Swathi Arur, Ph.D.
Department of Genetics, Division of Division of Discovery Science
About Dr. Arur
Dr. Arur obtained her Ph.D. with Prof. M.K. Bhan from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Dr. Arur undertook post-graduate studies with Dr. David Han, at the UCONN Health Science Center where she spearheaded one of the earliest efforts in deploying state-of-the-art differential proteomics technology (LC-MS/MS coupled with ICAT) to understand how dying cells were cleared by phagocytes. Subsequently, Dr. Arur received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis to train in the laboratory of Prof. Tim Schedl.
In 2010, Dr. Arur established her laboratory in the Department of Genetics. Her lab uses multidisciplinary approaches and model systems with the goal to gain knowledge and understanding on principles that regulate female fertility and onset and progression of metastatic KRAS driven cancers. These studies will enable fundamental mechanistic understanding of developmental disorders and oncogenesis. Dr. Arur is a Research Scholar of the American Cancer Society, Anna Fuller Foundation, and Andrew Sabin Family Foundation. Her laboratory is currently funded by the National Institute of Health, Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and American Cancer Society.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Department of Genetics, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Blanche Bender Professorship in Cancer Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
Deputy Department Chair, Department of Genetics, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston
Course Director, Foundations in Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
Our research focus is focused in two major areas. (i) To unravel the KRAS/ERK dependent, environmentally regulated mechanisms and molecules that control female germ cell development and birth defects. We use C. elegans as our model system for this work. (ii) To identify principles and players that regulate tumor progression upon KRAS wired metabolic signaling rather than through the increase in mutational burden. We use mouse and cultured cells as models for this work. These efforts should allow us to identify metabolic checkpoints impeding tumor growth.
View a complete list of Dr. Arur's publications.
Visit Dr. Arur's Lab Website.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2002 | All India Institute for Medical Sciences, New Delhi, IND, PHD, Microbiology |
Postgraduate Training
| 2002-2007 | Post-Doctoral Associate, Department of Genetics, Washington University in St Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO |
Experience & Service
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Program Director (authorized GSBS program), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - 2019
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Scientific Organizer, Emerging Experimental Model Systems Conference, Company of Biologists, London, 2023 - Present
Co-Chair, Gordon Research Conference in Developmental Biology, NH, 2023 - Present
Emerging Experimental Model Systems Conference, Company of Biologists, London, 2023 - Present
Executive Board of Directors, Genetics Society of America, Bethesda, MD, 2022 - 2025
Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine, National Academy of Medicine, Washington, 2022 - 2025
Secretary/ Executive Board of Directors, Genetics Society of America, Bethesda, MA, 2022 - 2025
Nominating Committee Member, Genetics Society of America, Bethesda, MD, 2022 - Present
TFRS Annual Meeting Program Chair, Texas Forum for Reproductive Sciences, Houston, TX, 2022 - 2023
Advisory member, GSA Finance Committee, Genetics Society of America, Baltimore, MD, 2021 - 2023
Executive Director at large, Genetics Society of America, Baltimore, MD, 2020 - 2021
Chair, Awards Committee, Genetics Society of America, Baltimore, MD, 2020 - 2023
Editor, Company of Biologists, London, 2020 - Present
Director, Genetics Society of America, Baltimore, MD, 2019 - 2022
Honors & Awards
| 2025 | Chair, Gordon Research Conference, Developmental Biology |
| 2024 | Elected Member, The University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine Academy of Health Science Education |
| 2024 | MD Anderson Distinguished Educator |
| 2023 | Co-Chair, Cold Spring Harbor Germ Cell Meeting, 2024 |
| 2022 | Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine, National Academy of Medicine |
| 2022 | Presidential Honoree for Education and Mentorship Advancement at MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2022 | Commendation, Dean's Office, (GSBS) for directing the Foundations in Biomedical Sciences |
| 2021 | Vice Chair, Gordon Research Society, Developmental Biology |
| 2021 | Linda and Mark Quick Award for Basic Science |
| 2020 | Elected Fellow American Association of Advancement in Sciences |
| 2019 | Standing Study Section Member, NIH CSR/ CMIR |
| 2017 | Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Scholar, Andrew Sabin Family Foundation |
| 2017 | 2017 MD Anderson Distinguished Research Faculty Mentor Award, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2017 | Faculty Educator of the Month, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2016 | Anna Fuller Foundation Scholar, Anna Fuller Foundation |
| 2016 | President's Scholar, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2014 | Research Scholar, American Cancer Society |
| 2013 | Outstanding Faculty Member, Genes and Development, Genes and Development Program, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 1997 | Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Government of India |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Rogers CD, Amemiya C, Arur S, Babonis L, Barresi M, Bartlett M, Behringer R, Benham-Pyle B, Bergmann D, Blackman B, Brown CT, Browne B, Camacho J, Chabu CY, Chow I, Cleaver O, Cool J, Dennis MY, Dickinson AJ, Di Talia S, Frank M, Gillmor S, Haag ES, Hariharan I, Harland R, Husbands A, Jerome-Majewska L, Koenig K, Labonne C, Layden M, Lowe C, Mani M, Martik M, McKown K, Moens C, Mosimann C, Onyenedum J, Reed R, Rivera A, Rokhsar D, Royer L, Rutaganira F, Shahan R, Sinha N, Swalla B, Van Norman JM, Wagner DE, Wikramanayake A, Zebell S, Brady SM. Pluripotency of a founding field: rebranding developmental biology. Development 151(3), 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38345109.
