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Wadih Arap, M.D., Ph.D.

Present Title & Affiliation

Primary Appointment

Stringer Professor of Medicine and Cancer Biology, the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Department of Genitourinary (GU) Medical Oncology - Research, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX

Office Address

The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Unit 1374
P.O. Box 301439
Houston, TX 77230-1439
Room Number: T7.3904

Education & Training

Degree-Granting Education

1996 Stanford University and Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, La Jolla, CA, PHD, Cancer Biology
1983 University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil, MD, Medicine

Postgraduate Training

1997-1999 Research Fellowship, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, The Burnham Institute, La Jolla, CA
1987-1991 Clinical Fellowship, Medical Oncology and Hematology Fellow, PGY4-PGY7, Memorial Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
1984-1986 Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine Resident, PGY1-PGY3, University Hospital, University of São Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Experience/Service

Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities

Deputy Department Chair, Department of Genitourinary (GU) Medical Oncology - Research, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2004-present

Endowed Positions

Hubert L. and Olive Stringer Professorship for Cancer Treatment and Research, Department of Genitourinary (GU) Medical Oncology - Research, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2005-present

Honors and Awards

2006 2006 Fellows of the M. D. Anderson Research Trust Award
2006 Marcus Foundation Award
2006 The 2006 Robert M. Chamberlain Distinguished Mentor Award Nominee
2005 Member, American Diabetes Association Professional Section, Inducted 2005, American Diabetes Association Professional Section
2003 Golfers Against Cancer Foundation Award
2003 The American Society for Clinical Investigation, Inducted ("Young Turk")
2002 The Randall-Downey Foundation Award
2001 The V Foundation Award on Translational Cancer Research
2000-2009 The Gillson-Longenbaugh Foundation Awards
2000 Angel Works Award
1997-2002 CaPCURE Award
1990-1993 Ph.D. Fellowship Award, Brazilian National Council for Research (CNPq)
1990 Clinical Scholar in Biomedical Research, Michael and Ethel Cohen Fellowship Fund, Memorial Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
1989 Charles A. Dana Foundation Fellowship Award, Memorial Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
1988 Clinical Scholars Research Training Fellowship Award, Frederick R. Adler Fellowship in Biomedical Research, Memorial Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
1987-1990 Medical Career Development Award, Brazilian National Council for Research (CNPq)
1984 Highest score In-Service Qualifying Exam, Residency in Internal Medicine (over 30 resident examinees), University of Sao Paulo Medical School
1983 Highest Score, Medical Proficiency Exam, for internship admittance (over 3,000 intern examinees), University of Sao Paulo Medical School

