William Norton, DVM
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, Division of Discovery Science
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Chief IACUC Veterinarian, Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2005 | University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, US, Veterinary Medicine, DVM |
| 2001 | Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, US, Religion, BA |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2020 | American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine |
| 2011 | USDA National Veterinary Accreditation Program |
| 2011 | State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners |
| 2005 | Drug Enforcement Administration |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2015 - 2022
Instructor, Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2011 - 2015
Instructor, Minnesota School of Business, Plymouth, MN, 2009 - 2010
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Section Chief, Veterinary Medicine & Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2022 - Present
Section Chief ad interim, Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - 2018
Associate Veterinarian, Wheaton Animal Hospital, Kensington, MD, 2010 - 2011
Associate Veterinarian, Arden Shoreview Animal Hospital, Arden Hills, MN, 2007 - 2009
Associate Veterinarian, Birch Lake Animal Hospital, White Bear Lake, MN, 2005 - 2007
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member, Assistant Professor Search Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2024 - 2024
Voting Member, Faculty Senate, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2023 - Present
Member, Mid-Career Faculty Research Subcommittee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2023 - Present
Member, Mid-Career Faculty Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2023 - Present
Member, Assistant Professor Position Search Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2021 - 2022
Member, Supervisor Position Search Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2021 - 2021
Alternate, Faculty Senate, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2020 - 2023
Member, Instructor Position Search Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2019 - 2019
Member, Department Chair Position Search Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2018 - 2019
Member, Veterinary Pathologist Position Search Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2017 - 2018
Voting Member, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2017 - Present
Member, Supervisor Position Search Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2016 - 2016
Member, Assistant Professor Position Search Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2016 - 2016
Alternate Voting Member, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2012 - 2017
Veterinary Pre-Reviewer, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2012 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2015 | Commendation, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2013 | IACUC Commendation, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2013 | Outstanding Clinical Veterinarian Award, Charles River Laboratories |
| 2005 | Compassionate Care Award, Hills Pet Nutrition |
| 2001 | Cum Laude, Carleton College |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
National Presentations
- 2023. Subacute Cutaneous Toxicity with Single-Fraction Electron FLASH RT in Yorkshire Swine. Conference. Subacute Cutaneous Toxicity with Single-Fraction Electron FLASH RT in Yorkshire Swine. San Diego, CA, US.
- 2023. Subacute Cutaneous Toxicity with Single-Fraction Electron FLASH RT in Yorkshire Swine. Conference. Subacute Cutaneous Toxicity with Single-Fraction Electron FLASH RT in Yorkshire Swine. Houston, TX, US.
- 2023. Recapitulating metastatic colorectal cancer in somatic mutation models for investigating the tumor immune microenvironment in minimal residual disease. Poster. American Association for Cancer Research. Orlando, Florida, US.
- 2015. Bridging the Gap Between Surgical Training and Best Practices: A Team Approach. Conference. Bridging the Gap Between Surgical Training and Best Practices: A Team Approach. Phoenix, AZ, US.
- Ensuring Compliance with Aseptic Surgical Technique in a Large Rodent Facility: A Framework for Standardizing Surgical Training Verification, Documentation, and IACUC Oversight Across Research Programs. Invited. Laboratory Animal Managers Association National Conference. San Antonio, Texas, US.
International Presentations
- 2020. Glutamine Imaging for the Detection of Renal Cell Carcinoma Lung Metastases. Conference. Glutamine Imaging for the Detection of Renal Cell Carcinoma Lung Metastases. Prague, CZ.
Formal Peers
- 2018. How Much of a Difference Do You Make: The Impact of Individuals in the Larger Research Machine. Invited. Houston, TX, US.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2024 - Present |
| Title: | Veterinary Technical Institute of Houston |
| Funding Source: | VTI |
| Role: | PI |
| Date: | 2023 - Present |
| Title: | Esophageal Squamous Cell Cancer Initiation and Immune Landscape Remodeling |
| Funding Source: | NIH |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Date: | 2022 - Present |
| Title: | Lone Star College System District (LSC) - Veterinary Technology Program |
| Funding Source: | Lonestar College |
| Role: | Co-Program Leader |
| Date: | 2022 - 2027 |
| Title: | Translating FLASH Radiobiological Insights to Cutaneous Malignancies |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| ID: | FP00015770 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2025 |
| Title: | RA210087:Tumor Heterogeneity:Stem Cell vs Genetic Origin of Bilateral Germ Cell Tumor of the Testis |
| Funding Source: | Department of Defense (DOD) |
| Role: | Co-I |
| Date: | 2022 - 2023 |
| Title: | Determination of the Toxicity Equivalent Dose and Effective Fractionation Regimen For FLASH-RT on the IntraOp Mobetron Electron FLASH Unit Designed For Clinical Utilization |
| Funding Source: | Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Date: | 2022 - 2023 |
| Title: | FLASH Radiation Therapy Optimization on Clinically Relevant Volumes of Pig Skin Using The IntraOp® Electron FLASH Mobetron® Designed for Clinical Use |
| Funding Source: | American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) |
| Role: | Significant Contributor |
| Date: | 2021 - 2023 |
| Title: | Translating FLASH Radiotherapy to Enhance Cancer Therapy |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Date: | 2019 - 2022 |
| Title: | TRACTION Moon Shot Colorectal Project |
| Funding Source: | MD Anderson Moon Shots Program |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| ID: | 710632-80-120004-19 |
| Date: | 1996 - 2024 |
| Title: | CCSG - Cancer Center Support (Core) Grant: Research |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Veterinarian |
| ID: | 5-P30-CA16672-35 |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Konradsson, E, Liu, K, Baig, S, Lin, SJ, Lopez, AH, Velasquez, B, Mayor, S, Samuel, K, Viscarra, T, Garrow, K, Moore, EJ, Norton, W, Swain, J, Li, Z, Koong, A, Lin, SH, Schueler, E, Mitra, D. Initial Evaluation of Feasibility and Cutaneous Toxicity of Electron FLASH Radiotherapy Using a Standard-of-Care Fractionation Scheme in a Porcine Skin Model. Cancers 18(6), 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41899610.
