Marites Pasuelo Melancon, Ph.D.
Department of Interventional Radiology, Division of Diagnostic Imaging
About Dr. Melancon
Dr. Marites Melancon is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Interventional Radiology at The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Melancon earned her BS degree in chemistry from the University of San Carlos (Cebu, Philippines) in 1994 and her MS degree in chemistry at Ateneo de Manila University (Manila, Philippines) in 2000. She received her PhD in Biomedical Science at The University of Texas-Health Science Center at Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Science in December 2007. She then trained in the Department of Imaging Physics as an Odyssey Fellow from 2008-2010 and was promoted to Instructor in 2011. She joined Interventional Radiology in 2012 working on the synthesis, characterization and in vivo evaluation of multimodality and multifunctional nanoparticles for image-guided therapy. She is also currently working on radiopaque absorbable medical devices. Her main goal is to apply the "seek and treat" strategy in the development of targeted imaging/therapeutic agents that will eventually be translated to the clinic to improve the management of cancer through early tumor detection and individualized therapy.
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Research Interests
Nanotechnology, Drug delivery, Image-Guided Therapy, Molecular Imaging and Thermal Therapies.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2007 | The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX, USA, PHD, Biomedical Science |
| 2000 | Ateneo de Manila University, Manila, PHL, MS, Chemistry |
| 1994 | University of San Carlos, Cebu, PHL, BS, Chemistry |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Department of Interventional Radiology, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2012 - 2018
Honors & Awards
| 2017 | Carl Storm Underrepresented Minority (CSURM) Fellowship, Gordon Research Conference |
| 2016 | Finalist Robert Chamberlain Distinguished Mentor Award, MD Anderson Postdoc Association |
| 2016 | Early Career Reviewer, NIH Center for Scientific Review (NOIT) |
| 2015 | Council on Cardiovascular Radiology & Intervention Minority Travel Stipend, American Heart Association |
| 2014 | Balik Scientist Awardee, Department of Science and Technology, Manila, Philippines |
| 2010 | Trainee Excellence Award, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2010 | Student Travel Award, World Molecular Imaging Congress, Kyoto, Japan |
| 2009 | Odyssey Fellowship, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2009 | Student Travel Award, World Molecular Imaging Congress, Montreal, Canada |
| 2008 | Student Travel Award, World Molecular Imaging Congress, Nice, France |
| 2000 | Dean’s Award for Best Graduate Research, Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines |
| 1997 | Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCASTRD) Scholarship, Philippines |
| 1994 | Cum Laude, University of San Carlos, Cebu Philippines |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Huang SY, Eggers M, McArthur MJ, Dixon KA, McWatters A, Dria S, Hill LR, Melancon MP, Steele JR, Wallace MJ. Safety and Efficacy of an Absorbable Filter in the Inferior Vena Cava to Prevent Pulmonary Embolism in Swine. Radiology 285(3):161880, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28708470.
- Tian L, Lee P, Singhana B, Chen A, Qiao Y, Lu L, Martinez JO, Tasciotti E, Melancon A, Huang S, Eggers M, Melancon MP. Radiopaque Resorbable Inferior Vena Cava Filter Infused with Gold Nanoparticles. Sci Rep 7(1):2147, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28526874.
- Tian L, Chang A, Melancon MP. Exploring gold nanoparticle interactions with proteins and the tumor microenvironment in biological systems. Transl Cancer Res 6(Suppl 2):S309-S312, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28690978.
- Zhou M, Melancon MP, Stafford RJ, Li J, Nick AM, Tian M, Sood AK, Li C. Precision Nanomedicine Using Dual Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Temperature Imaging-Guided Photothermal Therapy. J Nucl Med 57(11):1778-1783, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27283932.
- Tam AL, Melancon MP, Abdelsalam M, Figueira TA, Dixon K, McWatters A, Zhou M, Huang Q, Mawlawi O, Dunner K, Li C, Gupta S. Imaging Intratumoral Nanoparticle Uptake after Combining Nanoembolization with Various Ablative Therapies in Hepatic VX2 Rabbit Tumors. J Biomed Nanotechnol 12(2):296-307, 2016. PMID: 27305763.
