Amy Heimberger, M.D., co-leader of the Glioblastoma Moon Shot™, talks about the project's three flagship programs.
Amy B. Heimberger, M.D.
Department of Neurosurgery
About Dr. Heimberger
Dr. Amy Heimberger is a Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and has been a member of the department since 2002. She has an extensive research program focused on immune therapeutic strategies for glioma patients and studies tumor-mediated mechanisms of immune suppression. Her laboratory, the Brain Tumor Immunology Lab , was pivotal in the development of a peptide (PEP-3-KLH/CDX-110) vaccine strategy that targets the epidermal growth factor receptor. The strategy doubled the median survival of glioblastoma multiforme patients and is proceeding to final registration clinical trials (licensed to Celldex Therapeutics).
In addition, Dr. Heimberger has clarified that the signal transducer and activator of the transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway is a key molecular hub of gliomagenesis and tumor-mediated immune suppression. She also conducted the pre-clinical development of a novel small molecule inhibitor of STAT3, WP1066, which will be introduced into clinical trials in the next 18 months for melanoma patients with CNS metastasis and primary glioma patients. Furthermore, she showed that tumor-associated microglia/macrophages potentiate gliomagenesis via STAT3 and established that the glioma-associated cancer stem cells via the STAT3 pathway exert immune suppressive properties on both the adaptive and innate arms of the immune system.
Dr. Heimberger is the only faculty member at MD Anderson that has been awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. She holds multiple NIH and foundation grants and is a project leader in both the Brain and Melanoma SPOREs. Dr. Heimberger has a clinical interest in awake mapping and resection of gliomas within eloquent cortex. She has been named by the US News and World Report as a Top Doc.
Meet Amy Heimberger, M.D.
Glioblastoma Treatment & Research
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1995 | Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA, MD, Medicine |
| 1989 | University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA, BA, Biology |
Postgraduate Training
| 1997-1999 | Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Neuro-Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC |
| 1996-2002 | Resident, Neurosurgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC |
| 1995-1996 | Intern, Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC |
Board Certifications
| 2005 | American Board of Neurological Surgery |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2007 - 2012
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 2007 - 2012
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 2005 - 2007
Honors & Awards
| 2008 | Faculty Scholar Award, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer |
| 2008 | Mahaley Clinical Research Award, Congress of Neurological Surgeons |
| 2007 | Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, Office of the U.S. President, White House |
| 2006 | AANS Young Clinical Investigator Award, American Association of Neurological Surgeons |
| 2006 | Bristol-Myers Squibb Clinical Translation Award for Research |
| 2000 | AACR/AFLAC Young Investigator Award |
| 2000 | Louise Eisenhardt Resident Travel Scholarship |
| 2000 | Preuss Foundation Resident Research Award |
| 1999 | Southern Neurosurgical Society Resident Award for Clinical/Translational Research |
| 1999 | Weck Closure System’s Surgical Resident Award for Clinical/Translational Research |
| 1995 | Richard S. Brookings Medical School Award for Outstanding Research |
| 1994 | John Alfred Veazey Scholarship |
| 1993 | Louis and Marie Waltke Memorial Scholarship |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Wei J, Barr J, Kong L-Y, Wang Y, Wu A, Sharma AK, Gumin J, Henry H, Colman H, Sawaya R, Lang FF, Heimberger AB. Glioma associated cancer-initiating cells induce immunosuppression. *Figure 1C featured on front cover of Jan 15, 16(2), 2010 issue. Clin Cancer Res 16(2):461-73, 2010. PMID: 20068105.
- Wei J, Barr J, Kong L-Y, Wang Y, Wu A, Sharma AK, Gumin J, Henry V, Colman H, Priebe W, Sawaya R, Lang FF, Heimberger AB. Glioblastoma cancer-initiating cells inhibit T cell proliferation and effector responses by the STAT3 pathway. Mol Cancer Ther 9(1):67-78, 2010. PMID: 20053772.
- Wei J, DeAngulo G, Sun W, Hussain SF, Vasquez H, Jordan J, Weinberg J, Wolff J, Koshikina N, Heimberger AB. Topotecan enhances immune clearance of gliomas. Cancer Immunol Immunother 58(2):259-270, 2009. PMID: 18594817.
- Sampson JH, Archer GE, Mitchell DA, Heimberger AB, Herndon II JE, Lally-Goss D, McGehee-Norman S, Paolino A, Reardon DA, Friedman AH, Friedman HS, Bigner DD. An epidermal growth factor receptor variant III-targeted vaccine is safe and immunogenic in patients with malignant glioma. Mol Cancer Ther 8(10):2773-2779, 2009. PMID: 19825799.
