Alexander Augustyn, MD,PHD
Department of Rad Onc Dept., Division of Radiation Oncology
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2016 | University of Texas Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Dallas, TX, US, Cancer Biology, PhD |
| 2016 | University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, TX, US, Medical Scientist Training Program, MD |
| 2009 | University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, US, Chemistry, AB |
| 2009 | University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, US, Biological Chemistry, SB |
Postgraduate Training
| 2017-2021 | Postgraduate Fellow, Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2016-2017 | Postgraduate Fellow, Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2025 | Basic Life Support |
| 2025 | Texas Medical Board |
| 2022 | American Board of Radiology |
Experience & Service
Faculty Academic Appointments
Radiation Oncologist, Community Health Network, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN, 2021 - 2025
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Associate Medical Director - Woodlands, Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2026 - Present
Other Professional Positions
Radiation Chemistry Intern, Exelon Nuclear, 2006
Intramural Institutional Committee Activities
Peer Reviewer/Disease Site Expert, MD Anderson Cancer Center Network Quality Assurance for Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2026 - Present
Director, Thoracic Oncology Tumor Board, Community Health Network MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2023 - 2025
Member, Clinical Research Protocol Review Committee, Community Health Network MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2021 - 2025
Resident Representative, Radiation Oncology Quality and Safety Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2018 - 2021
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Member, Medical Advisory Committee, Wipe Out Kids' Cancer, 2015 - 2017
Honors & Awards
| 2024 | Top Doctors, Indianapolis Monthly Magazine |
| 2020 | G.H. Fletcher Award for Research Excellence, Gilbert H. Fletcher Society |
| 2019 - 2020 | Jeffrey Lee Cousins Lung Cancer Research Fellow, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2019 - 2020 | Radiology Society of North America Resident Research Grant, Radiology Society of North America (RSNA) |
| 2019 | ASTRO Annual Meeting Abstract Award, American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) |
| 2019 | MD Anderson Trainee Research Day Oral Abstract Competition Finalist, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2019 | Best of ASTRO Abstract, American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) |
| 2019 | Texas Society of Clinical Oncology Research Fellowship, Texas Society of Clinical Oncology (TxSCO) |
| 2019 | Radiation Research Society Scholar in Training Fellowship, Radiation Research Society (RRS) |
| 2014 - 2016 | Dean's Award, UT Southwestern Medical School |
| 2013 - 2016 | Ruth L. Kirschstein NRSA for Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD Fellows, NIH F30 - National Cancer Institute |
| 2012 | Sally's Outreach and Support for Lung Health Travel Grant |
| 2008 | Frances Bundick Scholarship, University of Chicago |
| 2008 | Frank and Sara McKnight Prize in Undergraduate Biophysics, UT Southwestern Medical School |
| 2007 - 2009 | Program in Chemistry and Chemical Biology Undergraduate Fellowship, University of Chicago |
| 2006 | Undergraduate Scholarship, Exelon Nuclear, Exelon Nuclear |
| 2005 - 2009 | Dean's Award, University of Chicago |
| 2005 | Chicago Tribune Scholar Athlete of the Year, Chicago Tribune |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2026. Low dose radiation therapy for osteoarthritis. Invited. Musculoskeletal Radiology Conference. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2024. Lessons in general radiation oncology from community practice. Invited. Department of Radiation Oncology Grand Rounds. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2021. Prospective evaluation of the microbiome and association with outcomes in locally-advanced NSCLC. Invited. Department of Radiation Oncology Grand Rounds. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2020. CAMLs predict distant failure in lung cancer. Conference. 2020 Fletcher Society Meeting. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2019. Reversing hypoxia via OxPhos inhibition to promote radiosensitivity. Invited. ERO SPDR Seminar. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2019. Giant cancer-associated macrophage-like cells in phase II trial of concurrent chemoimmunoradiation predict for survival in NSCLC. Conference. 2019 Trainee Research Day. Houston, Texas, US.
National Presentations
- 2020. Relationship Between Buccal Microbiome Diversity and Overall Survival in Locally Advanced NSCLC Patients Treated with Chemoradiation and Immunotherapy. Conference. ASTRO 2020 Annual Meeting. Arlington, Virginia, US.
- 2019. Reversing hypoxia via OxPhos inhibition to promote radiosensitivity. Conference. Radiation Research Society 2019 Annual Meeting. Bozeman, Montana, US.
