and reinvigorates anti-tumor immunity. Frontiers in immunology 16, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40356899.
- Kasembeli MM, Kaparos EI, Bharadwaj U, Allaw A, Khouri A, Acot B, Tweardy DJ. Aberrant function of pathogenic STAT3 mutant proteins is linked to altered stability of monomers and homodimers. Blood 141(12):1411-1424, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36240433.
- Wurster S, Albert ND, Bharadwaj U, Kasembeli MM, Tarrand JJ, Daver N, Kontoyiannis DP. Blockade of the PD-1/PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Pathway Improves Infection Outcomes and Enhances Fungicidal Host Defense in a Murine Model of Invasive Pulmonary Mucormycosis. Front Immunol 13:838344, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35251033.
- Kong R, Bharadwaj U, Eckols TK, Kolosov M, Wu H, Cruz-Pavlovich FJS, Shaw A, Ifelayo OI, Zhao H, Kasembeli MM, Wong STC, Tweardy DJ. Novel STAT3 small-molecule inhibitors identified by structure-based virtual ligand screening incorporating SH2 domain flexibility. Pharmacol Res 169:105637, 2021. e-Pub 2021.
- Kasembeli MM, Singhmar P, Ma J, Edralin J, Tang Y, 3rd AC, Heijnen CJ, Kavelaars A, Tweardy DJ. A competitive inhibitor of STAT3 that spares oxidative phosphorylation and reverses mechanical allodynia in mouse models of neuropathic pain. Biochem Pharmacol 192:114688, 2021. e-Pub 2021.
- Zhang L, Wang Y, Dong Y, Chen Z, Eckols TK, Kasembeli MM, Tweardy DJ, Mitch WE. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of TTI-101, a STAT3 inhibitor that blocks muscle proteolysis in rats with chronic kidney disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 319(1):F84-F92, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32475130.
- Minus MB, Wang H, Munoz JO, Stevens AM, Mangubat-Medina AE, Krueger MJ, Liu W, Kasembeli MM, Cooper JC, Kolosov MI, Tweardy DJ, Redell MS, Ball ZT. Targeting STAT3 anti-apoptosis pathways with organic and hybrid organic-inorganic inhibitors. Org Biomol Chem 18(17):3288-3296, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32286579.
- Bocchini CE, Nahmod K, Katsonis P, Kim S, Kasembeli MM, Freeman A, Lichtarge O, Makedonas G, Tweardy DJ. Protein stabilization improves STAT3 function in autosomal dominant hyper-IgE syndrome. Blood 128(26):3061-3072, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27799162.
- Roh SH, Kasembeli MM, Galaz-Montoya JG, Chiu W, Tweardy DJ. Chaperonin TRiC/CCT Recognizes Fusion Oncoprotein AML1-ETO through Subunit-Specific Interactions. Biophys J 110(11):2377-2385, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27276256.
- Bharadwaj U, Eckols TK, Xu X, Kasembeli MM, Chen Y, Adachi M, Song Y, Mo Q, Lai SY, Tweardy DJ. Small-molecule inhibition of STAT3 in radioresistant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Oncotarget 7(18):26307-30, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27027445.
- Li N, Feng L, Liu H, Wang J, Kasembeli M, Tran MK, Tweardy DJ, Lin SH, Chen J. PARP Inhibition Suppresses Growth of EGFR-Mutant Cancers by Targeting Nuclear PKM2. Cell Rep. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27149849.
- Roh SH, Kasembeli M, Galaz-Montoya JG, Trnka M, Lau WC, Burlingame A, Chiu W, Tweardy DJ. Chaperonin TRiC/CCT Modulates the Folding and Activity of Leukemogenic Fusion Oncoprotein AML1-ETO. J Biol Chem 291(9):4732-41, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26706127.
- Robinson P, Kasembeli M, Bharadwaj U, Engineer N, Eckols KT, Tweardy DJ. Substance P Receptor Signaling Mediates Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis and Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Chemoresistance. Biomed Res Int 2016:1959270, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26981525.
- Roh SH, Kasembeli M, Bakthavatsalam D, Chiu W, Tweardy DJ. Contribution of the Type II Chaperonin, TRiC/ CCT, to Oncogenesis. Int J Mol Sci 16(11):26706-20, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26561808.
- Lewis KM, Bharadwaj U, Eckols TK, Kolosov M, Kasembeli MM, Fridley C, Siller R, Tweardy DJ. Small-Molecule targeting of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)3 to treat non-small cell lung cancer. Lung Cancer 90(2):182-90, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26410177.
- Minus MB, Liu W, Vohidov F, Kasembeli MM, Long X, Krueger MJ, Stevens A, Kolosov MI, Tweardy DJ, Sison EA, Redell MS, Ball ZT. Rhodium(II) Proximity-Labeling Identifies a Novel Target Site on STAT3 for Inhibitors with Potent Anti-Leukemia Activity. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 54(44):13085-9, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26480340.
