Luigi Perelli, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Cancer Biology, Division of Discovery Science
About Dr. Luigi Perelli
Luigi Perelli is Assistant Professor at the Department of Cancer Biology, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is a CPRIT Scholar in cancer research and a Sabin fellow. Dr. Perelli’s research program focuses on answering key unsolved questions of cancer biology, including malignant transformation of ‘normal’ cells, and the interplay between genotype-phenotype in shaping cancer evolution. To date, his discoveries have been published in top-tier scientific journals like Nature, Nature Cancer, Cancer Cell. The goal of his research group is to intercept and eliminate cancer with preventive strategies. Current projects in the lab including malignant transformation in sporadic and syndromic kidney cancers, and epigenetic mechanisms of recurrence in glioblastoma.
Dr. Perelli is a certified Italian Medical Doctor with a PhD in oncological sciences. His expertise bridge a medical background with expertise in cancer genetics and genomics. His team leverages cutting edge technologies to answer biological questions, including new tools for generating animal models of cancer, genome-tagging technologies coupled with multi-omic technologies. Dr. Perelli is a CPRIT First-Time Tenure-Track Awardee and his work is currently supported by the CPRIT, the NIH, the Sabin Family foundation, the American Cancer Society, the Cancer Research UK, and the Department of War.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Cancer Biology, Discovery Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Assistant professor, Cancer Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2022 | Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, IT, PhD Oncological Sciences |
| 2018 | Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, IT, Medicine and Surgery |
Postgraduate Training
| 2024-2025 | Instructor, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 2022-2024 | Postgraduate Fellow, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2018 | Italian Board of Medical Doctors |
Experience & Service
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Director, Cancer Biology, UT MD Anderson, Houston, Texas, 2026 - Present
Other Professional Positions
Associate Member, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Editorial Activities
Editor, Discovery oncology, 2025 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2026 - Present | Sabin fellow, Sabin Foundation |
| 2025 - Present | CPRIT First-Time Tenure-Track Award, CPRIT |
| 2024 - Present | UT MD Anderson Nominee for the Early K99 Award, UT MD ANDERSON |
| 2018 - 2019 | Ermenegildo Zegna Founder’s Scholarship, Ermenegildo Zegna Foundation |
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2026 - Present |
| Title: | Interception of metabolic drivers of somatic clonal expansion during ccRCC evolution |
| Funding Source: | Sabin foundation |
| Role: | PI |
| Date: | 2025 - Present |
| Title: | Dissecting tissue-specific effects of VHL germline variants in von Hippel-Lindau syndrome |
| Funding Source: | Department of Defense |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | DoD PR240469 |
| Date: | 2019 - 2020 |
| Title: | Ermenegildo Zegna Founder’s Scholarship |
| Funding Source: | Ermenegildo Zegna |
| Role: | Key |
| Title: | Targeting Early Events in Kidney Cancer - Integrating metabolism and immune surveillance for prevention |
| Funding Source: | American Cancer Society |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Investigation of the cell of origin and evolutionary trajectories of human glioblastoma |
| Funding Source: | NINDS |
| Role: | PI |
| Title: | Investigating somatic clonal evolution of kidney cancer predisposition syndromes |
| Funding Source: | CPRIT |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | RR250083 |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Perelli L, Genovese G, Tannir NM. Starved of oxygen and fueled by macrophages: Path to progression in RCC. Cancer Cell 44(7):1330-1332, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42442342.
- Citron F, Cecchetto L, Granato E, Ho IL, Liu Z, Balestrieri C, Yen EY, Perelli L, Zhang L, Castillo Montanez LA, Dyke CA, Shah R, Attanasio S, Srinivasan S, Roy S, Kwon HJ, Blazanin N, Chen Y, Chen KC, Chen Z, Scognamiglio I, Pham N, Jiang S, Pan J, Leung CS, Wang L, Gao S, Carugo A, Wang H, Yao W, Tonon G, Bonini MC, Zal MA, Jeter C, Tainer JA, Heffernan TP, Giuliani V, Lissanu Y, Genovese G, Di Pilato M, Viale A, Schlacher K, Draetta GF. DPY30 Is an Epigenetic Decoupler Linking Replication Stress to Immunoediting in Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Res 86(12):2837-2859, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41941748.