- Reyes-Castro RA, Chen SY, Seemann J, Kundu ST, Gibbons DL, Arur S. Phosphorylated nuclear DICER1 promotes open chromatin state and lineage plasticity of AT2 tumor cells in lung adenocarcinomas. Sci Adv 9(30):eadf6210, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37494452.
- Trimmer KA, Zhao P, Seemann J, Chen SY, Mondal S, Ben-Yakar A, Arur S. Spatial single-cell sequencing of meiosis I arrested oocytes indicates acquisition of maternal transcripts from the soma. Cell Rep 42(6):112544. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37227820.
- Furuta T, Arur S. sart-3 functions to regulate germline sex determination in C. elegans . MicroPubl Biol 2023, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37206989.
- Das D, Arur S. Regulation of oocyte maturation: Role of conserved ERK signaling. Mol Reprod Dev. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35908193.
- Vellano CP, White MG, Andrews MC, Chelvanambi M, Witt RG, Daniele JR, Titus M, McQuade JL, Conforti F, Burton EM, Lastrapes MJ, Ologun G, Cogdill AP, Morad G, Prieto P, Lazar AJ, Chu Y, Han G, Khan MAW, Helmink B, Davies MA, Amaria RN, Kovacs JJ, Woodman SE, Patel S, Hwu P, Peoples M, Lee JE, Cooper ZA, Zhu H, Gao G, Banerjee H, Lau M, Gershenwald JE, Lucci A, Keung EZ, Ross MI, Pala L, Pagan E, Segura RL, Liu Q, Borthwick MS, Lau E, Yates MS, Westin SN, Wani K, Tetzlaff MT, Haydu LE, Mahendra M, Ma X, Logothetis C, Kulstad Z, Johnson S, Hudgens CW, Feng N, Federico L, Long GV, Futreal PA, Arur S, Tawbi HA, Moran AE, Wang L, Heffernan TP, Marszalek JR, Wargo JA. Androgen receptor blockade promotes response to BRAF/MEK-targeted therapy. Nature 606(7915):797-803, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35705814.
- Haversat J, Woglar A, Klatt K, Akerib CC, Roberts V, Chen SY, Arur S, Villeneuve AM, Kim Y. Robust designation of meiotic crossover sites by CDK-2 through phosphorylation of the MutSγ complex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 119(21):e2117865119, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35576467.
- Williams MK, Arur S. In preprints: buckling under pressure during gastrulation. Development 149(9), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35535741.
- Das D, Trivedi S, Blazícková J, Arur S, Silva N. Phosphorylation of HORMA-domain protein HTP-3 at Serine 285 is dispensable for crossover formation. G3 (Bethesda). e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35389463.
- Barish S, Senturk M, Schoch K, Minogue AL, Lopergolo D, Fallerini C, Harland J, Seemann JH, Stong N, Kranz PG, Kansagra S, Mikati MA, Jasien J, El-Dairi M, Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Galluzzi P, Ariani F, Renieri A, Mari F, Wangler MF, Arur S, Jiang YH, Yamamoto S, Shashi V, Bellen HJ. The microRNA processor DROSHA is a candidate gene for a severe progressive neurological disorder. Hum Mol Genet. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35405010.