- Minus MB, Liu W, Vohidov F, Kasembeli MM, Long X, Krueger MJ, Stevens A, Kolosov MI, Tweardy DJ, Sison EA, Rodell MS, Ball ZT. Rhodium (II) Proximity- Labeling Identifies a Novel Target sit on STAT3 for Inhibitors with Potent Anti-Leukemia Activity. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 54(44):13085-9, 2015. e-Pub 2015.
- Bocchini* CE, Kasembeli* MM, Roh, Soung-Hun, Tweardy DJ. Contribution of chaperones to STAT pathway signaling. JAK-STAT, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Kasembeli M, lau W, Soung-Hun, Roh, Frydman J, Chiu W, Tweardy DJ. Modulation of Stat3 Folding and Function by TriC/CCT Chaperonin. Plos Biology, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Bharadwaj U, Eckols TK, Kolosov M, Moses MK, Adam A, Torres D, Zhang X, Dobrolecki LE, Wei W, Lewis MT, Dave B, Chang JC, Landis MD, Creighton CJ, Mancini MA, Tweardy DJ. Drug-Repositioning Screening Identified piperlongumine As A Direct Stat3 Inhibitor With Potent Activity Against Breast Cancer. Oncogene 0, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Bharadwaj U, kasembeli MM, T Kris Eckols T, Kolosov M, Lang P, Christensen K, Edwards DP, Tweardy DJ. Monoclonal Antibodies Specific for Stat3 Reveal its Contribution to Constitutive Stat3 Phosphorylation in Breast Cancer. Cancers 2014 6(4):2012-2034, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- kasembeli MM, Xu X, Tweardy DJ. SH2 domain binding to phosphopeptide ligands: potential for drug targeting. Frontiers in Bioscience 14:1010-1022, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- X* X, MM* K, Jiang X, Tweardy DJ. Chemical Probes that Competitively and Selectively Inhibit Stat3 Activation. PLoS ONE 4(3):e4783, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Makokha M, Huang Y, Montelione, G, Edison, AS, and Barbar E. The solution structure of the pH-induced monomer of dynein light chain LC8 from Drosophila. Protein Sci(13):727-734, 2004. e-Pub 2004.
- Nyarko, A, Hare M, Makokha, M, Barbar, E. Interactions of LC8 with Domains of the Intermediate Chain of Cytoplasmic Dynein. TheScientificWorldJOURNAL 3:647-654, 2003. e-Pub 2003.
- Barbar, Elisar, Makokha, Moses, Hare, Michael. Protein Interactions within the Cytoplasmic Dynein Complex as probed by Mass Spectrometry and NMR. TheScientificWorldJOURNAL 2(S2):95-96, 2002. e-Pub 2002.
- Makokha, M, Hare, M, M Li M, hays, T, Barbar, E. Interactions of Cytoplasmic Dynein Light Chains Tctex-1 and LC8 with the Intermediate Chain IC74. Biochemistry 41:4302-4311, 2002. e-Pub 2002.
- Barbar, E, hare, M, Makokha, M, Barany, G, Woodward, C. NMR-Detected Order in Core Residues of Denatured Bovine Pancreatic Trypsin Inhibitor. Biochemistry 40:9734-9742, 2001. e-Pub 2001.
Review Articles
- Kasembeli, MM, Rodas, J, Tweardy, D. Update on Structure and Function of SH2 Domains. International journal of molecular sciences 26(18), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41009621.
- Bharadwaj U, Kasembeli MM, Robinson P, Tweardy DJ. Targeting Janus Kinases and Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 to Treat Inflammation, Fibrosis, and Cancer: Rationale, Progress, and Caution. Pharmacol Rev 72(2):486-526, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32198236.
Other Articles
- Kasembeli, MM, Singhmar, P, Ma, J, Edralin, JD, Tang, Y, Adams, C, Heijnen, CJ, Kavelaars, A, Tweardy, D Corrigendum to “TTI-101. Biochemical Pharmacology 195, 2022. PMID: 34864607.
- Zhang, L, Wang, Y, Dong, Y, Chen, Z, Eckols, TK, Kasembeli, MM, Tweardy, D, Mitch, WE Erratum. American Journal of Physiology - Renal Physiology 322(1):F104, 2022. PMID: 34985360.
Book Chapters
- Bharadwaj, Kasembeli, MM, Tweardy, DJ. STAT3 Inhibitors in Cancer: A Comprehensive Update. In: STAT Inhibitors in Cancer, 95-161, 2016.
Patents
- Kasembeli MM. Stat3 inhibitors. Patent Number: US20220168322A1.
- Stat3 Inhibitors. Patent Number: 2726987.
- Stat3 Inhibitors. Patent Number: 12/477,583.
- Stat3 Inhibitors. Patent Number: 2009256253.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 22, 2026