Luz Castellanos
Department of Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders, Division of Internal Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor (Joint appointment), Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Assistant Professor (Joint appointment), Pediatrics Patient Care, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Assistant Professor, Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Assistant Professor, Pediatrics Patient Care, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2015 | The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, US, MD |
| 2010 | The University of Texas, Austin, Texas, US, Human Biology, BS |
| 2010 | The University of Texas, Austin, Texas, US, Sociology, BA |
Postgraduate Training
| 2022-2023 | Clinical Fellowship, Oncologic Endocrinology, The University of Texas, Houston, Texas |
| 2018-2021 | Clinical Internship, Pediatric Endocrinology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts |
| 2015-2018 | Clinical Residency, Pediatrics, Dell Children's Hospital, Austin, Texas |
Licenses & Certifications
| 2025 | American Board of Obesity Medicine |
| 2023 | Texas Medical License |
| 2021 | American Board of Pediatrics, Pediatric Endocrinology |
| 2018 | American Board of Pediatrics, General Pediatrics |
| 2018 | Massachusetts Medical License |
Experience & Service
Other Professional Positions
Instructor, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 2021 - 2022
Assistant Pediatrician, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 2021 - 2022
Honors & Awards
| 2023 | International Meeting of Pediatric Endocrinology (IMPE) Best Oral Award, Thyroid, International Meeting of Pediatric Endocrinology (IMPE) |
| 2023 | Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES) Travel Grant Award, Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES) |
| 2022 | American Thyroid Association Trainee Travel Grant, American Thyroid Association |
| 2020 - 2022 | American Diabetes Association Scholars, Focus on Fellows Training Program, American Diabetes Association |
| 2015 - 2024 | Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics |
| 2007 | Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Fellowship, National Science Foundation |
Selected Presentations & Talks
National Presentations
- 2025. How we approach thyroid cancer management in pediatric thyroid cancer. Invited. 28th Annual International Thyroid Cancer Survivors' Conference. Houston, Texas, US.
- 2025. Targeted therapy for fusion driven thyroid cancer; Tumor Board Cases Panel Discussion. Panelist. American Thyroid Association Annual Meeting 2025. Scottsdale, Arizona, US.
- 2025. Clinicopathological Correlates of BRAF V600E-mutated Versus Wild-type Pediatric Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. Poster. American Thyroid Association Annual Meeting 2025. Scottsdale, Arizona, US.
- 2024. RAF Family Fusions in Thyroid Carcinomas: Clinicopathological Analysis of 16 Patients. Poster. Chicago, IL, US.
- 2024. Clinical Performance of the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier (GSC) in Pediatric Patients With Cytologically Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules. Poster. Chicago, IL, US.
- 2024. Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Pediatric Papillary Thyroid Cancer not Treated with Radioactive Iodine. Conference. The Endocrine Society. Boston, MA, US.
- 2024. Clinical Characteristics of a Pediatric Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Cohort with a Tumor Size > 4cm. Poster. Chicago, IL, US.
- 2024. Pediatric Neuroendocrine Tumors: The ABCs and 123s of Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas. Conference. Pediatric Endocrine Society. Chicago, IL, US.
- 2023. Larotrectinib in TRK Fusion-positive Pediatric Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: Redifferentiation Effect and One-Year Outcomes off Therapy. Poster. Washington, DC, US.
- 2023. Expert panel for role of lobectomy. Panelist. Pediatric thyroid symposium, US.
- 2023. Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Pediatric Papillary Thyroid Cancer not Treated with RAI. Conference. Pediatric Endocrine Society Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA, US.
- 2021. A random-order, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study of the bionic pancreas in the bihormonal vs. insulin-only configurations using two different glucose targets in adults with type 1 diabetes in the home-use setting. Conference. American Diabetes Association Annual Meeting. Virtual, US.
- 2021. Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Doc in a box: Stigma. Conference. Pediatric Endocrine Society Annual Meeting. Virtual, US.
International Presentations
- 2024. Time to Surgery and Radioiodine for Patients with High-Risk Thyroid Carcinoma During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the U.S. Conference. Japanese Society of Medical Oncology. Tokyo, JP.