- Kong L-Y, Wei J, Sharma AK, Barr J, Abou-Ghazal MK, Fokt I, Weinberg J, Rao G, Grimm E, Priebe W, Heimberger AB. A novel phosphorylated STAT3 inhibitor enhances T cell cytotoxicity against melanoma through inhibition of regulatory T cells. Cancer Immunol Immunother 58(7):1023-1032, 2009. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 19002459.
- Kim SS, McCutcheon IE, Suki D, Weinberg JS, Sawaya R, Lang FF, Ferson D, Heimberger AB, DeMonte F, Prabhu SS. Awake craniotomy for brain tumors near eloquent cortex: Correlation of intraoperative cortical mapping with neurological outcomes in 309 consecutive patients. Neurosurgery 64(5):836-845, 2009. PMID: 19404147.
- Humphries W, Wang Y, Qiao W, Reina-Ortiz, C, Abou-Ghazal MK, Crutcher LM, Wei J, Kong L-Y, Sawaya R, Rao G, Weinberg J, Prabhu SS, Fuller GN, Heimberger AB. Detecting the percent of peripheral blood mononuclear cells displaying p-STAT-3 in malignant glioma patients. J Transl Med 7(1):92, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19900287.
- Murat A, Migliavacca E, Hussain SF, Heimberger AB, Desbaillets I, Hamou MF, Ruegg C, Stupp R, Delorenzi M, Hegi ME. Modulation of angiogenic and inflammatory response in glioblastoma by hypoxia. PLoS ONE 4(6):e5947, 2009. PMID: 19536297.
- Choi BD, Archer GE, Mitchell DA, Heimberger AB, McLendon RE, Bigner DD, Sampson JH.. EGFRvIII-targeted vaccination therapy of malignant glioma. Brain Pathol 19(4):713-723, 2009. PMID: 19744042.
- Heimberger AB, Sun W, Hussain SF, Dey M, Crutcher L, Aldape K, Gilbert M, Hassenbusch SJ, Sawaya R, Schmittling B, Archer GE, Mitchell DA, Bigner DD, Sampson JH. Immunological responses in a patient with glioblastoma multiforme treated with sequential courses of temozolomide and immunotherapy: Case study. Neuro-Oncology 10(1):98-103, 2008. PMID: 18079360.
- Jordan JT, Sun W, Hussain SF, DeAngulo G, Prabhu SS, Heimberger AB. Preferential migration of regulatory T cells mediated by glioma-secreted chemokines can be blocked with chemotherapy. Cancer Immunol Immunother 57(1):123-131, 2008. PMID: 17522861.
- Heimberger AB, Reina-Ortiz C, Yang DS, Sun W, Abou-Ghazal M, Qiao W, Hiraoka N, Fuller GN. Incidence and prognostic impact of FoxP3+ regulatory T cells in human gliomas. Clin Cancer Res 14(16):5166-5172, 2008. PMID: 18698034.
- Kong L-Y, Abou-Ghazal MK, Wei J, Chakraborty A, Sun W, Qiao W, Fuller GN, Fokt I, Grimm EA, Schmittling RJ, Archer Jr GE, Sampson JH, Priebe W, Heimberger AB. A novel inhibitor of STAT3 activation is efficacious against established central nervous system melanoma and inhibits regulatory T cells. Clin Cancer Res 14(18):5759-5768, 2008. PMID: 18794085.
- Abou-Ghazal M, Yang DS, Qiao W, Reina-Ortiz C, Wei J, Kong L-K, Fuller GN, Hiraoka N, Priebe W, Sawaya R, Heimberger AB. The incidence, correlation with tumor infiltrating inflammation, and prognosis of p-STAT3 expression in human gliomas. Clin Cancer Res 14(24):8228-8235, 2008. PMID: 19088040.
- Pelloski CE, Ballman KV, Furth AF, Zhang L, Lin E, Baht K, McDonald JM, Yung WKA, Colman H, Woo SY, Heimberger AB, Suki D, Prado M, Chang S, Barker II FG, Buckner JC, James CD, Aldape KD. Epidermal growth factor receptor variant III status defines clinically distinct subtypes of glioblastoma. J Clin Oncol 25(16):2288-2294, 2007. PMID: 17538175.
