David R. Piwnica-Worms, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, Division of Diagnostic Imaging
About Dr. Piwnica-Worms
The tools of molecular imaging can provide spatially- and temporally-resolved information on biological structures and functions. Because investigators have increasingly recognized the importance of context in the study of gene expression and protein function as well as understanding regulatory mechanisms within cellular micro-environments, many have turned to non-invasive imaging technologies to advance research on human health and disease. These non-invasive imaging strategies can interrogate protein processing, protein-protein interactions, gene expression and flux through metabolic pathways in real-time in cells and live animals, and are increasingly useful in understanding signal transduction and pathobiology of human diseases, including cancer, to facilitate development of effective therapies. His group has used these approaches to investigate mechanisms of regulation of IkB/NFkB signaling, b -catenin processing, multidrug resistance, EGFR signaling, and innate immunity. They have developed high fidelity molecular-specific pharmacodynamic reporters of several anti-cancer drugs useful in whole animal models. They have created a widely-used luciferase protein fragment complementation platform, dual-color protein interaction switches, and fusion reporters for bioluminescent analysis of protein processing in living animals, each with broad applications in biotechnology and biomedicine. By making these constructs and methods freely available, the team helped catalyze the application of genetically-encoded molecular imaging approaches to diverse medical and basic biological questions in a variety of fields. On other fronts, Piwnica-Worm’s group has moved several of their scientific discoveries from bench to bedside, facilitating the goals of precision medicine by translating novel PET tracers and cell-penetrating activatable peptides toward clinical imaging applications.
Read More
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Department Chair, Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Professor, Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Executive Director, Quantitative Imaging Analysis Core (QIAC), Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Gerald Dewey Dodd, Jr., Endowed Distinguished Chair in Diagnostic Imaging, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Professor, Department of Cancer Biology, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Professor, Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX
Research Interests
Molecular imaging of signal transduction pathways and protein-protein interactions in vivo; dynamic analysis of B7-H3 immune checkpoint signaling, discovery and development of novel high affinity radio-theranostic antibodies targeting B7-H3, discovery and development of novel PET imaging agents for interrogation of inflammation, innate immunity, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in vivo with first-in-human studies; genetically-encoded reporters for bioluminescence, PET, and SPECT imaging; high throughput screening with siRNA and small molecule libraries to functionalize the genome; cell-penetrating activatable near-infrared fluorescent peptides for imaging; therapeutic cell-penetrating peptides; mechanisms and regulation of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily of transporter proteins; radio-pharmaceutical chemistry; medicinal utility of metal complexes.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1984 | Duke University, Durham, NC, USA, MD, Medicine |
| 1984 | Duke University, Durham, NC, USA, PHD, Cell Physiology |
| 1978 | Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA, BS, Mechanical Engineering |
Postgraduate Training
| 1987-1988 | Fellow, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA |
| 1986-1987 | Chief Resident, Diagnostic Radiology, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA |
| 1984-1984 | Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Physiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC |
| 1984-1986 | Residency, Diagnostic Radiology, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA |
Board Certifications
| 1988 | Diplomat American Board of Radiology |
| 1985 | Diplomat National Board of Medical Examiners |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Graduate Faculty, Division of Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, 2013 - Present
Professor, Division of Cell Biology & Physiology, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, MO, 2010 - 2013
Professor, Division of Developmental Biology, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, MO, 2008 - 2013
Professor, Division of Radiology, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, MO, 1998 - 2013
Professor, Division of Molecular Biology & Pharmacology (2008, department renamed), Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, MO, 1998 - 2008
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Deputy Division Head, Department of Research Affairs, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2013 - 2021
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Member, Physician-Scientist Award Committee, Damon-Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, New York, NY, 2019 - Present
Member, External Advisory Board, Case Western Reserve Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, OH, 2013 - Present
Member, Scientific Advisory Board, V Foundation, Cary, NC, 2013 - Present
Member, External Scientific Advisory Board, Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, 2012 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2015 | President's Award, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2014 | Faculty STARS, Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention Award, University of Texas |
| 2014 | Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science |
| 2014 | Elected Member, National Academy of Medicine |
| 2014 | Elected Member, Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology |
| 2012 | Elected Fellow, World Molecular Imaging Society |
| 2008 | Distinguished Alumnus Award, Duke University Medical School, Durham, NC |
| 2005 | Lifetime Achievement Award, Society for Molecular Imaging |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Liu TW, Gammon ST, Piwnica-Worms D. Multi-Modal Multi-Spectral Intravital Microscopic Imaging of Signaling Dynamics in Real-Time during Tumor-ImmuneInteractions. Cells 10(3), 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33652682.