- Yu K, Tidwell RS, Bathala TK, Sheth RA, Karki M, Chen J, Qian J, Duan F, Perelli L, Soeung M, Rao P, Siefker-Radtke AO, Daw NC, Ingram DR, Shamsutdinova D, Wani KM, Wang WL, Lazar AJ, Zhao Z, Prabhakaran S, Bota-Rabassedas N, Futreal A, Yang L, Lin C, Genovese G, Gao J, Wang L, Tannir NM, Msaouel P. Phase II Trial of Ixazomib Combined with Gemcitabine and Doxorubicin in Patients with SMARCB1-Deficient Renal Medullary Carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res 32(10):1946-1961, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42007903.
- Kontoyiannis, PD, Chauhan, PK, von Eschenbach, E, Cheng, JP, Thomas, SS, Perelli, L, Logothetis, CJ, Melikhova, D, Bedniagin, L, Hensley, M, Tannir, NM, Msaouel, P. Integrative genomic landscape of germline exome alterations in renal cell carcinoma, unclassified with medullary phenotype. Journal of Clinical Oncology 44:524, 2026. e-Pub 2026.
- Firsanov D, Zacher M, Tian X, Sformo TL, Zhao Y, Tombline G, Lu JY, Zheng Z, Perelli L, Gurreri E, Zhang L, Guo J, Korotkov A, Volobaev V, Biashad SA, Zhang Z, Heid J, Maslov AY, Sun S, Wu Z, Gigas J, Hillpot EC, Martinez JC, Lee M, Williams A, Gilman A, Hamilton N, Strelkova E, Haseljic E, Patel A, Straight ME, Miller N, Ablaeva J, Tam LM, Couderc C, Hoopmann MR, Moritz RL, Fujii S, Pelletier A, Hayman DJ, Liu H, Cai Y, Leung AKL, Zhang Z, Nelson CB, Abegglen LM, Schiffman JD, Gladyshev VN, Maley CC, Modesti M, Genovese G, Simons MJP, Vijg J, Seluanov A, Gorbunova V. Evidence for improved DNA repair in the long-lived bowhead whale. Nature 648(8094):717-725, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41162698.
- Soeung M, Yan X, Zanca C, Qian J, Karki M, Duan F, Khan H, Zhang L, Peng DH, Williams M, He R, Chen Z, Perelli L, Chen J, Tidwell RS, Chauhan PK, Le CN, Lam TNA, Bhattacharya N, Shah R, Ho IL, Gay JP, Carrillo CC, Feng N, Le K, Gao G, Perry TL, Mseeh F, Jiang Y, Xu QA, Zacharias NM, Sheth RA, Bathala TK, Rao P, Daw NC, Tripathi DN, Walker CL, Mohammad MM, Zhang J, Han G, Chu Y, Wang R, Dang M, Dai E, Peng F, Liu Y, Jadhav A, Lang W, Arrechedera CA, Clemente LC, Parra ER, Lu H, Haymaker CL, Wistuba II, Futreal A, Viale A, Soth MJ, Jones P, Marszalek JR, Heffernan T, Draetta GF, Tannir NM, Gao J, Wang L, Genovese G, Msaouel P. Nivolumab plus ipilimumab induce hyper-progression in renal medullary carcinoma: results of a phase II trial and preclinical evidence. Nat Commun 16(1):10474, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41290625.
- Lucchetti D, Colella F, d'Amati A, Servidei T, Gessi M, Chiara P, Cellini B, Toma F, Giaco L, Persiani F, Perelli L, Mantini G, Genovese G, Masetto I, Ruggiero A, Sgambato A. Spatial Analysis Identifies CD147 as a Novel Marker of High-Grade Childhood Posterior Fossa Ependymoma. Lab Invest 105(7):104175, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40250710.