- Barnett JA, Urbauer DL, Murray GI, Fuller GN, Heimberger AB. Cytochrome P450 1B1 expression in glial cell tumors: An immunotherapeutic target. Clin Can Res 13(12):3559-3567, 2007. PMID: 17575219.
- Hussain SF, Kong L-Y, Jordan J, Conrad C, Madden T, Fokt I, Priebe W, Heimberger AB. A novel small molecule inhibitor of STAT3 reverses immune tolerance in malignant glioma patients. Cancer Res 67(20):9630-9636, 2007. PMID: 17942891.
- Hussain SF, Yang D, Suki D, Aldape K, Grimm E, Heimberger AB. The role of human glioma-infiltrating microglia/macrophages in mediating antitumor immune responses. Neuro-Oncology 8(1):261-279, 2006. PMID: 16775224.
- Hussain SF, Yang D, Suki D, Grimm E, Heimberger AB. Innate immune functions of microglia isolated from human glioma patients. J Transl Med 4(1):15, 2006. PMID: 16573834.
- Pelloski CE, Lin E, Zhang L, Yung WK, Colman H, Liu JL, Woo SY, Heimberger AB, Suki D, Prados M, Chang S, Barker FG, 3rd, Fuller GN, Aldape KD. Prognostic associations of activated mitogen-activated protein kinase and Akt pathways in glioblastoma. Clin Cancer Res 12(13):3935-3941, 2006. PMID: 16818690.
- Wiemels JL, Wilson D, Patel C, Patoka J, McCoy L, Rice T, Schwartzbaum J, Heimberger A, Chang S, Prados M, Wiencke JK, Wrensch M. IgE, allergy, and risk of glioma: Update from the San Francisco Bay Area adult glioma. Int J Cancer. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19408307.
- Schmittling R, Archer GE, Mitchell DA, Heimberger A, Pegram C, Herndon JE, Friedman HS, Bigner DD, Sampson JH. Detection of humoral response in patients with glioblastoma receiving EGFRvIII-KLH vaccines. J Immunol Methods 339(1):74-81. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18775433.
- Sampson JH, Archer GE, Mitchell DA, Heimberger AB, Bigner DD. Tumor-specific immunotherapy targeting the EGFRvIII mutation in patients with malignant glioma. Semin Immunol 20(5):267-275. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18539480.
- Paz N, Levanon EY, Amariglio N, Heimberger AB, Ram Z, Constantini S, Barbash ZS, Adamsky K, Safran M, Hirschberg A, Krupsky M, Ben-Dov I, Cazacu S, Mikkelsen T, Brodie C, Eisenberg E, Rechavi G. Altered adenosine to inosine RNA editing in human cancer. Genome Res 17(11):1586-1595. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17908822.
Invited Articles
- Kanaly CW, Ding D, Heimberger AB, Sampson JH. Clinical applications of a peptide-based vaccine for glioblastoma. Neurosurg Clin N Am 21(1):95-109, 2010. PMID: 19944970.
- Humphries W, Wei J, Sampson JH, Heimberger AB. The role of Tregs in glioma-mediated immunosuppression: Potential target for intervention. Neurosurg Clin N Am 21(1):125-137, 2010. PMID: 19944972.
- Heimberger AB, Sampson JH. The PEPvIII-KLH (CDX-110) vaccine in glioblastoma multiforme patients. Expert Opin Biol Ther 9(8):1087-1098, 2009.
- Heimberger AB and Priebe W. Small molecular inhibitors of p-STAT-3: Novel agents for treatment of primary and metastatic CNS cancers. Recent Patents CNS Drug Discov 3(3):179-188, 2008.
- Dey M, Hussain SF, Heimberger AB. The glioma microenvironment role in immune modulation: Potential targets for intervention. Lett Drug Des Discov 3(7):443-451, 2006.
- DeAngulo GR, Sun W, Heimberger AB. Synergistic effect of immunotherapy and chemotherapy in cancers: perspective in high grade glioma treatment. Lett Drug Des Discov 3(8):513-523, 2006.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Glioblastoma-elaborated osteopontin:role in CNS immune responses and therapeutic target |
| Funding Source: | Ben and Catherine Ivy Foundation |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
Photo Gallery
Amy Heimberger, M.D., and her 2016 research lab team.
Amy Heimberger, M.D., and Duane A. Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D., at a Brain Tumor Research Program seminar series.
Dr. Amy Heimberger speaks at a pediatric brain tumor conference held in honor of Dr. Marnie Rose.
The Clint Barsch Foundation donates proceeds from their annual golf tournament to brain tumor research at MD Anderson with Dr. Amy Heimberger.