- 2019. Impact of cell-of-origin, MYC/BCL2 expression and MYC rearrangements in DLBCL patients treated with combined modality therapy. Conference. ASTRO 2019 Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL, US.
- 2019. Presence of Giant Circulating Cancer-Associated Macrophage-like Cells after Definitive Chemoradiation Predicts for Progression in Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients. Conference. ASTRO 2019 Annual Meeting. Arlington, Virginia, US.
- 2019. Radiosensitization of hypoxic tumor cells using IACS-010759. Conference. ARS 101st Annual Meeting. Dana Point, CA, US.
- 2015. Targeting ASCL1 in Neuroendocrine Lung Cancers via a MAPK-Regulated Double-Negative Feedback Loop. Conference. NCI Special Projects of Research Excellence Workshop. Bethesda, Maryland, US.
- 2015. ChIP-Seq analysis uncovers functional therapeutic targets in a novel class of ASCL1-dependent high grade neuroendocrine lung cancers. Conference. IASLC Small Cell Lung Cancer Workshop. Aurora, Colorado, US.
- 2014. ASLC1 is a lineage oncogene providing therapeutic targets for high grade neuroendocrine lung cancers. Conference. NCI Special Projects of Research Excellence Workshop. Bethesda, Maryland, US.
- 2012. The lineage-specific transcription factor ASCL1 defines a subtype of neuroendocrine non-small cell lung cancers with poor prognosis and points to potential therapeutic targets. Conference. 12th Annual Targeted Therapies of Lung Cancer Meeting. Aurora, Colorado, US.
International Presentations
- 2020. Concurrent immunotherapy and stereotactic radiosurgery for patients with melanoma brain metastases. Conference. Society for Neuro-Oncology 2020 Annual Meeting.
- 2019. Giant cancer-associated macrophage-like cells are associated with disease recurrence and poor outcomes in locally-advanced NSCLC treated with immunotherapy. Poster. IASLC 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer. Barcelona, ES.
Formal Peers
- 2025. Low dose radiation therapy for osteoarthritis. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2025. Low dose radiation therapy for osteoarthritis. Houston, Texas, US.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2019 - 2021 |
| Title: | Multiparametric response assessment of intratumoral hypoxia and acidosis to IACS-010759 as a marker of radiation sensitization |
| Funding Source: | RSNA |
| Role: | PI |
| Date: | 2013 - 2016 |
| Title: | Defining a molecularly distinct subtype of non small cell lung cancer |
| Funding Source: | NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | F30 CA168264 |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- McCullum L, Augustyn A. Quantitative Dixon-Based PDFF and R2* Estimation and Optimization on MR-Simulation and MR-Linac Devices for the Pelvis and Head and Neck: A Prospective R-IDEAL Stage 0-2a Study. medRxiv, 2026.
- Martin-Vega A, Earnest SA, Augustyn A, Wichaidit C, Girard L, Peyton M, Minna JD, Johnson JE, Cobb MH. ASCL1 Restrains ERK1/2 to Promote Survival of a Subset of Neuroendocrine Lung Cancers. Mol Cancer Ther 23(12):1789-1800, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39295275.
- Bronk J, Augustyn A. Patterns of loco-regional progression and patient outcomes after definitive-dose radiation therapy for anaplastic thyroid cancer. Radiother Oncol, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39489425.
- McDonald BA, Cardenas CE, O'Connell N, Ahmed S, Naser MA, Wahid KA, Xu J, Thill D, Zuhour RJ, Mesko S, Augustyn A, Buszek SM, Grant S, Chapman BV, Bagley AF, He R, Mohamed ASR, Christodouleas J, Brock KK, Fuller CD. Investigation of autosegmentation techniques on T2-weighted MRI for off-line dose reconstruction in MR-linac workflow for head and neck cancers. Med Phys 51(1):278-291, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 37475466.
- Martin-Vega A, Earnest S, Augustyn A, Wichaidit C, Gazdar A, Girard L, Peyton M, Kollipara RK, Minna JD, Johnson JE, Cobb MH. ASCL1-ERK1/2 Axis: ASCL1 restrains ERK1/2 via the dual specificity phosphatase DUSP6 to promote survival of a subset of neuroendocrine lung cancers. bioRxiv, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37398419.