Selected Publications

Peer-Reviewed Original Research Articles
1. Jonasch E, Wood C, Matin S, Tu SM, Pagliaro L, Corn P, Aparicio A, Tamboli P, Millikan R, Wang X, Araujo J, Arap W, Tannir N. Phase II presurgical feasibility study of bevacizumab in untreated patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. J Clin Oncol 27(25):4076-81, 9/2009. PMID: 19636008.
2. Trepel M, Stoneham CA, Eleftherohorinou H, Mazarakis ND, Pasqualini R, Arap W, Hajitou A. A heterotypic bystander effect for tumor cell kiling after AAVP-mediated vascular-targeted suicide gene transfer. Mol Cancer Ther 8(8):2383-91, 8/2009. PMID: 19671758.
3. Giordano RJ, Edwards JK, Tuder RM, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Combinatorial ligand-directed lung targeting. Proc Am Thorac Soc 6(5):411-5, 8/2009. PMID: 19687212.
4. Souza GR, Staquicini FI, Christianson DR, Ozawa MG, Miller JH, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Combinatorial targeting and nanotechnology applications. Biomed Microdevices. e-Pub 8/2009. PMID: 19669890.
5. Stefanidakis M, Karjalainen K, Jaalouk DE, Gahmberg CG, O'Brien S, Pasqualini R, Arap W, Koivunen EA. Role of leukemia cell invadosome in extramedullary infiltration. Blood. e-Pub 7/2009. PMID: 19636064.
6. Moeller BJ, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Targeting cancer-specific synthetic lethality in double-strand DNA break repair. Cell Cycle 8(12):1872-6, 6/2009. PMID: 19440052.
7. Zhang Y, Daquinag A, Traktuev DO, Amaya-Manzanares F, Simmons PJ, March KL, Pasqualini R, Arap W, Kolonin MG. White adipose tissue cells are recruited by experimental tumors and promote cancer progression in mouse models. Can Res 69(12):5259-66, 6/2009. PMID: 19491274.
8. Mandelin J, Lin ECK, Hu DD, Knowles SK, Do KA, Wang Xuemei, Sage EH, Smith JW, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Extracellular and Intracellular Mechanisms Mediating Metastatic Activity of Exogenous Osteopontin. Cancer 115(8):1753-64, 4/2009. PMID: 19224553.
9. Paoloni MC, Tandle A, Mazcko C, Hanna E, Kachala S, LeBlanc A, Newman S, Vail D, Henry C, Thamm D, Sorenmo K, Hajitou A, Pasqualini R, Arap W, Khanna C, Libutti SK. Launching a novel preclinical infrastructure: comparative oncology trials consortium directed therapeutic targeting of TNFalpha to cancer vasculature. PLoS ONE 4(3):e4972, 3/2009. PMID: 19330034.
10. Marchio S, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Targeting the extracellular signature of metastatic colorectal cancers. Expert Opin Ther Targets 13(3):363-79, 3/2009. PMID: 19236157.
11. Lewis VO, Ozawa MG, Deavers MT, Wang G, Shintani T, Arap W, Pasqualini R. The interleukin-11 receptor alpha as a candidate ligand-directed target in osteosarcoma: consistent data from cell lines, orthotopic models and human tumor samples. Cancer Res 69(5):1995-9, 3/2009. PMID: 19244100.
12. Mintz PJ, Cardo-Vila M, Ozawa MG, Hajitou A, Rangel R, Guzman-Rojas L, Christianson DR, Arap MA, Giordano RJ, Souza GR, Easley J, Salameh A, Oliviero S, Brentani RR, Koivunen E, Arap W, Pasqualini R. An unrecognized extracellular function for an intracellular adapter protein released from the cytoplasm into the tumor microenvironment. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106(7):2182-7, 2/2009. PMID: 19168626.
13. Staquicini FI, Dias-Neto E, Li J, Snyder EY, Sidman RL, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Discovery of a functional protein complex of netrin-4, laminin {gamma}1 chain, and integrin {alpha}6{beta}1 in mouse neural stem cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106(8):2903-8, 2/2009. PMID: 19193855.
14. Staquicini FI, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Ligand-directed profiling: applications to target drug discovery in cancer. Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery (EODC) 4(1):51-9, 1/2009. PMID: Not currently indexed for MEDLINE.
15. Tagore DM, Nolte WM, Neveu JM, Rangel R, Guzman-Rojas L, Pasqualini R, Arap W, Lane WS, Saghatelian A. Peptidase substrates via global peptide profiling. Nat Chem Biol 5(1):23-5, 1/2009. PMID: 19011639.
16. Cardo-Vila M, Zurita AJ, Giordano RJ, Sun J, Rangel R, Guzman-Rojas L, Anobom CD, Valenta AP, Almeida FCL, Lahdenranta J, Kolonin MG, Arap W, Pasqualini R. A ligand peptide motif selected from a cancer patient is a receptor-interacting site within human interleukin-11. PLoS ONE 3(10):e3452, 10/2008. PMID: 18941632.
17. Nie J, Chang B, Traktuev D, Sun J, March KL, Chan L, Sage EH, Pasqualini R, Arap W, Kolonin MG. Combinatorial peptides identify 51 integrin as a receptor for the matricellular protein SPARC on adipose stromal cells. Stem Cells 26(10):2735-45, 10/2008. PMID: 18583538.
18. Giordano RJ, Lahdenranta J, Zhen L, Chukwueke U, Petrache I, Langley RR, Fidler IJ, Pasqualini R, Tuder RM, Arap W. Targeted induction of lung endothelial cell apoptosis causes emphysema-like changes in the mouse. J Biol Chem 283(43):29447-60, 10/2008. PMID: 18718906.
19. Ozawa MG, Zurita A, Dias-Neto E, Nunes DN, Sidman RL, Gelovani JG, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Beyond receptor expression levels: the relevance of target accessibility in ligand-directed pharmacodelivery systems. Trends Cardiovasc Med 18(4):126-32, 5/2008. PMID: 18555185.
20. Hajitou A, Rangel R, Trepel M, Soghomonyan S, Gelovani JG, Alauddin MM, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Design and construction of targeted AAVP vectors for mammalian cell transduction. Nat Protoc 2(3):523-31, 3/2007. PMID: 17406616.
21. Rangel R, Sun Y, Guzman-Rojas L, Ozawa MG, Sun J, Giordano RJ, Van Pelt CS, Tinkey PT, Behringer RR, Sidman RL, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Impaired angiogenesis in aminopeptidase N-null mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104(11):4588-93, 3/2007. PMID: 17360568.
