Dan Theodorescu

Dan Theodorescu, M.D., Ph.D.
Scientist, professor and physician in the field of urology
Education	Medical Degree, Queen's University at Kingston, 1986; Doctorate, University of Toronto, 1991; Residency in Urology, University of Toronto, 1994; Fellowship in Urologic Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1995
Occupation(s)	Director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Website	https://bio.cedars-sinai.org/theodorescud/index.html

Dan Theodorescu is an American physician and academic. He is the Director of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and leader of Cedars-Sinai CANCER.[1] From 2010 until 2018, Theodorescu was Director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center and a professor of Surgery-Urology.[2] He has been appointed Paul Mellon Chair at the University of Virginia[3] and Paul Bunn Chair and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Colorado.[3]

Education

Theodorescu earned a medical degree from Queen's University at Kingston in 1986, followed by a doctorate from the University of Toronto in 1991. His post degree training was a residency in urology from the University of Toronto in 1994 and a fellowship in urologic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 1995.[1]

Memberships

Theodorescu is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, the American Surgical Association, and the National Academy of Medicine.[4][3]

He is an Honorary Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[5] He is also a founding co-editor in chief of the journal Bladder Cancer.[6]

Research

Theodorescu is known for his work on the molecular mechanisms driving bladder cancer, discovery of tools that determine drug response and new therapeutics. Examples of his research include examining genes that regulate tumor growth and metastasis such as RhoGDI2[7][8] and biomarkers and approaches to precision medicine.[9][10][11] He led the work on the “first in class” RalGTPase inhibitor as a new therapeutic in cancer.[12] He has published work showing DDR2 as a target for effective combination immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors [13] and the presence of a new cellular subtype in bladder tumors, called “C3”, shown to predict response to immune checkpoint therapy.[14]

References

1. "Dan Theodorescu | Staff Biographies | Cedars-Sinai Cancer | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center". cedars-sinai.org. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
2. "Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD | University of Colorado". som.ucdenver.edu. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
3. "Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD: Clinical Professor, Surgery-Urology". University of Colorado School of Medicine. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
4. "Dan Theodorescu, M.D., Ph.D." National Academy of Medicine. 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022. Year Elected: 2014
5. "AAAS Fellows Listing Search". www.aaas.org. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
6. "Bladder Cancer Editorial Board". bladdercancerjournal.com. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 2021-09-20.
7. Ahmed, M., Sottnik, J., Dancik, G., Sahu, D., Handel, D., Theodorescu, D., Schwartz, M. (2016). "An Osteopontin/CD44 Axis in RhoGDI2-Mediated Metastasis Suppression". Cancer Cell. 12 (30): 432–443. doi:10.1016/j.ccell.2016.08.002. PMC 5154333. PMID 27593345.
8. Said, N., Sanchez-Carbay, M., Smith, S., Theodorescu, D. (2012). "RhoGDI2 suppresses lung metastasis in mice by reducing tumor versican expression and macrophage infiltration". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 122 (4): 1503–1518. doi:10.1172/JCI61392. PMC 3314474. PMID 22406535.
9. Lee, J, Havaleshko, D., Hyunghun, C., Weinstein, J., Kaldjian, E., Karpovich, J., Grimshaw, A., Theodorescu, D. (2007). "RhoGDI2 suppresses lung metastasis in mice by reducing tumor versican expression and macrophage infiltration". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. 104 (32): 13086–13091. doi:10.1073/pnas.0610292104. PMC 1941805. PMID 17666531.
10. Smith, C., Spyridon Baras, A., Dancik, G., Ru, Y., Ding, K., Moskaluk, C., Fradet, Y., Lehmann, J., Stockle, M., Hartmann, A., Lee, J., Theodorescu, D. (2011). "A 20-gene model for molecular nodal staging of bladder cancer: development and prospective assessment". Lancet Oncology. 12 (2): 137–143. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(10)70296-5. PMC 3613042. PMID 21256081.
11. Theodorescu, D., Wittke, S., Ross, M., Walden, M., Conaway, M., Just, I., Mischak, H., Frierson, H. (2006). "Discovery and validation of new protein biomarkers for urothelial cancer: a prospective analysis". Lancet Oncology. 7 (3): 230–240. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(06)70584-8. PMID 16510332.
12. Yan, C., Lu, D., Li, L., Wempe, M., Guin, S., Khanna, M., Meier, J., Hoffman, B., Owens, C., Wyzoczynski, C., Nitz, M., Knabe, W., Ahmen, M., Brautigan, D., Pashcal, B., Schwartz, M., Jones, D., Ross, D., Meroueh, S., Theodorescu, D. (2014). "Discovery and characterization of small molecules that target the GTPase Ral". Nature. 515 (7527): 433–437. Bibcode:2014Natur.515..443Y. doi:10.1038/nature13713. PMC 4351747. PMID 25219851.
13. Tu, M., Lee, F., Jones, R., Kimball, A., Saravia, E., Grazinano, R., Coleman, B., Menard, K., Yan, J., Michaud, E., Chang, H., Abdel-Hafiz, H., Rozhok, A., Duex, J., Agarwal, N., Chauca-Diaz, A., Johnson, L., Ng, T., Cambier, C., Clambey, E., Costello, J., Korman, A., Theodorescu, D. (2019). "Targeting DDR2 enhances tumor response to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy". Science Advances. 5 (2): eaav2437. Bibcode:2019SciA....5.2437T. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aav2437. PMC 6382401. PMID 30801016.
14. Gouin, K., Ing, N., Plummer, J., Rosser, C., Cheikh, B., Oh. C., Chen, S., Syson Chan K., Furuya, H., Tourtellotte, W., Knott, S., Theodorescu, D. (2021). "An N-Cadherin 2 expressing epithelial cell subpopulation predicts response to surgery, chemotherapy and immunotherapy in bladder cancer". Nature Communications. 12 (1): 49096. Bibcode:2021NatCo..12.4906G. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-25103-7. PMC 8361097. PMID 34385456.