- Valentin EMS, Damasco J, Bernardino M, Mishra A, Barcena AJR, Bolinas DK, Canlas GM, Jacobsen M, Layman R, Chinthalapani G, Norton W, Fowlkes N, Chen S, Huang SY, Melancon MP. Gadolinium nanoparticle-enhanced, radiopaque, and resorbable inferior vena cava filters for improved in vivo applications. Acta Biomater 207:342-352, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41115622.
- Konradsson E, Liu K, Baig S, Hernandez AL, Velasquez B, Mayor S, Samuel K, Viscarra T, Garrow K, Moore E, Norton W, Swain J, Koong AC, Lin SH, Schüler E, Mitra D. 2126 Safety and cutaneous toxicity of hypofractionated FLASH and conventional radiotherapy in a clinically relevant swine skin model. Radiotherapy and Oncology 206(S3920), 2025. e-Pub 2025.
- Hussein, NI, Nayak, VV, Dharmaraj, N, Mirsky, NA, Norton, W, Ramagli, L, Tailor, RC, Kasper, FK, Coelho, PG, Witek, L, Young, S. A Compromised Maxillofacial Wound Healing Model for Characterization of Particulate Bone Grafting. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research - Part B Applied Biomaterials 113(3), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40033549.
- Norton W. Subacute Cutaneous Toxicity with Single-Fraction Electron FLASH RT in Yorkshire Swine. International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics 117(2):S10-S11, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Norton W. Image-Guided Deployment and Monitoring of a Novel Tungsten Nanoparticle-Infused Radiopaque Absorbable Inferior Vena Cava Filter in a Swine Model. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology 35(1):113-121.e3, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37696432.
- Pollard AC, Paolillo V, Radaram B, Qureshy S, Li L, Maity T, Wang L, Uddin MN, Wood CG, Karam JA, Pagel MD, Piwnica-Worms D, Millward SW, Fowlkes NW, Norton W, Engel BJ, Pisaneschi F, Zacharias NM. PET/MR Imaging of a Lung Metastasis Model of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma with (2S,4R)-4-[18F]Fluoroglutamine. Mol Imaging Biol 24(6):959-972, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35732988.
- Casal RF, Schwalk AJ, Fowlkes N, Aburto RR, Norton W, Dixon KA, Lin S, Shaitelman SF, Chintalapani G, Hill L. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided injection of NBTXR3 radio-enhancing nanoparticles into mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes: a swine model to evaluate feasibility, injection technique, safety, nanoparticle retention and dispersion. J Thorac Dis 12(5):2317-2324, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32642136.
- Veeranki OL, Tong Z, Mejia A, Verma A, Katkhuda R, Bassett R, Kim TB, Wang J, Lang W, Mino B, Solis L, Kingsley C, Norton W, Tailor R, Wu JY, Krishnan S, Lin SH, Blum M, Hofstetter W, Ajani J, Kopetz S, Maru D. A novel patient-derived orthotopic xenograft model of esophageal adenocarcinoma provides a platform for translational discoveries. Dis Model Mech 12(12), 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31732509.
- Veeranki, OM, Tong, Z, Mejia, A, Katkhuda, R, Mino, B, Canales, JR, Garcia, A, Lang, W, Bassett Jr, R, Ajani, JA, Wu, J, Kopetz, S, Blum Murphy, M, Hofstetter, WL, Kingsley, CV, Norton, W, Maru, DM. A novel patient derived orthotopic xenograft model of gastro-esophageal junction cancer. Annals of Oncology 29:v1, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 32176977.
- Zacharias NM, McCullough C, Shanmugavelandy S, Lee J, Lee Y, Dutta P, McHenry J, Nguyen L, Norton W, Jones LW, Bhattacharya PK. Metabolic Differences in Glutamine Utilization Lead to Metabolic Vulnerabilities in Prostate Cancer. Sci Rep 7(1):16159, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29170516.