- Perelli L, Genovese G. Switching on the evolutionary potential of pancreatic cancer: the tumor suppressor functions of PBRM1. J Clin Invest 135(11), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40454477.
- Perelli L, Zhang L, Mangiameli S, Giannese F, Mahadevan KK, Peng F, Citron F, Khan H, Le C, Gurreri E, Carbone F, Russell AJC, Soeung M, Lam TNA, Lundgren S, Marisetty S, Zhu C, Catania D, Mohamed AMT, Feng N, Augustine JJ, Sgambato A, Tortora G, Draetta GF, Tonon G, Futreal A, Giuliani V, Carugo A, Viale A, Kim MP, Heffernan TP, Wang L, Kalluri R, Cittaro D, Chen F, Genovese G. Evolutionary fingerprints of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Nature 640(8060):1083-1092, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40044861.
- Colella F, Calapa F, Artemi G, Pazzaglia E, Colonna R, Vitale S, Lazzarino G, Vincenzoni F, Fiori ME, De Maria R, Lucchisani S, Genovese G, Perelli L, Tavazzi B, Sgambato A, Lucchetti D. CD147 Mediates the Metabolic Reprogramming of Cancer Associated Fibroblasts Induced by EVs Released by Differentiating Cancer Stem Cells. J Extracell Biol 4(3):e70039, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40104175.
- Citron F, Ho IL, Balestrieri C, Liu Z, Yen EN, Cecchetto L, Perelli L, Zhang L, Castillo Montanez LA, Blazanin N, Dyke CA, Shah R, Attanasio S, Srinivasan S, Chen KC, Chen Z, Scognamiglio I, Pham N, Khan H, Jiang S, Pan J, Vanderkruk B, Leung C, Mattohti M, Rai K, Chu Y, Wang L, Gao S, Deem AK, Carugo A, Wang H, Yao W, Tonon G, Xiong Y, Lorenzi PL, Bonini C, Zal A, Hoffman B, Giuliani V, Heffernan T, Jeter CR, Lissanu Y, Genovese G, Di Pilato M, Viale A, Draetta GF. WRAD core perturbation impairs DNA replication fidelity promoting immunoediting in pancreatic cancer. bioRxiv, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39484624.
- Firsanov D, Zacher M, Tian X, Sformo TL, Zhao Y, Tombline G, Lu JY, Zheng Z, Perelli L, Gurreri E, Zhang L, Guo J, Korotkov A, Volobaev V, Biashad SA, Zhang Z, Heid J, Maslov A, Sun S, Wu Z, Gigas J, Hillpot E, Martinez J, Lee M, Williams A, Gilman A, Hamilton N, Haseljic E, Patel A, Straight M, Miller N, Ablaeva J, Tam LM, Couderc C, Hoopman M, Moritz R, Fujii S, Hayman DJ, Liu H, Cai Y, Leung AKL, Simons MJP, Zhang Z, Nelson CB, Abegglen LM, Schiffman JD, Gladyshev VN, Modesti M, Genovese G, Vijg J, Seluanov A, Gorbunova V. DNA repair and anti-cancer mechanisms in the long-lived bowhead whale. bioRxiv, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39574710.
- Perelli L, Genovese G, Draetta GF. The KRAS mutational spectrum and its clinical implications in pancreatic cancer. Cancer Cell 42(9):1494-1496, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39214093.
- Bezwada D, Perelli L, Lesner NP, Cai L, Brooks B, Wu Z, Vu HS, Sondhi V, Cassidy DL, Kasitinon S, Kelekar S, Cai F, Aurora AB, Patrick M, Leach A, Ghandour R, Zhang Y, Do D, McDaniel P, Sudderth J, Dumesnil D, House S, Rosales T, Poole AM, Lotan Y, Woldu S, Bagrodia A, Meng X, Cadeddu JA, Mishra P, Garcia-Bermudez J, Pedrosa I, Kapur P, Courtney KD, Malloy CR, Genovese G, Margulis V, DeBerardinis RJ. Mitochondrial complex I promotes kidney cancer metastasis. Nature 633(8031):923-931, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39143213.
