Seth T. Gammon, Ph.D.
Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, Division of Diagnostic Imaging
About Dr. Gammon
Imaging, both aesthetic and scientific, stirs imaginations and inspires actions. When carefully and rigorously applied, imaging delivers data densely packed with quantitative and qualitative information. From super-resolution microscopy to “next-generation” sequencing and PET/MRI, imaging techniques and technologies form the foundation of cutting-edge clinical and preclinical research. Dr. Gammon’s goal is to contribute to this long tradition by expanding the scientific power of imaging and through the repurposing of existing imaging agents and then development of novel radiopharmaceuticals and imaging inspired therapeutics. Prior to his arrival at MD Anderson, Dr. Gammon worked on scientific problems in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, bioluminescence spectral unmixing, bioluminescence resonance energy transfer, and bioluminescence reporters for myeloperoxidase activity in vivo. This was followed by time in industry developing expertise and real world "know how" in product development and product management in the biotechnology and biomedical imaging space. Here, his research focuses on novel imaging strategies that are based on rigorous mechanistic studies of the interplay of innate immunity and tumors in preclinical models. When appropriate, insights gained from these research programs will be utilized to develop novel therapeutics. Major research areas of interest include: 1) Leveraging existing bioluminescent, fluorescent, and hyper polarized MRI reporters for studying the complex interaction of the innate immune system, tumor biology, and cancer chemotherapeutics. 2) Using quantitative PET/SPECT/CT techniques for imaging of the pharmacodynamics of novel therapies in preclinical animal models. 3) Developing novel radio pharmaceuticals for imaging reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that are produced by the activated innate immune cells.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2007 | Washington University, Saint Louis, MO, USA, PHD, Chemical Biology |
| 2000 | University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana, Champaign, IL, USA, BS, Biophysics Minor in Chemistry |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2013 - 2022
Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, 2007 - 2007
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Manager Optical Imaging Suite For CSI, Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2013 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2018 | Poster Award in Metabolism EMIM 2018, EMIM |
| 2011 | North American Product Line Strategy of the Year Award in Preclinical Imaging Systems, Frost and Sullivan |
| 2007 | Ceil Degutis Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Graduate Student in Chemical Biology, Washington University School of Medicine |
| 2006 | Society for Molecular Imaging Student Travel, Society for Molecular Imaging (now WMIC) |
| 2002 | Nuclear Medicine Training Grant, NIH |
| 2001 | Markey Pathway Fellowship, Washington University School of Medicine |
| 2000 | Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Beta Kappa Society |
| 1997 | Campus Honors Program, University of Illinois |
Professional Memberships
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.
- Rao Y, Gammon ST, Zacharais NM, Liu TW, Salzillo T, Xi Y, Wang J, Bhattacharya P, Piwnica-Worms D. Hyperpolarized [1-13C]pyruvate-to-[1-13C]lactateconversion is rate-limited by monocarboxylatetransporter-1 in the plasma membrane. PNAS 117(36):22378-89, 2020.
- Gammon ST, Liu TW, Piwnica-Worms D. Interrogating Cellular Communication in Cancer with Genetically Encoded Imaging Reporters. Radiology: Imaging Cancer 2(4):e190053, 2020.
- 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.
- 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. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32519246.
- 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.
- 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(12), 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31766580.
- Vashisht Gopal YN, Gammon ST, 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.
- 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.
- Dutta P, Salzillo TC, Pudakalakatti S, Gammon ST, Kaipparettu BA, McAllister F, Wagner S, Frigo DE, Logothetis CJ, Zacharias NM, Bhattacharya PK. Assessing Therapeutic Efficacy in Real-time by Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance Metabolic Imaging. Cells 8(4), 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30978984.
- 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 ST, 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(1):86-94, 2019. PMID: 29748904.
