Dadi Jiang, Ph.D.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Division of Radiation Oncology
About Dadi Jiang
My current research focus on investigating the IRE1alpha/XBP1 pathway of the unfolded protein response (UPR) as a therapeutic target for cancer treatment and developing novel therapeutic strategies to target this pathway. I have a solid background in cancer biology, drug discovery and bioinformatic analysis of large-scale omics data. During my graduate study, I focused on understanding the effects of gain-of-function p53 mutants on mammary tumorigenesis through gene expression profiling analysis, as well as mouse genetics and in vivo tumor analysis. During my postdoctoral research, I utilized gene expression profiling to decipher the mechanism of transcriptional control by p53 and identified a novel and intricate transcriptional program responsible for the metabolic regulation and pro-survival function of p53. Furthermore, I have been utilizing innovative bioinformatic approaches to facilitate analyzing high-throughput and large-scale data sets for both biological and chemical studies. My other research interests include radiation therapy (RT) in combination with other types of therapy, RT-induced anti-tumor immunity, Ultra-High Dose Rate (FLASH) RT and high-LET particle therapy.
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Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology - Research, Division of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2007 | Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA, PHD, Human Genetics |
| 2001 | Sichuan University, Chengdu, CHN, BS, Biological Technology |
Postgraduate Training
| 2007-2012 | Postdoctoral Research, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Instructor, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 2014 - 2017
Research Associate, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 2012 - 2014
Honors & Awards
| 2018 | Travel Award, 5th International Conference on Tumor Microenvironment and Cellular Stress: Signaling, Metabolism, Imaging and Therapeutic Targets |
| 2018 | Travel Award, American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in collaboration with the AACR Radiation Science and Medicine Working Group |
| 2014 | The 2014 J. Martin Brown Award for Excellence in the Radiation Sciences, Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Miao YR, Thakkar K, Cenik C, Jiang D, Mizuno K, Jia C, Li CG, Zhao H, Diep A, Xu Y, Zhang XE, Yang TTC, Liedtke M, Abidi P, Leung WS, Koong AC, Giaccia AJ. Developing high-affinity decoy receptors to treat multiple myeloma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma. J Exp Med 219(9), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35881112.
- Yang M, Wang X, Guan F, Titt U, Iga K, Jiang D, Takaoka T, Tootake S, Katayose T, Umezawa M, Schüler E, Frank S, Lin SH, Sahoo N, Koong AC, Mohan R, Zhu XR. Adaptation and dosimetric commissioning of a synchrotron-based proton beamline for FLASH experiments. Phys Med Biol 67(16), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35853442.
- Viswanathan V, Cao H, Saiki J, Jiang D, Mattingly A, Nambiar D, Bloomstein J, Li Y, Jiang S, Chamoli M, Sirjani D, Kaplan M, Holsinger FC, Liang R, Von Eyben R, Jiang H, Guan L, Lagory E, Feng Z, Nolan G, Ye J, Denko N, Knox S, Rosen DM, Le QT. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 3A1 deficiency leads to mitochondrial dysfunction and impacts salivary gland stem cell phenotype. PNAS Nexus 1(2):pgac056, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35707206.
- Feng X, Tang M, Dede M, Su D, Pei G, Jiang D, Wang C, Chen Z, Li M, Nie L, Xiong Y, Li S, Park JM, Zhang H, Huang M, Szymonowicz K, Zhao Z, Hart T, Chen J. Genome-wide CRISPR screens using isogenic cells reveal vulnerabilities conferred by loss of tumor suppressors. Sci Adv 8(19):eabm6638, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35559673.
- Feng X, Tubbs A, Zhang C, Tang M, Sridharan S, Wang C, Jiang D, Su D, Zhang H, Chen Z, Nie L, Xiong Y, Huang M, Nussenzweig A, Chen J. ATR inhibition potentiates ionizing radiation-induced interferon response via cytosolic nucleic acid-sensing pathways. EMBO J 39(14):e104036, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32484965.
- Aguilera TA, Elghonaimy EA, Shehade H, Rafat M, Castellini L, Jiang D, Kariolis M, Koong AC, Le QT, Ellies LG, Rankin EB, Graves EE, Giaccia AJ. Induced Tumor Heterogeneity Reveals Factors Informing Radiation and Immunotherapy Combinations. Clin Cancer Res 26(12):2972-2985, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32098769.