- Gammon ST, Engel BJ, Gores GJ, Cressman E, Piwnica-Worms D, Millward SW. Mistiming Death: Modeling the Time-Domain Variability of Tumor Apoptosis and Implications for Molecular Imaging of Cell Death. Mol Imaging Biol, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32519246.
- Rao Y, Gammon S, Zacharias NM, Liu T, Salzillo T, Xi Y, Wang J, Bhattacharya P, Piwnica-Worms D. Hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate-to-[1-13C]lactate conversion is rate-limited by monocarboxylate transporter-1 in the plasma membrane. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 117(36):22378-22389, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32839325.
- Mitchell KG, Amini B, Wang Y, Carter BW, Godoy MCB, Parra ER, Behrens C, Villalobos P, Reuben A, Lee JJ, Weissferdt A, Moran CA, Fujimoto J, Sepesi B, Walsh GL, Vaporciyan AA, Hofstetter WL, William WN, Gibbons DL, Wang J, Hwu P, Swisher SG, Piwnica-Worms D, Kadara H, Wistuba II, Heymach JV, Peng W, Cascone T. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography correlates with tumor immunometabolic phenotypes in resected lung cancer. Cancer Immunol Immunother 69(8):1519-1534, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32300858.
- Rao SH, Virarkar M, Yang WT, Carter BW, Liu TA, Piwnica-Worms D, Bhosale PR. Streamlining the Quantitative Metrics Workflow at a Comprehensive Cancer Center. Acad Radiol, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32709584.
- Gammon ST, Liu TW, Piwnica-Worms D. Interrogating Cellular Communication in Cancer with Genetically Encoded Imaging Reporters. Radiol Imaging Cancer 2(4):e190053, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32803164.
- Li YC, Lytle NK, Gammon ST, Wang L, Hayes TK, Sutton MN, Bast RC, Der CJ, Piwnica-Worms D, McCormick F, Wahl GM. Analysis of RAS protein interactions in living cells reveals a mechanism for pan-RAS depletion by membrane-targeted RAS binders. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 117(22):12121-12130, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32424096.
- Le Roux LG, Qiu X, Jacobsen MC, Pagel MD, Gammon ST, Piwnica-Worms DR, Schellingerhout D. Axonal Transport as an In Vivo Biomarker for Retinal Neuropathy. Cells 9(5), 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32456061.
- Dutta P, Pando SC, Mascaro M, Riquelme E, Zoltan M, Zacharias NM, Gammon ST, Piwnica-Worms D, Pagel MD, Sen S, Maitra A, Shams S, McAllister F, Bhattacharya PK. Early Detection of Pancreatic Intraepithelial Neoplasias (PanINs) in Transgenic Mouse Model by Hyperpolarized 13C Metabolic Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. Int J Mol Sci 21(10), 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32466260.
- Cao Q, Wang W, Zhou M, Huang Q, Wen X, Zhao J, Shi S, Geng K, Li F, Hatakeyama H, Xu C, Piwnica-Worms D, Peng W, Zhou D, Sood AK, Li C. Induction of antitumor immunity in mice by the combination of nanoparticle-based photothermolysis and anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibition. Nanomedicine 25:102169, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32059873.
- Gammon ST, Pisaneschi F, Bandi ML, Smith MG, Sun Y, Rao Y, Muller F, Wong F, De Groot J, Ackroyd J, Mawlawi O, Davies MA, Gopal YNV, Di Francesco ME, Marszalek JR, Dewhirst M, Piwnica-Worms D. Mechanism-specific pharmacodynamics of a novel complex-I inhibitor quantified by imaging reversal of consumptive hypoxia with [18F]FAZA PET in vivo. Cells 8:1487, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31766580.
- Radaram B, Pisaneschi F, Rao Y, Yang P, Piwnica-Worms D, Alauddin MM. Novel derivatives of anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitors: Synthesis, radiolabeling, and prelimary biological studies of flouoroethyl analogues of crizotinib, alectinib, and certinib. Eur J Med Chem 182, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31425908.