- Engel BJ, Gammon ST, Chaudhari R, Lu Z, Pisaneschi F, Yang H, Ornelas A, Yan V, Kelderhouse L, Najjar AM, Tong WP, Zhang S, Piwnica-Worms D, Bast RC, Millward SW. Caspase-3 Substrates for Noninvasive Pharmacodynamic Imaging of Apoptosis by PET/CT. Bioconjug Chem 29(9):3180-3195, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30168713.
- Fiacco SV, Kelderhouse LE, Hardy A, Peleg Y, Hu B, Ornelas A, Yang P, Gammon ST, Howell SM, Wang P, Takahashi TT, Millward SW, Roberts RW. Directed Evolution of Scanning Unnatural-Protease-Resistant (SUPR) Peptides for in Vivo Applications. Chembiochem 17(17):1643-51, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27465925.
- 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):177-82, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26106858.
- Gammon ST, Foje N, Brewer EM, Owers E, Downs CA, Budde MD, Leevy WM, Helms MN. Preclinical anatomical, molecular, and functional imaging of the lung with multiple modalities. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 306(10):L897-L914, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24658139.
- Qiu X, Johnson JR, Wilson BS, Gammon ST, Piwnica-Worms D, Barnett EM. Single-cell resolution imaging of retinal ganglion cell apoptosis in vivo using a cell-penetrating caspase-activatable peptide probe. PLoS One 9(2):e88855, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24586415.
- Sasser TA, Van Avermaete AE, White A, Chapman S, Johnson JR, Van Avermaete T, Gammon ST, Leevy WM. Bacterial infection probes and imaging strategies in clinical nuclear medicine and preclinical molecular imaging. Curr Top Med Chem 13(4):479-87, 2013. PMID: 23432010.
- 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.
- Özkaya H, Akcan AB, Aydemir G, Aydinöz S, Razia Y, Gammon ST, McKinney J. Salmonella typhimurium infections in BALB/c mice: a comparison of tissue bioluminescence, tissue cultures and mice clinical scores. New Microbiol 35(1):53-9, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22378553.
- Sasser TA, Chapman SE, Li S, Hudson C, Orton SP, Diener JM, Gammon ST, Correcher C, Leevy WM. Segmentation and measurement of fat volumes in murine obesity models using X-ray computed tomography. J Vis Exp 4(62):e3680, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22508524.
- Smith BA, Daschbach MM, Gammon ST, Xiao S, Chapman SE, Hudson C, Suckow M, Piwnica-Worms D, Gokel GW, Leevy WM. In vivo cell death mediated by synthetic ion channels. Chem Commun (Camb) 47(28):7977-9, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21681307.
- Smith BA, Gammon ST, Xiao S, Wang W, Chapman S, McDermott R, Suckow MA, Johnson JR, Piwnica-Worms D, Gokel GW, Smith BD, Leevy WM. In vivo optical imaging of acute cell death using a near-infrared fluorescent zinc-dipicolylamine probe. Mol Pharm 8(2):583-90, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21323375.
- 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.
- Gammon ST, Villalobos VM, Roshal M, Samrakandi M, Piwnica-Worms D. Rational design of novel red-shifted BRET pairs: Platforms for real-time single-chain protease biosensors. Biotechnol Prog 25(2):559-69, 2009. PMID: 19330851.
- Flentie KN, Qi M, Gammon ST, Razia Y, Lui F, Marpegan L, Manglik A, Piwnica-Worms D, McKinney JS. Stably integrated luxCDABE for assessment of Salmonella invasion kinetics. Mol Imaging 7(5):222-33, 2008. PMID: 19123992.
- Leevy WM, Gammon ST, Johnson JR, Lampkins AJ, Jiang H, Marquez M, Piwnica-Worms D, Suckow MA, Smith BD. Noninvasive optical imaging of staphylococcus aureus bacterial infection in living mice using a Bis-dipicolylamine-Zinc(II) affinity group conjugated to a near-infrared fluorophore. Bioconjug Chem 19(3):686-92, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18260609.