- Nambiar DK, Aguilera T, Cao H, Kwok S, Kong C, Bloomstein J, Wang Z, Rangan VS, Jiang D, von Eyben R, Liang R, Agarwal S, Colevas AD, Korman A, Allen CT, Uppaluri R, Koong AC, Giaccia A, Le QT. Galectin-1-driven T cell exclusion in the tumor endothelium promotes immunotherapy resistance. J Clin Invest 129(12):5553-5567, 2019. PMID: 31710313.
- McGee HM, Jiang D, Soto-Pantoja DR, Nevler A, Giaccia AJ, Woodward WA. Targeting the Tumor Microenvironment in Radiation Oncology: Proceedings from the 2018 ASTRO-AACR Research Workshop. Clin Cancer Res 25(10):2969-2974, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30723144.
- Saiki JP, Cao H, Van Wassenhove LD, Viswanathan V, Bloomstein J, Nambiar DK, Mattingly AJ, Jiang D, Chen CH, Stevens MC, Simmons AL, Park HS, von Eyben R, Kool ET, Sirjani D, Knox SM, Le QT, Mochly-Rosen D. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 3A1 activation prevents radiation-induced xerostomia by protecting salivary stem cells from toxic aldehydes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115(24):6279-6284, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29794221.
- Yang Z, Zhang J, Jiang D, Khatri P, Solow-Cordero DE, Toesca DAS, Koumenis C, Denko NC, Giaccia AJ, Le QT, Koong AC. A Human Genome-Wide RNAi Screen Reveals Diverse Modulators that Mediate IRE1α-XBP1 Activation. Mol Cancer Res 16(5):745-753, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29440447.
- Boyko TV, Bam R, Jiang D, Wang Z, Bhatia N, Tran MC, Longaker MT, Koong AC, Yang GP. Inhibition of IRE1 results in decreased scar formation. Wound Repair Regen 25(6):964-971, 2017. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29316036.
- Yuan W, Jiang D, Nambiar DK, Liew LP, Hay MP, Bloomstein J, Lu P, Turner B, Le QT, Tibshirani R, Khatri P, Moloney MG, Koong AC. Chemical Space Mimicry for Drug Discovery. J Chem Inf Model 57(4):875-882, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28257191.
- Jiang D, Turner B, Song J, Li R, Diehn M, Le QT, Khatri P, Koong AC. Comprehensive Analysis of the Unfolded Protein Response in Breast Cancer Subtypes. JCO Precis Oncol 2017, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29888341.
- Kariolis MS, Miao YR, Diep A, Nash SE, Olcina MM, Jiang D, Jones DS, Kapur S, Mathews II, Koong AC, Rankin EB, Cochran JR, Giaccia AJ. Inhibition of the GAS6/AXL pathway augments the efficacy of chemotherapies. J Clin Invest 127(1):183-198, 2017. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27893463.
- Aguilera TA, Rafat M, Castellini L, Shehade H, Kariolis MS, Hui AB, Stehr H, von Eyben R, Jiang D, Ellies LG, Koong AC, Diehn M, Rankin EB, Graves EE, Giaccia AJ. Reprogramming the immunological microenvironment through radiation and targeting Axl. Nat Commun 7:13898, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 28008921.
- Jiang D, Lynch C, Medeiros BC, Liedtke M, Bam R, Tam AB, Yang Z, Alagappan M, Abidi P, Le QT, Giaccia AJ, Denko NC, Niwa M, Koong AC. Identification of Doxorubicin as an Inhibitor of the IRE1α-XBP1 Axis of the Unfolded Protein Response. Sci Rep 6:33353, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27634301.
- Jiang D, Tam AB, Alagappan M, Hay MP, Gupta A, Kozak MM, Solow-Cordero DE, Lum PY, Denko NC, Giaccia AJ, Le QT, Niwa M, Koong AC. Acridine Derivatives as Inhibitors of the IRE1α-XBP1 Pathway Are Cytotoxic to Human Multiple Myeloma. Mol Cancer Ther 15(9):2055-65, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27307600.
- Alagappan M, Jiang D, Denko N, Koong AC. A Multimodal Data Analysis Approach for Targeted Drug Discovery Involving Topological Data Analysis (TDA). Adv Exp Med Biol 899:253-68, 2016. PMID: 27325272.
- Finger EC, Castellini L, Rankin EB, Vilalta M, Krieg AJ, Jiang D, Banh A, Zundel W, Powell MB, Giaccia AJ. Hypoxic induction of AKAP12 variant 2 shifts PKA-mediated protein phosphorylation to enhance migration and metastasis of melanoma cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112(14):4441-6, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25792458.