- Das D, Seemann J, Greenstein D, Schedl T, Arur S. Reevaluation of the role of LIP-1 as an ERK/MPK-1 dual specificity phosphatase in the C. elegans germline. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 119(3), 2022. PMID: 35022236.
- Trimmer K, Arur S. CRISPR-edit point mutant allele detection (CEPAD)-PCR method for rapid screening of CRISPR edited point mutations. MicroPubl Biol 2021, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33688627.
- Das D, Chen SY, Arur S. ERK phosphorylates chromosomal axis component HORMA domain protein HTP-1 to regulate oocyte numbers. Sci Adv 6(44), 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33127680.
- Minogue AL, Arur S. In Situ Hybridization for Detecting Mature MicroRNAs In Vivo at Single-Cell Resolution. Curr Protoc Mol Biol 127(1):e93, 2019. PMID: 31237425.
- Aryal NK, Pant V, Wasylishen AR, Rimel BJ, Baseler L, El-Naggar AK, Mutch DG, Goodfellow PJ, Arur S, Lozano G. Dicer1 phospho-mimetic promotes tumor progression and dissemination. Cancer Res 79(10):2662-2668, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30914430.
- Aryal NK, Pant V, Wasylishen AR, Parker-Thornburg J, Baseler L, El-Naggar AK, Liu B, Kalia A, Lozano G, Arur S. Constitutive Dicer1 phosphorylation accelerates metabolism and aging in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 116(3):960-969, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30593561.
- Minogue AL, Tackett MR, Atabakhsh E, Tejada G, Arur S. Functional genomic analysis identifies miRNA repertoire regulating C. elegans oocyte development. Nat Commun 9(1):5318, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30552320.
- Furuta T, Joo HJ, Trimmer KA, Chen SY, Arur S. GSK-3 promotes S phase entry and progression in C. elegans germline stem cells to maintain tissue output. Development 14(145):10, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29695611.
- Uruta T, Arur S. GFP::PCN-1 does not reliably mark S phase in C. elegans adult germline progenitor zone cells. MicroPubl Biol 2018, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 32550379.
- Das D, Arur S. Conserved insulin signaling in the regulation of oocyte growth, development, and maturation. Mol Reprod Dev 84(6):444-459, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28379636.
- Burton NO, Furuta T, Webster AK, Kaplan RE, Baugh LR, Arur S, Horvitz HR. Insulin-like signalling to the maternal germline controls progeny response to osmotic stress. Nat Cell Biol 19(3):252-257, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28166192.
- Chen JJ, Arur S. Discovering Functional ERK Substrates Regulating Caenorhabditis elegans Germline Development. Methods Mol Biol 1487:317-335, 2017. PMID: 27924578.
- Gervaise AL, Arur S. Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Active ERK in the C. elegans Germline. J Vis Exp(117), 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27929466.
- Snee MJ, Wilson WC, Zhu Y, Chen SY, Wilson BA, Kseib C, O'Neal J, Mahajan N, Tomasson MH, Arur S, Skeath JB. Collaborative Control of Cell Cycle Progression by the RNA Exonuclease Dis3 and Ras is Conserved Across Species. Genetics 203(2):749-62, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27029730.
- McCallum KC, Liu B, Fierro-González JC, Swoboda P, Arur S, Miranda-Vizuete A, Garsin DA. TRX-1 Regulates SKN-1 Nuclear Localization Cell Non-autonomously in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 203(1):387-402, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26920757.
- Mattingly HH, Chen JJ, Arur S, Shvartsman SY. A Transport Model for Estimating the Time Course of ERK Activation in the C. elegans Germline. Biophys J 109(11):2436-45, 2015. PMID: 26636953.
- Arur S. Context-dependent regulation of Dicer activity and small RNA production: Implications to oocyte-to-embryo transition. Worm 4(4):e1086062, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 27123367.
- Drake M, Furuta T, Suen KM, Gonzalez G, Liu B, Kalia A, Ladbury JE, Fire AZ, Skeath JB, Arur S. A Requirement for ERK-Dependent Dicer Phosphorylation in Coordinating Oocyte-to-Embryo Transition in C. elegans. Dev Cell 31(5):614-628, 2014. PMID: 25490268.