- Vashisht Gopal YN, Gammon S, Prasad R, Knighton B, Pisaneschi F, Roszik J, Feng N, Johnson S, Pramanik S, Sudderth J, Sui D, Hudgens C, Fischer GM, Deng W, Reuben A, Peng W, Wang J, McQuade JL, Tetzlaff MT, Di Francesco ME, Marszalek J, Piwnica-Worms D, DeBerardinis RJ, Davies MA. A Novel Mitochondrial Inhibitor Blocks MAPK Pathway and Overcomes MAPK Inhibitor Resistance in Melanoma. Clin Cancer Res 25(21):6429-6442, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31439581.
- Zacharias NM, Baran N, Shanmugavelandy SS, Lee J, Velez Lujan J, Dutta P, Millward SW, Cai T, Wood CG, Piwnica-Worms D, Konopleva M, Bhattacharya PK. Assessing metabolic intervention with a glutaminase inhibitor in real-time by hyperpolarized magnetic resonance in acute myeloid leukemia. Mol Cancer Ther. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31387889.
- Dutta P, Perez MR, Lee J, Kang Y, Pratt M, Salzillo TC, Weygand J, Zacharias NM, Gammon ST, Koay EJ, Kim M, McAllister F, Sen S, Maitra A, Piwnica-Worms D, Fleming JB, Bhattacharya PK. Combining hyperpolarized real-time metabolic imaging and NMR spectroscopy to identify metabolic biomarkers in pancreatic cancer. J Proteome Res 18(7):2826-2834, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31120258.
- Biagiotti G, Pisaneschi F, Gammon ST, Machetti F, Ligi MC, Giambastiani G, Tuci G, Powell E, Piwnica-Worms H, Pranzini E, Paoli P, Cicchi S, Piwnica-Worms D. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes for combination therapy: a biodistribution and efficacy pilot study. J Mater Chem B 7(16):2678-2687, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31073405.
- Zacharias N, Lee J, Ramachandran S, Shanmugavelandy S, McHenry J, Dutta P, Millward S, Gammon S, Efstathiou E, Troncoso P, Frigo DE, Piwnica-Worms D, Logothetis CJ, Maity SN, Titus MA, Bhattacharya P. Androgen receptor signaling in castration-resistant prostate cancer alters hyperpolarized pyruvate to lactate conversion and lactate levels in vivo. Mol Imaging Biol 21(2):86-94, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29748904.
- Orteca G, Pisaneschi F, Rubagotti S, Liu TW, Biagiotti G, Piwnica-Worms D, Iori M, Capponi PC, Ferrari E, Asti M. Development of a potential gallium-68 labelled radiotracer based on DOTA-curcumin for colon-rectal carcinoma: from synthesis to in vivo studies. Molecules 24(3), 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30759785.
- Engel BJ, Gammon ST, Chaudhari R, Lu Z, Pisaneschi F, Yang H, Ornelas A, Yan V, Kelderhouse L, Najjar A, Tong WP, Zhang S, Piwnica-Worms D, Bast Jr. RC, Millward SW. Caspase-3 substrates for non-invasive pharmacodynamic imaging of apoptosis by PET/CT. Bioconjug Chem 29(9):3180-3195, 2018. PMID: 30168713.
- Zhao J, Wang H, Hsiao CH, Chow DS, Koay EJ, Kang Y, Wen X, Huang Q, Ma Y, Bankson JA, Ullrich SE, Overwijk W, Maitra A, Piwnica-Worms D, Fleming JB, Li C. Simultaneous inhibition of hedgehog signaling and tumor proliferation remodels stroma and enhances pancreatic cancer therapy. Biomaterials 159:215-228, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29331808.
- Flentie K, Gonzalez C, Kocher B, Wang Y, Zhu H, Marasa J, Piwnica-Worms D. Nucleoside diphosphate kinase-3 (NME3) enhances TLR5-induced NFκB activation. Mol Cancer Res 16(6):986-999, 2018. PMID: 29523766.
- Ku G, Huang Q, Wen X, Ye J, Piwnica-Worms D, Li C. Spatial and temporal confined photothermolysis of cancer cells mediated by hollow gold nanospheres targeted to epidermal growth factor receptors. ACS Omega 3(5):5888-5895, 2018.
