Ross Okimoto, MD
Associate Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

Dr. Okimoto is a medical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of sarcomas and lung cancer. He is a laboratory based physician-scientist who broadly aims to translate basic science discoveries into novel therapies for patients with cancer. He is currently interested in understanding how cancer cells gain transcriptional dependence to drive tumor progression and metastasis.

Awards

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• Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award Finalist, 2021
• National Cancer Institute R37 MERIT Award, 2021
• American Society of Clinical Investigation Young Physician-Scientist Award, 2019
• NIH-NCI Career Development Award (K08), 2018
• UCSF DOM Cohort Iniative Award, 2018
• A.P. Giannini Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2015

Websites

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• Okimoto Lab (okimotolab.ucsf.edu)
• UCSF Sarcoma (sarcoma.ucsf.edu)
• UCSF Health (ucsfhealth.org)

Grants and Projects

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• Therapeutic degradation of Capicua (CIC) fused oncoproteins in undifferentiated sarcomas, NIH, 2021-2026
• Therapeutic rescue of the transcriptional repressor Capicua to inhibit lung cancer metastasis, NIH, 2018-2023

Publications (43)

Top publication keywords:
SarcomaCarcinogenesisGene Expression Regulation, NeoplasticRepressor ProteinsOncogene Proteins, FusionLymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal ZoneSarcoma, Small CellAdenovirus E1A ProteinsMatrix Metalloproteinases, Membrane-AssociatedProtein Kinase InhibitorsNeoplasms, ExperimentalSoft Tissue NeoplasmsLung NeoplasmsProtein-Tyrosine KinasesMAP Kinase Signaling System

• The Capicua C1 Domain Is Required for Full Activity of the CIC::DUX4 Fusion Oncoprotein.
  Cancer research communications 2024 Luck C, Jacobs KA, Okimoto RA
• A platform to deliver single and bi-specific Cas9/guide RNA to perturb genes in vitro and in vivo.
  Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy 2024 Li YJ, Chien SH, Huang R, Herrmann A, Zhao Q, Li PC, Zhang C, Martincuks A, Santiago NL, Zong K, Swiderski P, Okimoto RA, Song M, Rodriguez L, Forman SJ, Wang X, Yu H
• The Capicua C1 Domain is Required for Full Activity of the CIC::DUX4 Fusion Oncoprotein.
  bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2024 Luck C, Jacobs KA, Okimoto RA
• Molecular and therapeutic advancements in Capicua (CIC)-rearranged sarcoma.
  Frontiers in cell and developmental biology 2024 Ponce RKM, Luck C, Okimoto RA
• Quantification of cerebrospinal fluid tumor DNA in lung cancer patients with suspected leptomeningeal carcinomatosis.
  NPJ precision oncology 2024 Azad TD, Nanjo S, Jin MC, Chabon JJ, Kurtz DM, Chaudhuri AA, Connolly ID, Hui AB, Liu CL, Merriott D, Ko R, Yoo C, Carter J, Chen E, Bonilla R, Hata A, Katakami N, Irie K, Yano S, Okimoto R, Bivona TG…