22. Hajitou A, Trepel M, Lilley CE, Soghomonyan S, Alauddin MM, Marini FC III, Restel BH, Ozawa MG, Moya CA, Rangel R, Sun Y, Zaoui K, Schmidt M, von Kalle C, Weitzman MD, Gelovani JG, Pasqualini R, Arap W. A hybrid vector for ligand-directed tumor targeting and molecular imaging. Cell 125(2):385-98, 4/2006. PMID: 16630824.
23. Kolonin MG, Bover L, Sun J, Zurita AJ, Do Kim-Anh, Lahdenranta J, Cardo-Vila M, Giordano RJ, Jaalouk DE, Ozawa MG, Moya CA, Souza GR, Staquicini FI, Kunyiasu A, Scudiero DA, Holbeck SL, Sausville EA, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Ligand-directed surface profiling of human cancer cells with combinatorial peptide libraries. Cancer Res 66(1):34-40, 1/2006. PMID: 16397212.
24. Souza GR, Christianson DR, Staquicini FI, Ozawa MG, Snyder EY, Sidman RL, Miller JH, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Networks of gold nanoparticles and bacteriophage as biological sensors and cell-targeting agents. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103(5):1215-20, 1/2006. PMID: 16434473.
25. Pentz RD, Cohen CB, Wicclair M, DeVita MA, Flamm AL, Youngner SJ, Hamric AB, McCabe MS, Glover J, Kittiko WJ, Kinlaw K, Keller J, Asch A, Kavanagh JJ, Arap W. Ethics guidelines for research with the recently dead. Nat Med 11(11):1145-9, 11/2005. PMID: 16270065.
26. Giordano RJ, Anobom CD, Cardo-Vila M, Kalil J, Valente AP, Pasqualini R, Almeida FC, Arap W. Structural basis for the interaction of a vascular endothelial growth factor mimic peptide motif and its corresponding receptors. Chem Biol 12(10):1075-83, 10/2005. PMID: 16242650.
27. Yao VJ, Ozawa MG, Trepel M, Arap W, McDonald DM, Pasqualini R. Targeting pancreatic islets with phage display assisted by laser pressure catapult microdissection. Am J Pathol 166(2):625-36, 2/2005. PMID: 15681844.
28. Arap MA, Lahdenranta J, Mintz PJ, Hajitou A, Sarkis AS, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Cell surface expression of the stress response chaperone GRP78 enables tumor targeting by circulating ligands. Cancer Cell 6(3):275-84, 9/2004. PMID: 15380518.
29. Kolonin MG, Saha PK, Chan L, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Reversal of obesity by targeted ablation of adipose tissue. Nat Med 10(6):625-32, 6/2004. PMID: 15133506.
30. Marchio S, Lahdenranta J, Schlingemann RO, Valdembri D, Wesseling P, Arap MA, Hajitou A, Ozawa MG, Trepel M, Giordano RJ, Nanus DM, Dijkman HB, Oosterwijk E, Sidman RL, Cooper MD, Bussolino F, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Aminopeptidase A is a functional target in angiogenic blood vessels. Cancer Cell 5(2):151-62, 2/2004. PMID: 14998491.
31. Pasqualini R, Arap W. Hybridoma-free generation of monoclonal antibodies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101(1):257-9, 1/2004. PMID: 14688405.
32. Ellerby HM, Lee S, Ellerby LM, Chen S, Kiyota T, del Rio G, Sugihara G, Sun Y, Bredesen DE, Arap W, Pasqualini R. An artificially designed pore-forming protein with anti-tumor effects. J Biol Chem 278(37):35311-6, 9/2003. PMID: 12750379.
33. Cardo-Vila M, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Alpha v beta 5 integrin-dependent programmed cell death triggered by a peptide mimic of annexin V. Mol Cell 11(5):1151-62, 5/2003. PMID: 12769841.
34. Pentz RD, Flamm AL, Pasqualini R, Logothetis CJ, Arap W. Revisiting ethical guidelines for research with terminal wean and brain-dead participants. Hastings Cent Rep 33(1):20-6, 2/2003. PMID: 12613384.
35. Mintz PJ, Kim J, Do KA, Wang X, Zinner RG, Cristofanilli M, Arap MA, Hong WK, Troncoso P, Logothetis CJ, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Fingerprinting the circulating repertoire of antibodies from cancer patients. Nat Biotechnol 21(1):57-63, 1/2003. PMID: 12496764.
36. Kolonin MG, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Teratogenicity induced by targeting a placental immunoglobulin transporter. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 99(20):13055-60, 10/2002. PMID: 12242328.
37. Arap W, Kolonin MG, Trepel M, Lahdenranta J, Cardo-Vila M, Giordano RJ, Mintz PJ, Ardelt PU, Yao VJ, Vidal CI, Chen L, Flamm A, Valtanen H, Weavind LM, Hicks ME, Pollock RE, Botz GH, Bucana CD, Koivunen E, Cahill D, Troncoso P, Baggerly KA, Pentz RD, Do KA, Logothetis CJ, Pasqualini R. Steps toward mapping the human vasculature by phage display. Nat Med 8(2):121-7, 2/2002. PMID: 11821895.
38. Arap W, Haedicke W, Bernasconi M, Kain R, Rajotte D, Krajewski S, Ellerby HM, Bredesen DE, Pasqualini R, Ruoslahti E. Targeting the prostate for destruction through a vascular address. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 99(3):1527-31, 2/2002. PMID: 11830668.
39. Giordano RJ, Cardo-Vila M, Lahdenranta J, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Biopanning and rapid analysis of selective interactive ligands. Nat Med 7(11):1249-53, 11/2001. PMID: 11689892.
40. Lahdenranta J, Pasqualini R, Schlingemann RO, Hagedorn M, Stallcup WB, Bucana CD, Sidman RL, Arap W. An anti-angiogenic state in mice and humans with retinal photoreceptor cell degeneration. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98(18):10368-73, 8/2001. PMID: 11526242.
41. Pasqualini R, Koivunen E, Kain R, Lahdenranta J, Sakamoto M, Stryhn A, Ashmun RA, Shapiro LH, Arap W, Ruoslahti E. Aminopeptidase N is a receptor for tumor-homing peptides and a target for inhibiting angiogenesis. Cancer Res 60(3):722-7, 2/2000. PMID: 10676659.
42. Koivunen E, Arap W, Valtanen H, Rainisalo A, Medina OP, Heikkila P, Kantor C, Gahmberg CG, Salo T, Konttinen YT, Sorsa T, Ruoslahti E, Pasqualini R. Tumor targeting with a selective gelatinase inhibitor. Nat Biotechnol 17(8):768-74, 8/1999. PMID: 10429241.
43. Arap W, Pasqualini R, Ruoslahti E. Cancer treatment by targeted drug delivery to tumor vasculature in a mouse model. Science 279(5349):377-80, 1/1998. PMID: 9430587.
44. Arap W, Nishikawa R, Furnari FB, Cavenee WK, Huang HJ. Replacement of the p16/CDKN2 gene suppresses human glioma cell growth. Cancer Res 55(6):1351-4, 3/1995. PMID: 7882335.