- Zinn PO, Singh SK, Kotrotsou A, Hassan I, Thomas G, Luedi MM, Elakkad A, Elshafeey N, Idris T, Mosley J, Gumin J, Fuller GN, deGroot JF, Baladandayuthapani V, Sulman EP, Kumar AJ, Sawaya R, Lang FF, Piwnica-Worms D, Colen RR. A co-clinical radiogenomic validation study - Conserved magnetic resonance radiomic appearance of Periostin expressing Glioblastoma in patients and xenograft models. Clin Cancer Res 24(24):6288-6299, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30054278.
- Nickless A, Cheruiyot A, Flanagan KC, Piwnica-Worms D, Stewart SA, You Z. p38 MAPK inhibits nonsense-mediated RNA decay in response to persistent DNA damage in noncycling cells. J Biol Chem 292(37):15266-15276, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28765281.
- Melo SA, Luecke LB, Kahlert C, Fernandez AF, Gammon ST, Kaye J, LeBleu VS, Mittendorf EA, Weitz J, Rahbari N, Reissfelder C, Pilarsky C, Fraga MF, Piwnica-Worms D, Kalluri R. Glypican-1 identifies cancer exosomes and detects early pancreatic cancer. Nature 523(7559):177-182, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26106858.
- Goiffon RJ, Martinez SC, Piwnica-Worms D. A rapid bioluminescence assay for measuring myeloperoxidase activity in human plasma. Nat Commun 6:6271, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25666092.
- Nickless A, Jackson E, Marasa J, Nugent P, Mercer RW, Piwnica-Worms D, You Z. Intracellular calcium regulates nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. Nat Med 20(8):961-6, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25064126.
- Elhammali A, Ippolito JE, Collins L, Crowley J, Marasa J, Piwnica-Worms D. A high-throughput fluorimetric assay for 2-hydroxyglutarate identifies Zaprinast as a glutaminase inhibitor. Cancer Discov 4(7):828-39, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24740997.
- Sai KK, Huang C, Yuan L, Zhou D, Piwnica-Worms D, Garbow JR, Engelbach JA, Mach RH, Rich KM, McConathy J. 18F-AFETP, 18F-FET, and 18F-FDG imaging of mouse DBT gliomas. J Nucl Med 54(7):1120-6, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23650628.
- Kocher B, Piwnica-Worms D. Illuminating cancer systems with genetically engineered mouse models and coupled luciferase reporters in vivo. Cancer Discov 3(6):616-29, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23585416.
- Zhang K, Corsa CA, Ponik SM, Prior JL, Piwnica-Worms D, Eliceiri KW, Keely PJ, Longmore GD. The collagen receptor discoidin domain receptor 2 stabilizes SNAIL1 to facilitate breast cancer metastasis. Nat Cell Biol 15(6):677-87, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23644467.
- Liu Z, Chen S, Boyle S, Zhu Y, Zhang A, Piwnica-Worms DR, Ilagan MX, Kopan R. The extracellular domain of Notch2 increases its cell-surface abundance and ligand responsiveness during kidney development. Dev Cell 25(6):585-98, 2013. PMID: 23806616.
- Hurchla MA, Garcia-Gomez A, Hornick MC, Ocio EM, Li A, Blanco JF, Collins L, Kirk CJ, Piwnica-Worms D, Vij R, Tomasson MH, Pandiella A, San Miguel JF, Garayoa M, Weilbaecher KN. The epoxyketone-based proteasome inhibitors carfilzomib and orally bioavailable oprozomib have anti-resorptive and bone-anabolic activity in addition to anti-myeloma effects. Leukemia 27(2):430-40, 2013. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22763387.
- Mitchem JB, Brennan DJ, Knolhoff BL, Belt BA, Zhu Y, Sanford DE, Belaygorod L, Carpenter D, Collins L, Piwnica-Worms D, Hewitt S, Udupi GM, Gallagher WM, Wegner C, West BL, Wang-Gillam A, Goedegebuure P, Linehan DC, DeNardo DG. Targeting tumor-infiltrating macrophages decreases tumor-initiating cells, relieves immunosuppression, and improves chemotherapeutic responses. Cancer Res 73(3):1128-41, 2013. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23221383.
- Yang C, Davis JL, Zeng R, Vora P, Su X, Collins LI, Vangveravong S, Mach RH, Piwnica-Worms D, Weilbaecher KN, Faccio R, Novack DV. Antagonism of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins increases bone metastasis via unexpected osteoclast activation. Cancer Discov 3(2):212-23, 2013. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23269702.