- Moss BL, Gross S, Gammon ST,, Vinjamoori A, Piwnica-Worms D. Identification of a ligand-induced transient refractory period in nuclear factor-kappaB signaling. J Biol Chem 283(13):8687-98, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18203717.
- Gammon ST, Bernstein M, Schuster DP, Piwnica-Worms D. A method for quantification of nucleotides and nucleotide analogues in thymidine kinase assays using lanthanum phosphate coprecipitation. Anal Biochem 369(1):80-6, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17658449.
- Bullok KE, Maxwell D, Kesarwala AH, Gammon S, Prior JL, Snow M, Stanley S, Piwnica-Worms D. Biochemical and in vivo characterization of a small, membrane-permeant, caspase-activatable far-red fluorescent peptide for imaging apoptosis. Biochemistry 46(13):4055-65, 2007. e-Pub 2007. PMID: 17348687.
- Johnson JR, Fu N, Arunkumar E, Leevy WM, Gammon ST, Piwnica-Worms D, Smith BD. Squaraine rotaxanes: superior substitutes for Cy-5 in molecular probes for near-infrared fluorescence cell imaging. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 46(29):5528-31, 2007. PMID: 17585399.
- Leevy WM, Gammon ST, Jiang H, Johnson JR, Maxwell DJ, Jackson EN, Marquez M, Piwnica-Worms D, Smith BD. Optical imaging of bacterial infection in living mice using a fluorescent near-infrared molecular probe. J Am Chem Soc 128(51):16476-7, 2006. PMID: 17177377.
- Ippolito JE, Merritt ME, Bäckhed F, Moulder KL, Mennerick S, Manchester JK, Gammon ST, Piwnica-Worms D, Gordon JI. Linkage between cellular communications, energy utilization, and proliferation in metastatic neuroendocrine cancers. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103(33):12505-10, 2006. e-Pub 2006. PMID: 16895983.
- Gammon ST, Leevy WM, Gross S, Gokel GW, Piwnica-Worms D. Spectral unmixing of multicolored bioluminescence emitted from heterogeneous biological sources. Anal Chem 78(5):1520-7, 2006. PMID: 16503603.
- Bullok KE, Gammon ST, Violini S, Prantner AM, Villalobos VM, Sharma V, Piwnica-Worms D. Permeation peptide conjugates for in vivo molecular imaging applications. Mol Imaging 5(1):1-15, 2006. PMID: 16779965.
- Leevy WM, Gammon ST, Levchenko T, Daranciang DD, Murillo O, Torchilin V, Piwnica-Worms D, Huettner JE, Gokel GW. Structure-activity relationships, kinetics, selectivity, and mechanistic studies of synthetic hydraphile channels in bacterial and mammalian cells. Org Biomol Chem 3(19):3544-50, 2005. e-Pub 2005. PMID: 16172693.
- Barcellona ML, Gammon ST, Hazlett T, Digman MA, Gratton E. Polarized fluorescence correlation spectroscopy of DNA-DAPI complexes. Microsc Res Tech 65(4-5):205-17, 2004. PMID: 15630690.
- 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.
- Gammon ST, Villalobos VM, Prior JL, Sharma V, Piwnica-Worms D. Quantitative analysis of permeation peptide complexes labeled with Technetium-99m: chiral and sequence-specific effects on net cell uptake. Bioconjug Chem 14(2):368-76, 2003. PMID: 12643747.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | SPORE in Brain Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Project 2 Co-Investigator |
| Title: | [18F]FAZA PET/CT for Monitoring Target Engagement of a Novel Complex I Inhibitor |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | Membrane Permeant Peptides for Imaging Cell Function |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NEI |
| Role: | Co-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: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | A novel PARP inhibitor PET tracer for breast cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-Investigator |
| Title: | PET Imaging of Apoptosis and Inflammation for the Prevention of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) |
| Funding Source: | The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center / Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging |
| Role: | Co-Principal Investigator |