- Hosoya H, Dobroff AS, Driessen WH, Cristini V, Brinker LM, Staquicini FI, Cardó-Vila M, D'Angelo S, Ferrara F, Proneth B, Lin YS, Dunphy DR, Dogra P, Melancon MP, Stafford RJ, Miyazono K, Gelovani JG, Kataoka K, Brinker CJ, Sidman RL, Arap W, Pasqualini R. Integrated nanotechnology platform for tumor-targeted multimodal imaging and therapeutic cargo release. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113(7):1877-82, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 26839407.
- Tian L, Lu L, Qiao Y, Ravi S, Salatan F, Melancon MP. Stimuli-responsive gold nanoparticles for cancer diagnosis and therapy. J Funct Biomater 7(3), 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27455336.
- Zhao J, Lee P, Wallace MJ, Melancon MP. Gold Nanoparticles in Cancer Therapy: Efficacy, Biodistribution, and Toxicity. Curr Pharm Des 21(29):4240-51, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26323426.
- Zhao J, Qiao J, Zhou M, Gupta S, Li C, Melancon MP. Anti-tumor Efficacy Study using Irreversible Electroporation and Doxorubicin-loaded Polymeric Micelles. ACS Macro Lett 4(10):1081-1084, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 28529822.
- Zhao J, Melancon MP, Zhou M. Nanoparticle Formulation to Improve the Efficacy of Radiation Therapy Against Radiation-Resistant Leukemia. EBioMedicine 2(6):486, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26288809.
- Mitcham T, Dextraze K, Taghavi H, Melancon M, Bouchard R. Photoacoustic imaging driven by an interstitial irradiation source. Photoacoustics 3(2):45-54, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26236640.
- Singhana B, Chen A, Slattery P, Yazdi IK, Qiao Y, Tasciotti E, Wallace M, Huang S, Eggers M, Melancon MP. Infusion of Iodine-Based Contrast Agents into Poly(p-dioxanone) as a Radiopaque Resorbable IVC Filter. J Mater Sci Mater Med 26(3):124, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25690619.
- Tam AL, Melancon MP, Ensor J, Liu Y, Dixon K, McWatters A, Gupta S. Rabbit Hepatic Arterial Anatomy Variations: Implications on Experimental Design. Acta Radiol 55(10):1226-33, 2014. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24292899.
- Zhao J, Vykoukal J, Abdelsalam M, Recio-Boiles A, Huang Q, Qiao Y, Singhana B, Wallace M, Avritscher R, Melancon MP. Stem cell-mediated delivery of SPIO-loaded gold nanoparticles for the theranosis of liver injury and hepatocellular carcinoma. Nanotechnology 25(40):405101, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25211057.
- Zhao J, Wallace M, Melancon MP. Cancer Theranostics with Gold Nanoshells. Nanomedicine (Lond) 9(13):2041-57, 2014. PMID: 25343352.
- Singhana B, Slattery P, Chen A, Wallace MJ, Melancon MP. Light-Activatable Gold Nanoshells for Drug Delivery Applications. AAPS PharmSciTech 15(3):741-52, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24550102.
- Melancon MP, Zhou M, Zhang R, Xiong C, Allen P, Wen X, Huang Q, Wallace M, Myers JN, Stafford RJ, Liang D, Ellington AD, Li C. Selective Uptake and Imaging of Aptamer- and Antibody-Conjugated Hollow Nanospheres Targeted to Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors Overexpressed in Head and Neck Cancer. ACS Nano 8(5):4532-8, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24754567.
- Zhou M, Singhana B, Liu Y, Huang Q, Mitcham T, Wallace MJ, Stafford RJ, Bouchard RR, Melancon MP. Photoacoustic- and Magnetic Resonance-Guided Photothermal Therapy and Tumor Vasculature Visualization Using Theranostic Magnetic Gold Nanoshells. J Biomed Nanotechnol 11(8):1385-1400, 2014. PMID: 26295144.