- Jiang D, LaGory EL, Kenzelmann Brož D, Bieging KT, Brady CA, Link N, Abrams JM, Giaccia AJ, Attardi LD. Analysis of p53 transactivation domain mutants reveals Acad11 as a metabolic target important for p53 pro-survival function. Cell Rep 10(7):1096-109, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25704813.
- Jiang D, Dumur CI, Massey HD, Ramakrishnan V, Subler MA, Windle JJ. Comparison of effects of p53 null and gain-of-function mutations on salivary tumors in MMTV-Hras transgenic mice. PLoS One 10(2):e0118029, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25695772.
- Kenzelmann Broz D, Spano Mello S, Bieging KT, Jiang D, Dusek RL, Brady CA, Sidow A, Attardi LD. Global genomic profiling reveals an extensive p53-regulated autophagy program contributing to key p53 responses. Genes Dev 27(9):1016-31, 2013. PMID: 23651856.
- Jiang D, Brady CA, Johnson TM, Lee EY, Park EJ, Scott MP, Attardi LD. Full p53 transcriptional activation potential is dispensable for tumor suppression in diverse lineages. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108(41):17123-8, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21969549.
- Brady CA, Jiang D, Mello SS, Johnson TM, Jarvis LA, Kozak MM, Kenzelmann Broz D, Basak S, Park EJ, McLaughlin ME, Karnezis AN, Attardi LD. Distinct p53 transcriptional programs dictate acute DNA-damage responses and tumor suppression. Cell 145(4):571-83, 2011. PMID: 21565614.
- Beaudry VG, Jiang D, Dusek RL, Park EJ, Knezevich S, Ridd K, Vogel H, Bastian BC, Attardi LD. Loss of the p53/p63 regulated desmosomal protein Perp promotes tumorigenesis. PLoS Genet 6(10):e1001168, 2010. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20975948.
Invited Articles
- Jiang D, Niwa M, Koong AC. Targeting the IRE1α-XBP1 branch of the unfolded protein response in human diseases. Semin Cancer Biol 33:48-56, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25986851.
- Jiang D, Attardi LD. Engaging the p53 metabolic brake drives senescence. Cell Res 23(6):739-40, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23478296.
Abstracts
- Boyko TV, Jiang D, Cao H, Koong AC, Longaker MT, Yang GP. Inhibition of Unfolded Protein Response Decreases Scar Formation. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 2016.
- Turner BE, Jiang D, Khatri P, Chang DT, Koong AC. Multicohort Analysis of Effect of Ionizing Radiation on Transcription Identifies Conserved Gene Signature and Clinically Relevant Novel Radiosensitizers. International Journal of Radiation Oncology• Biology• Physics 96(2):E590, 2016.
- Rafat M, Bazalova M, Palma BA, Kozak MM, Jiang D, Dunning M, McCormick DJ, Nelson JL, E. Hemsing, Lartey FM, Graves EE, Koong AC, Maxim PG, Loo BW. Impact of Very Rapid Irradiation on Clonogenic Survival. International Journal of Radiation Oncology• Biology• Physics 90(1), 2014.
- Rafat M, Bazalova M, Palma BA, Kozak M, Jiang D, Dunning M, McCormick D, Nelson J, Hemsing E, Lartey F, Graves E, Koong A, Maxim P, Loo B. Radiobiological Advantage of Very Rapid Irradiation. Medical Physics, 2014.
Book Chapters
- Chou CC, Bam R, Yang Z, Bui JL, Jiang D, Koong AC. Hypoxia-Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress. In: Tumor Hypoxia. World Scientific, 225-247, 2017.
- Jiang D, Attardi LD. Chapter 2: Lessons on p53 from Mouse Models. In: p53 (Molecular Biology Intelligence Unit). Springer, 2010.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | The Role of Ire1 in Modulating the Response of Tumors to Hypoxia and Radiation (P01) |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Pharmacological targeting of the IRE1/XBP1 pathway for triple-negative breast cancer therapy |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Co-Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Harnessing the Tumor Microenvironment and DNA Repair Defects Using He- and C-Ions for Enhanced Anti-tumor Immunity |
| Funding Source: | Radiation Oncology Strategic Initiatives (ROSI) |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Pharmacological Targeting of the IRE1-XBP1 Pathway for Pancreatic Cancer Therapy (SPORE CEP) |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Targeting the Tumor Microenvironment to Enhance Immunogenic Cell Death Induced by High-LET Proton Radiation Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer Treatment |
| Funding Source: | Radiation Oncology Strategic Initiatives (ROSI) |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Tumor hypoxia promotes acquired resistance to radiation through ferroptosis inhibition (U54) |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Principal Investigator |