- 2023. A Retrospective Analysis of Patients with Pediatric Papillary Thyroid Cancer not Treated with RAI: Is Less More?. Invited. International Meeting of Pediatric Endocrinology. Buenos Aires, US.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2026 - Present |
| Title: | Selpercatinib to enhance RAI avidity in children, adolescents, and young adults with newly diagnosed differentiated thyroid cancers harboring RET fusions (RAISE trial) |
| Funding Source: | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | NCT06458036 |
| Date: | 2025 - Present |
| Title: | Larotrectinib to enhance RAI avidity in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer harboring NTRK fusions |
| Funding Source: | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | NCT05783323 |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Liu JB, Yamashita TS, Rollins JL, Lee-Kim S, Avula KC, Chacko R, Peek A, Williams LA, Zafereo ME, Maniakas A, Wang JR, Busaidy NL, Cabanillas ME, Castellanos LE, Chaudhri A, Dadu R, Hu MI, Vasquez CJ, Ying AK, Varghese JM, Sherman SI, Waguespack SG, Weitzman SP, Graham PH, Perrier ND, Shinn EH, Roth ME, Habra MA, Grubbs EG, Fisher SB. Patient-Reported Symptom Burden Among Thyroid Cancer Survivors: Retrospective Cohort Study. JCO Clin Cancer Inform , 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 42391597.
- Castellanos LE, Bryan J, Ricarte-Filho JC, Franco AT, Alshalalfa M, Klopper JP, Kloos RT, Waguespack SG. Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier Performance in Young Patients with Cytologically Indeterminate Thyroid Nodules. JCEM 111(7):1920-1926, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41678360.
- Kerem L, Tuffaha M, Sella AC, Castellanos LE, Alcantara JR, Stanley T. Bone age evaluation in an ethnically diverse cohort of children with premature adrenarche. Pediatr Res, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41044221.
- Castellanos, LE, Yedururi, S, Waguespack, SG. Redifferentiation Effect of Larotrectinib for NTRK Fusion-Positive Pediatric Thyroid Cancer and Outcomes After Therapy. Journal of the Endocrine Society 9(8), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40599338.
- Elgehiny, A, Hsu, A, McCall, DC, Gibson, A, Cuglievan, B, Nunez, CA, Garcia, MB, Castellanos, LE, Funck, A, Razvi, S. Severe Hypertriglyceridemia Secondary to Long-acting Asparaginase in Pediatric Patients With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology 47(6):e215-e221, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40560745.
- Castellanos LE, Zafereo ME, Sturgis EM, Wang JR, Ying AK, Waguespack SG. Pediatric Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: Outcomes After Surgery Without Adjuvant Radioactive Iodine. JCEM 110(2):e208-e217, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39163248.
- Subbiah V, Gouda M, Iorgulescu J, Dadu R, Patel K, Sherman S, Cabanillas M, Hu M, Castellanos L, Amini B, Meric-Bernstam F, Shen T, Wu J. Adaptive Darwinian off-target resistance mechanisms to selective RET inhibition in RET driven cancer. npj Precision Oncology 62(8):1-9, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38438731.
- Sherwood JS, Castellanos L, O'Connor MY, Balliro CA, Hillard MA, Gaston SG, Bartholomew R, Greaux E, Sabean A, Zheng H, Marchetti P, Uluer A, Sawicki GS, Neuringer I, El-Khatib FH, Damiano ER, Russell SJ, Putman MS. Randomized Trial of the Insulin-Only iLet Bionic Pancreas for the Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis- Related Diabetes. Diabetes Care 47(1):101-108, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 37874987.
- Castellanos L, Russell SJ, Damiano ER, Beck RW, Shah VN, Bailey R, Calhoun P, Bird K, Mauras N, Research Group BP. The Insulin-Only Bionic Pancreas Improves Glycemic Control in Non-Hispanic Whites and Minority Adults and Children with Type 1 Diabetes. Diabetes Care 46(6):1185-1190, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37000680.
