Russell Pieper, PhD
Research Interests: signal transduction, models of human gliomagenesis & drug development
Dr. Pieper's research program is divided into two components. The first component focuses on cell signaling and the influence of cell-cycle regulation on chemotherapeutic response of gliomas to the methylating agent temozolomide (TMZ). Work in Dr. Pieper's laboratory has identified pathways that lead to drug resistance to TMZ and that might serve as targets for sensitization of tumors to this important chemotherapeutic agent.
The second program in Dr. Pieper's laboratory involves trying to understand the genetic events important in the formation of human brain tumors. It is known that single defined genetic alterations can result in the transformation of rodent cells, likely because these alterations lead to genomic instability and a variety of other genetic changes. Dr. Pieper's laboratory has identified four key pathways critical in controlling glioma development, and is further examining how dysregulation of these pathways, including those driven by mutant IDH1, leads to glioma formation. These observations are expected to lead to new ways to suppress both drug resistance and tumorigenicity in human gliomas.
1982: BS, University of Wisconsin
1987: PhD, The George Washington University
1987-1990: Postdoctoral Fellow, Section of Hematology/Oncology, Loyola University Medical Center
1990-1991: Research Assistant Professor, Section of Hematology/Oncology, Loyola University Medical Center
1991-1996: Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, Loyola University Medical Center
1991-1998: Associate Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, Loyola University Medical Center
1998-Present: Professor and Vice-Chair of Neurological Surgery, UCSF
2004-Present: Director of Basic Science, UCSF Brain Tumor Center
1989-1991: National Research Service Award Fellowship, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute
2001-Present: Suzanne Marie Haderle and Robert Vincent Haderle Endowed Chair in Molecular Neuro-Oncology