- Lee HJ, Liu Y, Zhao J, Zhou M, Bouchard RR, Mitcham T, Wallace MJ, Stafford RJ, Li C, Gupta S, Melancon MP. In vitro and in vivo mapping of drug release after laser ablation thermal therapy with Doxorubicin-loaded hollow gold nanoshells using fluorescence and photoacoustic imaging. J Control Release 172(1):152-158, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23920038.
- Melancon MP, Stafford RJ, Li C. Challenges to effective cancer nanotheranostics. J Control Release 164(2):177-82, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22906841.
- You J, Zhang R, Xiong C, Zhong M, Melancon MP, Gupta S, Nick AM, Sood AK, Li C. Effective photothermal chemotherapy using doxorubicin-loaded gold nanospheres that target EphB4 receptors in tumors. Cancer Res 72(18):4777-4786, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22865457.
- Zhang G, Zhang R, Melancon MP, Wong K, You J, Huang Q, Bankson J, Liang D, Li C. The degradation and clearance of Poly(N-hydroxypropyl-L-glutamine)-DTPA-Gd as a blood pool MRI contrast agent. Biomaterials 33(21):5376-83, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22541356.
- Melancon MP, Elliott AM, Shetty A, Huang Q, Stafford RJ, Li C. Near-infrared light modulated photothermal effect increases vascular perfusion and enhances polymeric drug delivery. J Control Release 156(2):265-72, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21763373.
- Melancon MP, Zhou M, Li C. Cancer Theranostics with Near-Infrared Light-Activatable Multimodal Nanoparticles. Acc Chem Res 44(10):947-956, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21848277.
- Melancon MP, Lu W, Zhong M, Zhou M, Liang G, Elliott AM, Hazle JD, Myers JN, Li C, Stafford RJ. Targeted multifunctional gold-based nanoshells for magnetic resonance-guided laser ablation of head and neck cancer. Biomaterials 32(30):7600-8, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21745689.
- Lu W, Melancon MP, Xiong C, Huang Q, Elliott A, Song S, Zhang R, Flores LG, Gelovani JG, Wang LV, Ku G, Stafford RJ, Li C. Effects of photoacoustic imaging and photothermal ablation therapy mediated by targeted hollow gold nanospheres in an orthotopic mouse xenograft model of glioma. Cancer Res 71(19):6116-21, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21856744.
- Melancon MP, Elliott A, Ji X, Shetty A, Yang Z, Tian M, Taylor B, Stafford RJ, Li C. Theranostics with multifunctional magnetic gold nanoshells: photothermal therapy and t2* magnetic resonance imaging. Invest Radiol 46(2):132-40, 2011. PMID: 21150791.
- Melancon MP, Li C. Multifunctional synthetic polymer-based therapeutic and diagnostic agents. Mol Imaging 10(1):28-42, 2011. PMID: 21303613.
- Zhou M, Zhang R, Huang M, Lu W, Song S, Melancon MP, Tian M, Liang D, Li C. A chelator-free multifunctional [64Cu]CuS nanoparticle platform for simultaneous micro-PET/CT imaging and photothermal ablation therapy. J Am Chem Soc 132(43):15351-8, 2010. PMID: 20942456.
- Melancon MP, Lu W, Huang Q, Thapa P, Zhou D, Ng C, Li C. Targeted imaging of tumor-associated M2 macrophages using a macromolecular contrast agent PG-Gd-NIR813. Biomaterials 31(25):6567-73, 2010. PMID: 20537382.
- Melancon MP, Lu W, Li C. Gold-Based Magneto/Optical Nanostructures: Challenges for In Vivo Applications in Cancer Diagnostics and Therapy. Mater Res Bull 34(6):415-421, 2009. PMID: 20582234.
- Melancon MP, Lu W, Yang Z, Zhang R, Cheng Z, Elliot AM, Stafford J, Olson T, Zhang JZ, Li C. In vitro and in vivo targeting of hollow gold nanoshells directed at epidermal growth factor receptor for photothermal ablation therapy. Mol Cancer Ther 7(6):1730-9, 2008. PMID: 18566244.
- Melancon MP, Wang Y, Wen X, Bankson JA, Stephens LC, Jasser S, Gelovani JG, Myers JN, Li C. Development of a macromolecular dual-modality MR-optical imaging for sentinel lymph node mapping. Invest Radiol 42(8):569-78, 2007. PMID: 17620940.