- Perelli L, Zhang L, Mangiameli S, Russell AJC, Giannese F, Peng F, Carbone F, Le C, Khan H, Citron F, Soeung M, Lam TNA, Lundgren S, Zhu C, Catania D, Feng N, Gurreri E, Sgambato A, Tortora G, Draetta GF, Tonon G, Futreal A, Giuliani V, Carugo A, Viale A, Heffernan TP, Wang L, Cittaro D, Chen F, Genovese G. Evolutionary fingerprints of EMT in pancreatic cancers. bioRxiv, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37786705.
- Perelli L, Carbone F, Zhang L, Huang JK, Le C, Khan H, Citron F, Del Poggetto E, Gutschner T, Tomihara H, Soeung M, Minelli R, Srinivasan S, Peoples M, Lam TNA, Lundgren S, Xia R, Zhu C, Mohamed AMT, Zhang J, Sircar K, Sgambato A, Gao J, Jonasch E, Draetta GF, Futreal A, Bakouny Z, Van Allen EM, Choueiri T, Signoretti S, Msaouel P, Litchfield K, Turajlic S, Wang L, Chen YB, Di Natale RG, Hakimi AA, Giuliani V, Heffernan TP, Viale A, Bristow CA, Tannir NM, Carugo A, Genovese G. Interferon signaling promotes tolerance to chromosomal instability during metastatic evolution in renal cancer. Nat Cancer 4(7):984-1000, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37365326.
- Soeung M, Perelli L, Chen Z, Dondossola E, Ho IL, Carbone F, Zhang L, Khan H, Le CN, Zhu C, Peoples MD, Feng N, Jiang S, Zacharias NM, Minelli R, Shapiro DD, Deem AK, Gao S, Cheng EH, Lucchetti D, Walker CL, Carugo A, Giuliani V, Heffernan TP, Viale A, Tannir NM, Draetta GF, Msaouel P, Genovese G. SMARCB1 regulates the hypoxic stress response in sickle cell trait. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 120(21):e2209639120, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37186844.
- Shapiro DD, Zacharias NM, Tripathi DN, Karki M, Bertocchio JP, Soeung M, He R, Westerman ME, Gao J, Rao P, Lam TNA, Jonasch E, Perelli L, Cheng EH, Carugo A, Heffernan TP, Walker CL, Genovese G, Tannir NM, Karam JA, Msaouel P. Neddylation inhibition sensitises renal medullary carcinoma tumours to platinum chemotherapy. Clin Transl Med 13(5):e1267, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37226898.
- Shapiro DD, Soeung M, Perelli L, Dondossola E, Surasi DS, Tripathi DN, Bertocchio JP, Carbone F, Starbuck MW, Van Alstine ML, Rao P, Katz MHG, Parker NH, Shah AY, Carugo A, Heffernan TP, Schadler KL, Logothetis C, Walker CL, Wood CG, Karam JA, Draetta GF, Tannir NM, Genovese G, Msaouel P. Association of High-Intensity Exercise with Renal Medullary Carcinoma in Individuals with Sickle Cell Trait: Clinical Observations and Experimental Animal Studies. Cancers (Basel) 13(23), 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34885132.
- Tomihara H, Carbone F, Perelli L, Huang JK, Soeung M, Rose JL, Robinson FS, Lissanu Deribe Y, Feng N, Takeda M, Inoue A, Poggetto ED, Deem AK, Maitra A, Msaouel P, Tannir NM, Draetta GF, Viale A, Heffernan TP, Bristow CA, Carugo A, Genovese G. Loss of ARID1A Promotes Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Sensitizes Pancreatic Tumors to Proteotoxic Stress. Cancer Res 81(2):332-343, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33158812.