Invited Articles
1. Trepel M, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Molecular addresses revealed by in vivo phage display. Meth Enzymol. In Press.
2. Pasqualini R, Arap W. Therapeutic applications of vascular proteomics. Nat Rev Drug Discov. In Press.
3. Arap W, Trepel M, Zetter BR, Pasqualini R. Meeting report: innovations in prostate cancer research. Cancer Res 68(3):635-8, 2/2008. PMID: 18245458.
4. Sergeeva A, Kolonin MG, Molldrem JJ, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Display technologies: application for the discovery of drug and gene delivery agents. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 58(15):1622-54, 12/2006. PMID: 17123658.
5. Hajitou A, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Vascular targeting: recent advances and therapeutic perspectives. Trends Cardiovasc Med 16(3):80-8, 4/2006. PMID: 16546688.
6. Trepel M, Arap W, Pasqualini R. In vivo phage display and vascular heterogeneity: implications for targeted medicine. Curr Opin Chem Biol 6(3):399-404, 6/2002. PMID: 12023122.
7. Kolonin M, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Molecular addresses in blood vessels as targets for therapy. Curr Opin Chem Biol 5(3):308-13, 6/2001. PMID: 11479123.
8. Arap W, Pasqualini R, Ruoslahti E. Chemotherapy targeted to tumor vasculature. Curr Opin Oncol 10(6):560-5, 11/1998. PMID: 9818236.