- Augustyn A, Medeiros LJ, Ludmir EB, Gunther J, Fang P, Li S, Ok CY, Bankston ME, Verma V, Pasalic D, Ahmed S, Nastoupil LJ, Westin JR, Strati P, Neelapu SS, Nair R, Steiner RE, Iyer SP, Rodriguez A, Fayad LE, Flowers CR, Dabaja BS, Pinnix CC. The impact of cell-of-origin, MYC/Bcl-2 dual expression and MYC rearrangement on disease relapse among early stage diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients treated with combined modality therapy. Leuk Lymphoma 62(6):1361-1369, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33480830.
- Augustyn A, Adams DL, He J, Qiao Y, Verma V, Liao Z, Tang CM, Heymach JV, Tsao AS, Lin SH. Giant Circulating Cancer-Associated Macrophage-Like Cells Are Associated With Disease Recurrence and Survival in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Treated With Chemoradiation and Atezolizumab. Clin Lung Cancer 22(3):e451-e465, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 32798130.
- Augustyn A, Reed VI, Ahmad N, Bhutani MS, Bloom ES, Bowers JR, Chronowski GM, Das P, Holliday EB, Delclos ME, Huey RW, Koay EJ, Lee SS, Nelson CL, Taniguchi CM, Koong AC, Chun SG. Implementation of a stereotactic body radiotherapy program for unresectable pancreatic cancer in an integrated community academic radiation oncology satellite network. Clin Transl Radiat Oncol 27:147-151, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33665384.
- Verma V, Ludmir EB, Mesko SM, Brooks ED, Augustyn A, Milano MT, Lin SH, Chang JY, Welsh JW. Commercial Insurance Coverage of Advanced Radiation Therapy Techniques Compared With American Society for Radiation Oncology Model Policies. Pract Radiat Oncol 10(5):324-329, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31446147.
- Patel RR, Ludmir EB, Augustyn A, Zaorsky NG, Lehrer EJ, Ryali R, Trifiletti DM, Adeberg S, Amini A, Verma V. De-intensification of therapy in human papillomavirus associated oropharyngeal cancer: A systematic review of prospective trials. Oral Oncol 103:104608, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32163853.
- Miccio JA, Jairam V, Gao S, Augustyn A, Oladeru OT, Onderdonk BE, Chowdhary M, Han D, Khan S, Friedlaender G, Lindskog DM, Desphande HA, Osborn H, Roberts KB, Patel KR. Predictors of Lymph Node Involvement by Soft Tissue Sarcoma of the Trunk and Extremity: An Analysis of the National Cancer Database. Cureus 11(10):e6038, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31824805.
- Pasalic D, Kuban DA, Allen PK, Tang C, Mesko SM, Grant SR, Augustyn AA, Frank SJ, Choi S, Hoffman KE, Nguyen QN, McGuire SE, Pollack A, Anscher MS. Dose Escalation for Prostate Adenocarcinoma: A Long-Term Update on the Outcomes of a Phase 3, Single Institution Randomized Clinical Trial. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 104(4):790-797, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30836166.
- Bloom BC, Augustyn A, Pezzi TA, Menon H, Mayo LL, Shah SJ, Schwartz DL, Chmura SJ, Johnson FM, Welsh JW, Chun SG. Rescue of Immunotherapy-Refractory Metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma With Conventionally Fractionated Radiotherapy and Concurrent Pembrolizumab. Front Oncol 9:223, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31024834.
- Larsen JE, Nathan V, Osborne JK, Farrow RK, Deb D, Sullivan JP, Dospoy PD, Augustyn A, Hight SK, Sato M, Girard L, Behrens C, Wistuba II, Gazdar AF, Hayward NK, Minna JD. ZEB1 drives epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in lung cancer. J Clin Invest 126(9):3219-35, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27500490.
- Borromeo MD, Savage TK, Kollipara RK, He M, Augustyn A, Osborne JK, Girard L, Minna JD, Gazdar AF, Cobb MH, Johnson JE. ASCL1 and NEUROD1 Reveal Heterogeneity in Pulmonary Neuroendocrine Tumors and Regulate Distinct Genetic Programs. Cell Rep 16(5):1259-1272, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27452466.