- Choi J, Ziga ED, Ritchey J, Collins L, Prior JL, Cooper ML, Piwnica-Worms D, DiPersio JF. IFNγR signaling mediates alloreactive T-cell trafficking and GVHD. Blood 120(19):4093-103, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22972985.
- Su X, Floyd DH, Hughes A, Xiang J, Schneider JG, Uluckan O, Heller E, Deng H, Zou W, Craft CS, Wu K, Hirbe AC, Grabowska D, Eagleton MC, Townsley S, Collins L, Piwnica-Worms D, Steinberg TH, Novack DV, Conley PB, Hurchla MA, Rogers M, Weilbaecher KN. The ADP receptor P2RY12 regulates osteoclast function and pathologic bone remodeling. J Clin Invest 122(10):3579-92, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22996695.
- Moss BL, Elhammali A, Fowlkes T, Gross S, Vinjamoori A, Contag CH, Piwnica-Worms D. Interrogation of inhibitor of nuclear factor κB α/nuclear factor κB (IκBα/NF-κB) negative feedback loop dynamics: from single cells to live animals in vivo. J Biol Chem 287(37):31359-70, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22807442.
- Li Y, Macdonald-Obermann J, Westfall C, Piwnica-Worms D, Pike LJ. Quantitation of the effect of ErbB2 on epidermal growth factor receptor binding and dimerization. J Biol Chem 287(37):31116-25, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22822073.
- Johnson JR, Kocher B, Barnett EM, Marasa J, Piwnica-Worms D. Caspase-activated cell-penetrating peptides reveal temporal coupling between endosomal release and apoptosis in an RGC-5 cell model. Bioconjug Chem 23(9):1783-93, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22900707.
- Chinault SL, Prior JL, Kaltenbronn KM, Penly A, Weilbaecher KN, Piwnica-Worms D, Blumer KJ. Breast cancer cell targeting by prenylation inhibitors elucidated in living animals with a bioluminescence reporter. Clin Cancer Res 18(15):4136-44, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22693355.
- Flentie K, Kocher B, Gammon ST, Novack DV, McKinney JS, Piwnica-Worms D. A bioluminescent transposon reporter-trap identifies tumor-specific microenvironment-induced promoters in Salmonella for conditional bacterial-based tumor therapy. Cancer Discov 2(7):624-37, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22728436.
- Ellis MJ, Ding L, Shen D, Luo J, Suman VJ, Wallis JW, Van Tine BA, Hoog J, Goiffon RJ, Goldstein TC, Ng S, Lin L, Crowder R, Snider J, Ballman K, Weber J, Chen K, Koboldt DC, Kandoth C, Schierding WS, McMichael JF, Miller CA, Lu C, Harris CC, McLellan MD, Wendl MC, DeSchryver K, Allred DC, Esserman L, Unzeitig G, Margenthaler J, Babiera GV, Marcom PK, Guenther JM, Leitch M, Hunt K, Olson J, Tao Y, Maher CA, Fulton LL, Fulton RS, Harrison M, Oberkfell B, Du F, Demeter R, Vickery TL, Elhammali A, Piwnica-Worms H, McDonald S, Watson M, Dooling DJ, Ota D, Chang LW, Bose R, Ley TJ, Piwnica-Worms D, Stuart JM, Wilson RK, Mardis ER. Whole-genome analysis informs breast cancer response to aromatase inhibition. Nature 486(7403):353-60, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22722193.
- Rao S, Sengupta R, Choe EJ, Woerner BM, Jackson E, Sun T, Leonard J, Piwnica-Worms D, Rubin JB. CXCL12 mediates trophic interactions between endothelial and tumor cells in glioblastoma. PLoS One 7(3):e33005, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22427929.
- Ilagan MX, Lim S, Fulbright M, Piwnica-Worms D, Kopan R. Real-time imaging of notch activation with a luciferase complementation-based reporter. Sci Signal 4(181):rs7, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21775282.
- Villalobos V, Naik S, Bruinsma M, Dothager RS, Pan MH, Samrakandi M, Moss B, Elhammali A, Piwnica-Worms D. Dual-color click beetle luciferase heteroprotein fragment complementation assays. Chem Biol 17(9):1018-29, 2010. PMID: 20851351.