Editorials
1. Arap W, Pasqualini R. Engineered embryonic endothelial progenitor cells as therapeutic Trojan horses. Cancer Cell 5(5):406-8, 5/2004. PMID: 15144946.
2. Pasqualini R, Barbas CF III, Arap W. Vessel maneuvers: zinc fingers promote angiogenesis. Nat Med 8(12):1353-4, 12/2002. PMID: 12457173.
3. Pasqualini R, McDonald DM, Arap W. Vascular targeting and antigen presentation. Nat Immunol 2(7):567-8, 7/2001. PMID: 11429533.

Book Chapters
1. Trepel M, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Screening Phage-Display Peptide Libraries for Vascular Targeted Peptides. In: Methods in Enzymology. 445. Ed(s) David A. Cheresh. Elsevier: Burlington: Academic Press, 83-106, 2008. PMID: 978-0-12-374314-5.
2. Zurita AJ, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Molecular characterization of the endothelium: A phage display perspective the endothelium. In: In: A Comprehensive Reference, The Endothelial Cell as Input-Output Device/Output/Proteome. Ed(s) Ed. Aird WC. Marcel Dekker, Inc., 898-908, 2007.
3. Trepel M, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Selection, isolation, and identification of targeting peptides for ligand-directed gene delivery. In: Gene Transfer, Delivery, and Expression of DNA and RNA: A Laboratory Manual. Ed(s) Friedman & Rossi. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: New York, NY, 359-369, 2007.
4. Christianson DR, Ozawa MG, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Techniques to decipher molecular diversity by phage display. In: Cardiovascular Proteomics book in Methods in Molecular Biology. 357. Humana Press, 385-406, 2006. PMID: 17172704.
5. Lahdenranta J, Arap W, Pasqualini R. The use of proteomics to map phenotypic heterogeneity of the endothelium. In: Endothelial Cells in Health and Disease. Ed(s) Aird W.C. Marcel Dekker Inc, 105-119, 2005.
6. Vidal C, Cardó-Vila M, Lahdenranta J, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Targeting blood vessels in vivo by using phage display libraries. In: Targeted Therapy for Cancer. Ed(s) Syrigos, Harrington, 250-255, 2003.
7. Pasqualini R, Arap W, Rajotte D, and Ruoslahti E. In vivo selection of phage-display libraries. In: Phage Display: A Laboratory Manual. Ed(s) In: C. F. Barbas, III, D. R. Burton, J. K. Scott, and G. J. Silverman (eds.). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press: New York, 1-24, 2001.

Letters to the Editor
1. Kontoyiannis DP, Pasqualini R, Arap W. Aminopeptidase N inhibitors and SARS. Lancet 361(9368):1558, 5/2003. PMID: 12737884.

Last updated: 8/27/2009