My long-term vision is to transform the treatment of metastatic cancer through translational research that challenges the deeply held view that metastases are invariably widespread and incurable. I believe that a subset of patients with limited metastatic disease can be cured with appropriately tailored therapies—and that defining the biological underpinnings of this state is essential to advancing precision oncology. My laboratory employs integrative approaches combining molecular profiling of clinical metastases, advanced bioinformatics, immunologic analyses, and in vivo modeling to address two paradigm-defining questions: (1) What are the biological determinants that distinguish curable from incurable metastatic states? and (2) How can we systematically harness radiotherapy-immunotherapy synergy to overcome immune resistance mechanisms that limit curability? We were the first to demonstrate a biological basis for curable oligometastatic disease, showing that robust adaptive immune activation in concert with favorable clinical features predicts ~95% 10-year survival in colorectal cancer patients with resected liver metastases (Nature Communications 2018)—a finding validated in the randomized phase III New EPOC trial (JAMA Oncology 2023) and now being translated into clinical practice. Extending this framework across cancer types, we showed that tumor aneuploidy serves as a pan-cancer biomarker predicting immunotherapy response (Nature Genetics 2022) and that concurrent ablative radiotherapy enhances this response in highly aneuploid metastatic lung cancers (Nature Cancer 2022). Building on these clinical observations, we are now elucidating the mechanistic basis for how radiation interacts with immune-modifying therapies in patients. Our recent work identified radiation-induced amphiregulin as a critical mediator that reprograms myeloid cells toward immunosuppressive phenotypes, providing new targets to enhance the efficacy of combined radiation-immunotherapy approaches (Nature 2025). These discoveries are driving the development of molecular diagnostic tools now being deployed clinically to guide treatment selection.
The University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Residency - Radiation Oncology
2016
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York City, NY
- Spinal Radiosurgery
2015
Northwestern Medicine Proton Center
Warrenville, IL
- Proton Radiotherapy
2015
The University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Internship - Internal Medicine
2012
The University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
M.D. - Medicine
2011
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL
B.S. - Biomedical Engineering
2006
A Prospective Study of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in Oligometastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma.
A Prospective Study of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in Oligometastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2025 May 30.
PMID: 40451439
Updates on radiotherapy-immunotherapy combinations: Proceedings of 8th Annual ImmunoRad Conference.
Updates on radiotherapy-immunotherapy combinations: Proceedings of 8th Annual ImmunoRad Conference. Oncoimmunology. 2025 Dec; 14(1):2507856.
PMID: 40401900
Radiation-induced amphiregulin drives tumour metastasis.
Radiation-induced amphiregulin drives tumour metastasis. Nature. 2025 May 14.
PMID: 40369065
Facts and hopes in radioimmunotherapy of oligometastatic disease.
Facts and hopes in radioimmunotherapy of oligometastatic disease. Clin Cancer Res. 2025 Apr 17.
PMID: 40243665
No disease left behind.
No disease left behind. Oncotarget. 2025 Mar 13; 16:163-166.
PMID: 40079896
Proceedings of the National Cancer Institute Workshop on combining immunotherapy with radiotherapy: challenges and opportunities for clinical translation.
Proceedings of the National Cancer Institute Workshop on combining immunotherapy with radiotherapy: challenges and opportunities for clinical translation. Lancet Oncol. 2025 Mar; 26(3):e152-e170.
PMID: 40049206
YTHDF1 loss in dendritic cells potentiates radiation-induced antitumor immunity via STING-dependent type I IFN production.
YTHDF1 loss in dendritic cells potentiates radiation-induced antitumor immunity via STING-dependent type I IFN production. J Clin Invest. 2024 Dec 02; 134(23).
PMID: 39325547
Primary site stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy in localized, recurrent, and metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
Primary site stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy in localized, recurrent, and metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Clin Transl Radiat Oncol. 2024 Nov; 49:100879.
PMID: 39529961
Clinical and molecular correlates of tumor aneuploidy in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.
Clinical and molecular correlates of tumor aneuploidy in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Sci Rep. 2024 08 21; 14(1):19375.
PMID: 39169079
DARES: A Phase II Trial of Durvalumab and Ablative Radiation in Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer.
DARES: A Phase II Trial of Durvalumab and Ablative Radiation in Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer. Clin Lung Cancer. 2024 Dec; 25(8):e448-e452.
PMID: 39242330
Fletcher Scholar
Cancer Research Foundation
2024 - 2024
John D. Arnold, M.D. Mentor Award
University of Chicago
2023 - 2023
Lung Cancer Discovery Award
American Lung Association
2022 - 2024
LUNGevity Career Development Award
University of Chicago
2020 - 2023
Spotlight Grant on Tumor Biology
University of Chicago
2019 - 2020
Ullman Scholarship in Translational Cancer Immunology
University of Chicago
2019 - 2020
Best of ASTRO Basic/Translational Science Award for Junior Investigator in Radiation&Cancer Biology
American Society for Radiation Oncology
2018 - 2018
Distinguished Biomedical Engineering Alumni Award
Illinois Institute of Technology
2016 - 2016
Franklin McLean Medical Student Research Award
Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago
2011 - 2011
Senior Research Award
Dept. of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago
2011 - 2011
Calvin Fentress Research Fellowship
University of Chicago
2010 - 2012
NIH Summer Research Fellowship
University of Chicago
2007 - 2007
Summa Cum Laude
Illinois Institute of Technology
2006 - 2006
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Fellowship
University of Chicago
2005 - 2006
Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society Winkler Scholarship
Illinois Institute of Technology
2005 - 2006
Heald Undergraduate Tuition Scholarship
Illinois Institute of Technology
2002 - 2006