- Wardak Z, Augustyn A, Zhu H, Mickey BE, Whitworth LA, Madden CJ, Barnett SL, Abdulrahman RE, Nedzi LA, Timmerman RD, Choe KS. Pre-treatment factors associated with detecting additional brain metastases at stereotactic radiosurgery. J Neurooncol 128(2):251-7, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26966096.
- Pozo K, Hillmann A, Augustyn A, Plattner F, Hai T, Singh T, Ramezani S, Sun X, Pfragner R, Minna JD, Cote GJ, Chen H, Bibb JA, Nwariaku FE. Differential expression of cell cycle regulators in CDK5-dependent medullary thyroid carcinoma tumorigenesis. Oncotarget 6(14):12080-93, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25900242.
- Augustyn A, Sahoo S, Wooldridge RD. Large Malignant Phyllodes Tumor of the Breast with Metastases to the Lungs. Rare Tumors 7(2):5684, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26266007.
- Augustyn A, Peng L, Singal AG, Yopp AC. Surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma secondary to cardiogenic cirrhosis in patients with congenital heart disease. Clin Res Cardiol 104(5):446-9, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25875944.
- Augustyn A, de Leon ED, Yopp AC. Primary gastric melanoma: case report of a rare malignancy. Rare Tumors 7(1):5683, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25918612.
- Augustyn A, Lisa Alattar M, Naina H. Rhabdomyolysis due to Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Administration following a Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant. Case Rep Oncol Med 2015:619473, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26557399.
- Augustyn A, Borromeo M, Wang T, Fujimoto J, Shao C, Dospoy PD, Lee V, Tan C, Sullivan JP, Larsen JE, Girard L, Behrens C, Wistuba II, Xie Y, Cobb MH, Gazdar AF, Johnson JE, Minna JD. ASCL1 is a lineage oncogene providing therapeutic targets for high-grade neuroendocrine lung cancers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111(41):14788-93, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25267614.
- Shao C, Sullivan JP, Girard L, Augustyn A, Yenerall P, Rodriguez-Canales J, Liu H, Behrens C, Shay JW, Wistuba II, Minna JD. Essential role of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A3 for the maintenance of non-small cell lung cancer stem cells is associated with the STAT3 pathway. Clin Cancer Res 20(15):4154-66, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24907115.
Review Articles
- Bloom BC, Augustyn A, Sepesi B, Patel S, Shah SJ, Komaki RU, Schild SE, Chun SG. Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation Following Surgical Resection of Early-Stage Small-Cell Lung Cancer: A Review of the Literature. Front Oncol 7:228, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29034208.
- Bunn PA Jr, Minna JD, Augustyn A, Gazdar AF, Ouadah Y, Krasnow MA, Berns A, Brambilla E, Rekhtman N, Massion PP, Niederst M, Peifer M, Yokota J, Govindan R, Poirier JT, Byers LA, Wynes MW, McFadden DG, MacPherson D, Hann CL, Farago AF, Dive C, Teicher BA, Peacock CD, Johnson JE, Cobb MH, Wendel HG, Spigel D, Sage J, Yang P, Pietanza MC, Krug LM, Heymach J, Ujhazy P, Zhou C, Goto K, Dowlati A, Christensen CL, Park K, Einhorn LH, Edelman MJ, Giaccone G, Gerber DE, Salgia R, Owonikoko T, Malik S, Karachaliou N, Gandara DR, Slotman BJ, Blackhall F, Goss G, Thomas R, Rudin CM, Hirsch FR. Small Cell Lung Cancer: Can Recent Advances in Biology and Molecular Biology Be Translated into Improved Outcomes?. J Thorac Oncol 11(4):453-74, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26829312.
Book Chapters
- Augustyn A, Reed V. Becoming a Quality Care and Process Investigator. In: Career Development in Academic Radiation Oncology. Springer Nature.
Letters to the Editor
- Patel RR, Verma V, Miller AB, Lin TA, Jethanandani A, Espinoza AF, Mainwaring W, Augustyn A, Fuller CD, Sulman EP, Yeboa DN, Chung CC, McAleer MF, Li J, Yoshor D, de Groot JF, Mandel JJ, Ludmir EB. Exclusion of patients with brain metastases from cancer clinical trials. Neuro Oncol 22: 577-579, 2020.
- Augustyn A, Smith BD. Anatomically Optimizing Reirradiation. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 105: 19, 2019.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified August 26, 2026