- Research Group BP, Russell SJ, Beck RW, Damiano ER, El-Khatib FH, Ruedy KJ, Balliro CA, Li Z, Calhoun P, R Paul Wadwa PR, Buckingham B, Zhou K, Daniels M, Raskin P, White PC, Lynch J, Pettus J, Hirsch IB, Goland R, John BB, Kruger D, Mauras N, Muir A, McGill JB, Cogen F, Weissberg-Benchell J, Sherwood JS, Castellanos LE, Hillard MA, Tuffaha M, Putman MS, Sands MY, Forlenza G, Slover R, Messer LH, Cobry E, Shah VN, Polsky S, Lal R, Ekhlaspour L, Hughes MS, Basina M, Hatipoglu B, Olansky L, Bhangoo A, Forghani N, Kashmiri H, Sutton F, Choudhary A, Penn J, Jafri R, Rayas M, Escaname E, Kerr C, Favela-Prezas R, Boeder S, Trikudanathan S, Williams KM, Leibel N, Kirkman MS, Bergamo K, Klein KR, Dostou JM, Machineni S, Young LA, Diner JC, Bhan A, Jones JK, Benson M, Bird K, Englert K, Permuy J, Cossen K, Felner E, Salam M, Silverstein JM, Adamson S, Cedeno A, Meighan S, Dauber A. Multicenter, randomized trial of a bionic pancreas in type 1 diabetes. N Engl J Med 25(1):201-209, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36170500.
- Castellanos, LE, Gutierrez, C, Smith, TR, Laws, ER, Iorgulescu, JB. Epidemiology of common and uncommon adult pituitary tumors in the U.S. according to the 2017 World Health Organization classification. Pituitary 25(1):201-209, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 34580820.
- Castellanos L, Gutierrez C, Smith T, Laws E, Iorgulescu J. Epidemiology of common and uncommon adult pituitary tumors in the US according to the 2017 WHO Classification. Pituitary 25(1):201-209, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 245808020.
- Castellanos L, Balliro C, Sherwood J, Jafri R, Hillard M, Greaux E, Selagamsetty R, El-Khatib F, Damiano E, Russell S. Performance of the insulin-only iLet bionic pancreas and the bihormonal iLet using dasiglucagon in adults with type 1 diabetes in a home-use setting. Diabetes Care 44(6):118-120, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33906916.
- Castellanos L, Misra M, Smith T, Laws E, Iorgulescu J. The epidemiology and management patterns of pediatric pituitary tumors in the United States. Pituitary 24(3):412-419, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33433891.
- Castellanos, L, Tuffaha, M, Koren, D, Levitsky, L. Management of diabetic ketoacidosis in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Pediatric Drugs 22(4):357-367, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32449138.
Other Articles
- Ricarte-Filho JC, Castellanos L, Waguespack SG, Bryan J, Alshalalfa M, Cavazos TB, Chen Y, Bauer A, Klopper JP, Kloos RT, Franco AT Distinct molecular profiles of indeterminate and malignant thyroid nodules in patients under 21 years of age. ERC, 2026. PMID: 42704707.
Abstracts
- Castellanos L. Redifferentiation Effect of Larotrectinib for NTRK fusion-Positive Pediatric Thyroid Cancer and Outcomes after Therapy. JES, 2025. e-Pub 2025.
- Castellanos L, Iorgulescu J. Comparative analysis of encapsulated angioinvasive and minimally invasive subtypes of follicular thyroid carcinoma in the United States,. American Thyroid Association Annual Meeting, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Castellanos L, Balliro C, Sherwood J, Hillard M, Selagamsetty R, El-Khatib F, Zheng H, Damiano E, Russell S. A random-order, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study of the bionic pancreas in the bihormonal vs. the insulin-only configuration using 2 different glucose targets in adults with type 1 diabetes in a standardized exercise setting. American Diabetes Association Annual Meeting, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Castellanos L, Gutierrez C, Smith T, Laws E, Iorgulescu J. Epidemiology of adult pituitary tumors in the U.S. according to the 2017 WHO Classification of Endocrinology Tumours. Society for Neuro-Oncology Conference, 2021. e-Pub 2021.
- Castellanos L, Zheng H, Balliro C, Sherwood J, Magnus Ekelund M, El-Khatib F, Damiano E, Russell S. Individual glycemic response to faster aspart delivered by the Ilet bionic pancreas with non-default vs. default Tmax settings. American Diabetes Association Annual Meeting, 2020. e-Pub 2020.
- Castellanos L, Gibson S, Nieto K. 9-year-old with hyponatremia: some side effects actually happen,. Pediatric Hospitalist Medicine National Conference, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
Book Chapters
- Castellanos, LE. Sodium, osmolality, and antidiuretic hormone. In: Endocrine Conditions in Pediatrics. Springer, 171-173, 2021.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified September 11, 2026