- Citron F, Perelli L, Deem AK, Genovese G, Viale A. Leukotrienes, a potential target for Covid-19. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 161:102174, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32977289.
- Lucchetti D, Battaglia A, Ricciardi-Tenore C, Colella F, Perelli L, De Maria R, Scambia G, Sgambato A, Fattorossi A. Measuring Extracellular Vesicles by Conventional Flow Cytometry: Dream or Reality?. Int J Mol Sci 21(17), 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32872424.
- Lucchetti D, Perelli L, Colella F, Ricciardi-Tenore C, Scoarughi GL, Barbato G, Boninsegna A, De Maria R, Sgambato A. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound affects growth, differentiation, migration, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of colorectal cancer cells. J Cell Physiol 235(6):5363-5377, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31967331.
- Msaouel P, Malouf GG, Su X, Yao H, Tripathi DN, Soeung M, Gao J, Rao P, Coarfa C, Creighton CJ, Bertocchio JP, Kunnimalaiyaan S, Multani AS, Blando J, He R, Shapiro DD, Perelli L, Srinivasan S, Carbone F, Pilie PG, Karki M, Seervai RNH, Vokshi BH, Lopez-Terrada D, Cheng EH, Tang X, Lu W, Wistuba II, Thompson TC, Davidson I, Giuliani V, Schlacher K, Carugo A, Heffernan TP, Sharma P, Karam JA, Wood CG, Walker CL, Genovese G, Tannir NM. Comprehensive Molecular Characterization Identifies Distinct Genomic and Immune Hallmarks of Renal Medullary Carcinoma. Cancer Cell 37(5):720-734.e13, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32359397.
- Lucchetti D, Colella F, Perelli L, Ricciardi-Tenore C, Calapa F, Fiori ME, Carbone F, De Maria R, Sgambato A. CD147 Promotes Cell Small Extracellular Vesicles Release during Colon Cancer Stem Cells Differentiation and Triggers Cellular Changes in Recipient Cells. Cancers (Basel) 12(2), 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31973205.
Review Articles
- Zhang J, Khalil MI, Mishra R, Li H, Perelli L, Weinberg RA. Intrinsic and extrinsic regulators of cancer dormancy and awakening. J Natl Cancer Cent 6(3):211-218, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42282121.
- Gurreri E, Genovese G, Perelli L, Agostini A, Piro G, Carbone C, Tortora G. KRAS-Dependency in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Mechanisms of Escaping in Resistance to KRAS Inhibitors and Perspectives of Therapy. Int J Mol Sci 24(11), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37298264.
Other Articles
- Firsanov D, Zacher M, Tian X, Sformo TL, Zhao Y, Tombline G, Lu JY, Zheng Z, Perelli L, Gurreri E, Zhang L, Guo J, Korotkov A, Volobaev V, Biashad SA, Zhang Z, Heid J, Maslov AY, Sun S, Wu Z, Gigas J, Hillpot EC, Martinez JC, Lee M, Williams A, Gilman A, Hamilton N, Strelkova E, Haseljic E, Patel A, Straight ME, Miller N, Ablaeva J, Tam LM, Couderc C, Hoopmann MR, Moritz RL, Fujii S, Pelletier A, Hayman DJ, Liu H, Cai Y, Leung AKL, Zhang Z, Nelson CB, Abegglen LM, Schiffman JD, Gladyshev VN, Maley CC, Modesti M, Genovese G, Simons MJP, Vijg J, Seluanov A, Gorbunova V Author Correction: Evidence for improved DNA repair in the long-lived bowhead whale. Nature 648(8094):E14, 2025. PMID: 41315740.
Letters to the Editor
- Lucchetti D, Santini G, Perelli L, Ricciardi-Tenore C, Colella F, Mores N, Macis G, Bush A, Sgambato A, Montuschi P. Detection and characterisation of extracellular vesicles in exhaled breath condensate and sputum of COPD and severe asthma patients. Eur Respir J 58, 2021.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified October 21, 2026