- Norton WB, Scavizzi F, Smith CN, Dong W, Raspa M, Parker-Thornburg JV. Refinements for embryo implantation surgery in the mouse: comparison of injectable and inhalant anesthesias - tribromoethanol, ketamine and isoflurane - on pregnancy and pup survival. Lab Anim 50(5):335-43, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26566637.
- Napoli M, Venkatanarayan A, Raulji P, Meyers BA, Norton W, Mangala LS, Sood AK, Rodriguez-Aguayo C, Lopez-Berestein G, Vin H, Duvic M, Tetzlaff MB, Curry JL, Rook AH, Abbas HA, Coarfa C, Gunaratne PH, Tsai KY, Flores ER. Np63/DGCR8-Dependent MicroRNAs Mediate Therapeutic Efficacy of HDAC Inhibitors in Cancer. Cancer Cell 29(6):874-888, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27300436.
- Venkatanarayan A, Raulji P, Norton W, Flores ER. Novel therapeutic interventions for p53-altered tumors through manipulation of its family members, p63 and p73. Cell Cycle 15(2):164-71, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26652033.
- Venkatanarayan A, Raulji P, Norton W, Chakravarti D, Coarfa C, Su X, Sandur SK, Ramirez MS, Lee J, Kingsley CV, Sananikone EF, Rajapakshe K, Naff K, Parker-Thornburg J, Bankson JA, Tsai KY, Gunaratne PH, Flores ER. IAPP-driven metabolic reprogramming induces regression of p53-deficient tumours in vivo. Nature 517(7536):626-30, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25409149.
- Zhou X, von der Mark K, Henry S, Norton W, Adams H, de Crombrugghe B. Chondrocytes Transdifferentiate into Osteoblasts in Endochondral Bone during Development Postnatal Growth and Fracture Healing in Mice. PLoS Genet 10(12):e1004820, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25474590.
Review Articles
- Tu SM, Moran C, Norton W, Zacharias NM. Stem Cell Theory of Cancer: Origin of Metastasis and Sub-clonality. Semin Diagn Pathol 40(1):63-68, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 35729019.
Professional Educational Materials
- Norton W, Naff K. Handout for Rodent Aseptic and Surgical Technique Course. Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, 2013.
Editorials
- Hill LR, Norton WB. No need to duplicate prior pilots. Lab Anim (NY) 49(2):30-31, 2020. PMID: 31988410.
- Naff KA, Norton W. Disagreement between IO and IACUC. IACUC must report. Lab Anim (NY) 41(3):64-65, 2012. PMID: 22343457.
Abstracts
- Mohamed AM, Cho KS, Soeung M, Anderson A, Alshenaifi J, Manyam G, Villareal O, Davis J, Norton W, Gao S, Bristow C, Carbone F, Napolitano S, Coker O, Khanduri I, Huang J, Maru DM, Pilato MD, Sun R, Wang L, Menter DG, Genovese G, Draetta G, Fowlkes N, Kopetz S. Abstract 1168: Anti-CSF1R antibody monotherapy inhibits minimal residual disease in a novel immunocompetent murine colorectal cancer metastasis model. Cancer Research, 2024. e-Pub 2024.
- Klusman C, Martin B, Perez J, Mundoa HD, Damasco J, San Valentin EM, Bernardino M, Barcena A, Williams M, Parrish S, Norton W, Chintalapani G, Fowlkes N, Huynh T, Huang S, Melancon MP. Abstract P1052: Development Of A Porcine Model Of Arteriovenous Fistula For The Evaluation Of Radiopaque Polymeric Vascular Wrap. Circulation Research, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Valentin E, Damasco J, Bernardino M, Honegger S, Court K, Godin B, Canlas G, Chintalapani G, Norton W, Chen S, Fowlkes N, Huang S, Melancon M. Abstract No. 273 In Vivo Imaging of Novel Tungsten Nanoparticle and Polymer-Infused Resorbable Inferior Vena Cava Filters in Porcine Model. Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology 34(2):S123-S124, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Millward, Norton. PET/MR Imaging of a Lung Metastasis Model of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma with (2S,4R)-4-[18F]Fluoroglutamine. World Molecular Imaging Congress 2022, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Paolillo V, Engel BJ, Radaram B, Qureshy S, Pollard A, Li L, Maity TK, Norton W, Wang L, Wood CG, Piwnica-Worms D, Zacharias NM, Pisaneschi F. Glutamine Imaging for the Detection of Renal Cell Carcinoma Lung Metastases. World Molecular Imaging Conference 2020, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Ramagli L, Norton W, Hill L. Comparative Behavior and Cortisol Levels in the Rabbit (Oryctolagus Cuniculus) When Anesthetized by the use of Masking Versus Pre-Medicated. National AALAS (American Association for Laboratory Animal Science) conference 2019, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Duran A, Norton W, Fuhrman G, Naff K. Bridging the Gap Between Surgical Training and Best Practices: A Team Approach. National American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, Pheonix, 2015. e-Pub 2015.
- Parker-Thornburg J, Norton W, Smith CN, Edison E, Dong, W. Refinements for Implant Surgery: The effects of different anesthesia on pregnancy and pup survival. Transgenic Research 23(5):894, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 22, 2026