- Melancon MP, Wang W, Wang Y, Shao R, Ji X, Gelovani JG, Li C. A novel method for imaging in vivo degradation of poly(L-glutamic acid), a biodegradable drug carrier. Pharm Res 24(6):1217-24, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17377742.
- Wang W, Wu Q, Pasuelo MJ, McMurray JS, Li C. Probing for integrin alpha v beta3 binding of RGD peptides using fluorescence polarization. Bioconjug Chem 16(3):729-34, 2005. PMID: 15898744.
- Wen X, Cao X, Pasuelo MJ, Wendt R, Li C. Polymeric radiotracers in nuclear imaging. Curr Drug Deliv 1(4):377-84, 2004. PMID: 16305399.
- Tansey W, Ke S, Cao XY, Pasuelo MJ, Wallace S, Li C. Synthesis and characterization of branched poly(L-glutamic acid) as a biodegradable drug carrier. J Control Release 94(1):39-51, 2004. PMID: 14684270.
- Pasuelo MJ , Dayrit FM. Development if quality assurance methods for medicinal plants using gas chromatography analysis. Kimika 17:5-11, 2001.
Abstracts
- Melancon A, Jacobsen M, Salatan F, Jones A, Cody D, Nute J, Pasuelo MJ. SU-F-207-07: Dual-Energy Computed Tomography Detection Limit of Various Radiopaque Contrast Agents That Can Be Infused Within Absorbable Inferior Vena Cava Filters. Med Phys 42(6):3543, 2015. PMID: 26128553.
Book Chapters
- Singhana B, Slattery P, Melancon MP. Targeted Gold Nanoshells. In: Applications of Nanoscience in Photomedicine. Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2015.
- Lu W, Melancon MP, Li C. Theranostic Applications of Gold Core-Shell Structured Nanoparticles. In: Nanoplatform-based Molecular Imaging. John Wiley & Sons Publishing: Hoboken, NJ, 683-708, 2011.
- Melancon MP, Wen X, Zhang G, Li C. Multi-functional multi-modality cancer imaging with synthetic polymers. In: Nanoimaging. Pan Stanford Publishing Pte Ltd: Singapore, 2010.
- Melancon MP, Li C. Core-shell magnetic nanomaterials for medical diagnosis and therapy. In: Magnetic Nanomaterials. Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, Germany, 259-290, 2009.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Targeted Nanoshell-based Agent for MRI-Guided Thermal Ablation of Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator - CDA |
| Title: | MRI- Guided Thermal Ablation Mediated by Multifunctional Gold-Based Nanoshells |
| Funding Source: | Odyssey Program |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Molecular Imaging Strategy for Treatment Planning of Brain Tumor Mediated by Stem Cells Labeled with Multifunctional Nanoparticle |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator - CDA |
| Title: | Developing an electroporation and nanoparticle-based therapeutic platform for bone metastases: evaluation of local delivery strategies to optimize intratumoral nanoparticle uptake |
| Funding Source: | Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Visual and Functional Characterization of Nanopore Formation after Irreversible Electroporation (IRE) in the Porcine Vertebral Body |
| Funding Source: | Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Development of Theranostic Agents for Cancer |
| Funding Source: | MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Radiopaque enhancement of absorbable IVC filters mediated by gold nano particles using dual-energy computed tomography |
| Funding Source: | The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Radiopaque absorbable inferior vena cava filter for dual-energy computed tomography |
| Funding Source: | American Heart Association |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Nanoparticle-Infused Radiopaque Absorbable Medical Device |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NHLBI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Nanoparticle-Infused Radiopaque Absorbable Medical Device |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NHLBI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Drug Release and Pharmacokinetic after chemoembolization using Irinotican (IRI)- loaded lipiodol Emulsions and drug eluting beads in a rat tumor model |
| Funding Source: | Guerbet |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Transportal Irinotecan Chemoembolization using a Lipiodol Nano-emulsion (TICL) for the Treatment of Colorectal Liver Metastases in Rat |
| Funding Source: | Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) |
| Role: | Collaborator |