- Arur S, Schedl T. Generation and purification of highly specific antibodies for detecting post-translationally modified proteins in vivo. Nat Protoc 9(2):375-95, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24457330.
- Lopez AL, Chen J, Joo HJ, Drake M, Shidate M, Kseib C, Arur S. DAF-2 and ERK Couple Nutrient Availability to Meiotic Progression during Caenorhabditis elegans Oogenesis. Dev Cell. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24120884.
- Berkseth M, Ikegami K, Arur S, Lieb JD, Zarkower D. TRA-1 ChIP-seq reveals regulators of sexual differentiation and multilevel feedback in nematode sex determination. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24046365.
- Suen KM, Lin CC, George R, Melo FA, Biggs ER, Ahmed Z, Drake MN, Arur S, Arold ST, Ladbury JE. Interaction with Shc prevents aberrant Erk activation in the absence of extracellular stimuli. Nat Struct Mol Biol. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23584453.
- Putty K, Marcus SA, Mittl PR, Bogadi LE, Hunter AM, Arur S, Berg DE, Sethu P, Kalia A. Robustness of Helicobacter pylori Infection Conferred by Context-Variable Redundancy among Cysteine-Rich Paralogs. PLoS One 8(3):e59560, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23555707.
- Yokoo R, Zawadzki KA, Nabeshima K, Drake M, Arur S, Villeneuve AM. COSA-1 Reveals Robust Homeostasis and Separable Licensing and Reinforcement Steps Governing Meiotic Crossovers. Cell 149(1):75-87, 2012. PMID: 22464324.
- Arur S, Ohmachi M, Berkseth M, Nayak S, Hansen D, Zarkower D, Schedl T. MPK-1 ERK Controls Membrane Organization in C. elegans Oogenesis via a Sex-Determination Module. Dev Cell 20(5):677-88, 2011. PMID: 21571224.
- Green RA, Kao HL, Audhya A, Arur S, Mayers JR, Fridolfsson HN, Schulman M, Schloissnig S, Niessen S, Laband K, Wang S, Starr DA, Hyman AA, Schedl T, Desai A, Piano F, Gunsalus KC, Oegema K. A High-Resolution C. elegans Essential Gene Network Based on Phenotypic Profiling of a Complex Tissue. Cell 145(3):470-82, 2011. PMID: 21529718.
- Howell K, Arur S, Schedl T, Sundaram MV. EOR-2 is an Obligate Binding Partner of the BTB-zinc Finger Protein EOR-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 184(4):899-913, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20065070.
- Hadwiger G, Dour S, Arur S, Fox P, Nonet ML. A monoclonal antibody toolkit for C. elegans. PLoS One 5(4):e10161, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20405020.
- Arur S, Ohmachi M, Nayak S, Hayes M, Miranda A, Hay A, Golden A, Schedl T. Multiple ERK substrates execute single biological processes in Caenorhabditis elegans germ-line development. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106(12):4776-81, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19264959.
- Lee MH, Ohmachi M, Arur S, Nayak S, Francis R, Church D, Lambie E, Schedl T. Multiple functions and dynamic activation of MPK-1 extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans germline development. Genetics 177(4):2039-62, 2007. PMID: 18073423.
- Arur S, Uche UE, Rezaul K, Fong M, Scranton V, Cowan AE, Mohler W, Han DK. Annexin I is an endogenous ligand that mediates apoptotic cell engulfment. Dev Cell 4(4):587-98, 2003. PMID: 12689596.
Editorials
- Arur S, Briscoe J, Helariutta Y, Lecuit T, Robertson L. Imaging development, stem cells and regeneration. Development 148(18), 2021. PMID: 34596665.
Book Chapters
- Arur S. Signaling-Mediated Regulation of Meiotic Prophase I and Transition During Oogenesis. In: Results Probl Cell Differ, 101-123, 2017.
Books (edited and written)
- Arur, S. Signaling-Mediated Control of Germ Cells- From Oogenesis to Oocyte-to-Embryo Development. In: Results in Problems and Differentiation. Ed(s) Swathi Arur. Spinger, 2017.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified August 28, 2024