- Barnett EM, Zhang X, Maxwell D, Chang Q, Piwnica-Worms D. Single-cell imaging of retinal ganglion cell apoptosis with a cell-penetrating, activatable peptide probe in an in vivo glaucoma model. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106(23):9391-6, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19458250.
- Gross S, Gammon ST, Moss BL, Rauch D, Harding J, Heinecke JW, Ratner L, Piwnica-Worms D. Bioluminescence imaging of myeloperoxidase activity in vivo. Nat Med 15(4):455-61, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19305414.
- Pichler A, Prior JL, Luker GD, Piwnica-Worms D. Generation of a highly inducible Gal4-->Fluc universal reporter mouse for in vivo bioluminescence imaging. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105(41):15932-7, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18843112.
- Naik S, Piwnica-Worms D. Real-time imaging of beta-catenin dynamics in cells and living mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104(44):17465-70, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17954915.
- Gross S, Piwnica-Worms D. Real-time imaging of ligand-induced IKK activation in intact cells and in living mice. Nat Methods 2(8):607-14, 2005. PMID: 16094386.
- Gross S, Piwnica-Worms D. Spying on cancer: molecular imaging in vivo with genetically encoded reporters. Cancer Cell 7(1):5-15, 2005. PMID: 15652745.
- Luker KE, Smith MC, Luker GD, Gammon ST, Piwnica-Worms H, Piwnica-Worms D. Kinetics of regulated protein-protein interactions revealed with firefly luciferase complementation imaging in cells and living animals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101(33):12288-93, 2004. e-Pub 2004. PMID: 15284440.
- Luker GD, Pica CM, Song J, Luker KE, Piwnica-Worms D. Imaging 26S proteasome activity and inhibition in living mice. Nat Med 9(7):969-73, 2003. PMID: 12819780.
- Luker GD, Sharma V, Pica CM, Dahlheimer JL, Li W, Ochesky J, Ryan CE, Piwnica-Worms H, Piwnica-Worms D. Noninvasive imaging of protein-protein interactions in living animals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 99(10):6961-6, 2002. e-Pub 2002. PMID: 11997447.
- Sharma V, Beatty A, Wey SP, Dahlheimer J, Pica CM, Crankshaw CL, Bass L, Green MA, Welch MJ, Piwnica-Worms D. Novel gallium(III) complexes transported by MDR1 P-glycoprotein: potential PET imaging agents for probing P-glycoprotein-mediated transport activity in vivo. Chem Biol 7(5):335-43. (Cover), 2000. PMID: 10801474.
- Rao VV, Dahlheimer JL, Bardgett ME, Snyder AZ, Finch RA, Sartorelli AC, Piwnica-Worms D. Choroid plexus epithelial expression of MDR1 P glycoprotein and multidrug resistance-associated protein contribute to the blood-cerebrospinal-fluid drug-permeability barrier. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96(7):3900-5, 1999. PMID: 10097135.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Membrane Permeant Peptides for Imaging Cell Function |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Quantitative Imaging Analysis Core (QIAC) Portal and Analysis Resource |
| Funding Source: | SU2C/AACR |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | [18F]FAZA PET/CT for Monitoring Target Engagement of a Novel Complex I Inhibitor |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Breaking down tumor immune privilege through targeted hypoxia reduction |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Fluorescent-guided Surgery in Glioblastoma and Oligodendroglioma |
| Funding Source: | The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center/NIH |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Metabolic Imaging of Patients with Prostate Cancer Using Hyperpolarized Pyruvate |
| Funding Source: | UT MD Anderson Barbara Cox Anthony Estate |
| Role: | Principal Investigator-MDACC |
| Title: | MD Anderson Cancer Center Prostate Cancer SPORE – Project 1: Integrating Ipilimumab Immunotherapy with Approved Treatment Strategies in CRPC |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Cancer Center Support Grant |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Program Leader |
| Title: | Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells Expressing Myeloperoxidase Directly Inhibit Adaptive Immune Cells Limiting Immunotherapy in Melanoma |
| Funding Source: | DOD/Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (DOD/CDMRP) |
| Role: | Mentor |
| Title: | The Role of Tumor-Targeted TLR5 Activation in Reversing Immune Checkpoint Therapy Resistance |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Mentor |
| Title: | Illuminating B7-H3 Protein Dimerization and Function |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Mentor |
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified December 05, 2024