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• Mapping chromatin state and transcriptional response in CIC-DUX4 undifferentiated round cell sarcoma.
  bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2023 Thomas NJ, Luck C, Shlimon N, Ponce RK, Kosibaty Z, Okimoto RA
• The CIC-ERF co-deletion underlies fusion-independent activation of ETS family member, ETV1, to drive prostate cancer progression.
  eLife 2022 Gupta N, Song H, Wu W, Ponce RK, Lin YK, Kim JW, Small EJ, Feng FY, Huang FW, Okimoto RA
• Capicua suppresses YAP1 to limit tumorigenesis and maintain drug sensitivity in human cancer.
  Cell reports 2022 Kim JW, Luck C, Wu W, Ponce RK, Lin YK, Gupta N, Okimoto RA
• Primary and metastatic tumors exhibit systems-level differences in dependence on mitochondrial respiratory function.
  PLoS biology 2022 Bennett NK, Nakaoka HJ, Laurent D, Okimoto RA, Sei Y, Horvai AE, Bivona TG, Ten Hoeve J, Graeber TG, Nakamura K, Nakamura JL
• Deficiency of the splicing factor RBM10 limits EGFR inhibitor response in EGFR-mutant lung cancer.
  The Journal of clinical investigation 2022 Nanjo S, Wu W, Karachaliou N, Blakely CM, Suzuki J, Chou YT, Ali SM, Kerr DL, Olivas VR, Shue J, Rotow J, Mayekar MK, Haderk F, Chatterjee N, Urisman A, Yeo JC, Skanderup AJ, Tan AC, Tam WL, Arrieta O…
• Clinical genomic profiling in the management of patients with soft tissue and bone sarcoma.
  Nature communications 2022 Gounder MM, Agaram NP, Trabucco SE, Robinson V, Ferraro RA, Millis SZ, Krishnan A, Lee J, Attia S, Abida W, Drilon A, Chi P, Angelo SP, Dickson MA, Keohan ML, Kelly CM, Agulnik M, Chawla SP, Choy E, …
• WEE1 kinase is a therapeutic vulnerability in CIC-DUX4 undifferentiated sarcoma.
  JCI insight 2022 Ponce RKM, Thomas NJ, Bui NQ, Kondo T, Okimoto RA
• Tumor morphology and location associate with immune cell composition in pleomorphic sarcoma.
  Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII 2021 Wustrack RL, Shao E, Sheridan J, Zimel M, Cho SJ, Horvai AE, Luong D, Kwek SS, Fong L, Okimoto RA
• Single-cell lineages reveal the rates, routes, and drivers of metastasis in cancer xenografts.
  Science (New York, N.Y.) 2021 Quinn JJ, Jones MG, Okimoto RA, Nanjo S, Chan MM, Yosef N, Bivona TG, Weissman JS
• Functional screening identifies aryl hydrocarbon receptor as suppressor of lung cancer metastasis.
  Oncogenesis 2020 Nothdurft S, Thumser-Henner C, Breitenbücher F, Okimoto RA, Dorsch M, Opitz CA, Sadik A, Esser C, Hölzel M, Asthana S, Forster J, Beisser D, Kalmbach S, Grüner BM, Bivona TG, Schramm A, Schuler M
• Capicua in Human Cancer.
  Trends in cancer 2020 Kim JW, Ponce RK, Okimoto RA
• Negative MAPK-ERK regulation sustains CIC-DUX4 oncoprotein expression in undifferentiated sarcoma.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2020 Lin YK, Wu W, Ponce RK, Kim JW, Okimoto RA
• CIC-DUX4 oncoprotein drives sarcoma metastasis and tumorigenesis via distinct regulatory programs.
  The Journal of clinical investigation 2019 Okimoto RA, Wu W, Nanjo S, Olivas V, Lin YK, Ponce RK, Oyama R, Kondo T, Bivona TG
• Nuclear TARBP2 Drives Oncogenic Dysregulation of RNA Splicing and Decay.
  Molecular cell 2019 Fish L, Navickas A, Culbertson B, Xu Y, Nguyen HCB, Zhang S, Hochman M, Okimoto R, Dill BD, Molina H, Najafabadi HS, Alarcón C, Ruggero D, Goodarzi H
• Metastasis: From head to tail.
  Cell cycle (Georgetown, Tex.) 2017 Okimoto RA, Bivona TG
• Inactivation of Capicua drives cancer metastasis.
  Nature genetics 2016 Okimoto RA, Breitenbuecher F, Olivas VR, Wu W, Gini B, Hofree M, Asthana S, Hrustanovic G, Flanagan J, Tulpule A, Blakely CM, Haringsma HJ, Simmons AD, Gowen K, Suh J, Miller VA, Ali S, Schuler M, …
• Preclinical efficacy of a RAF inhibitor that evades paradoxical MAPK pathway activation in protein kinase BRAF-mutant lung cancer.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2016 Okimoto RA, Lin L, Olivas V, Chan E, Markegard E, Rymar A, Neel D, Chen X, Hemmati G, Bollag G, Bivona TG
• An improved CTC isolation scheme for pairing with downstream genomics: Demonstrating clinical utility in metastatic prostate, lung and pancreatic cancer.
  Cancer letters 2016 Premasekharan G, Gilbert E, Okimoto RA, Hamirani A, Lindquist KJ, Ngo VT, Roy R, Hough J, Edwards M, Paz R, Foye A, Sood R, Copren KA, Gubens M, Small EJ, Bivona TG, Collisson EA, Friedlander TW, …
• Tracking Down Response and Resistance to TRK Inhibitors.
  Cancer discovery 2016 Okimoto RA, Bivona TG
• RAS-MAPK dependence underlies a rational polytherapy strategy in EML4-ALK-positive lung cancer.
  Nature medicine 2015 Hrustanovic G, Olivas V, Pazarentzos E, Tulpule A, Asthana S, Blakely CM, Okimoto RA, Lin L, Neel DS, Sabnis A, Flanagan J, Chan E, Varella-Garcia M, Aisner DL, Vaishnavi A, Ou SH, Collisson EA, …
• AXL receptor tyrosine kinase as a therapeutic target in NSCLC.
  Lung Cancer (Auckland, N.Z.) 2015 Okimoto RA, Bivona TG
• 77-year-old woman with a dural-based mass. Marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (MZBCL).
  Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) 2015 Okimoto RA, Perry A, Rubenstein JL
• Recent advances in personalized lung cancer medicine.
  Personalized medicine 2014 Okimoto RA, Bivona TG
• Navigating the road toward optimal initial therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia.
  Current opinion in hematology 2011 Okimoto RA, Van Etten RA
• Mutations in the neutral sphingomyelinase gene SMPD3 implicate the ceramide pathway in human leukemias.
  Blood 2008 Kim WJ, Okimoto RA, Purton LE, Goodwin M, Haserlat SM, Dayyani F, Sweetser DA, McClatchey AI, Bernard OA, Look AT, Bell DW, Scadden DT, Haber DA
• Regulation of expression of BIK proapoptotic protein in human breast cancer cells: p53-dependent induction of BIK mRNA by fulvestrant and proteasomal degradation of BIK protein.
  Cancer research 2006 Hur J, Bell DW, Dean KL, Coser KR, Hilario PC, Okimoto RA, Tobey EM, Smith SL, Isselbacher KJ, Shioda T
• Epidermal growth factor receptor kinase domain mutations in esophageal and pancreatic adenocarcinomas.
  Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research 2006 Kwak EL, Jankowski J, Thayer SP, Lauwers GY, Brannigan BW, Harris PL, Okimoto RA, Haserlat SM, Driscoll DR, Ferry D, Muir B, Settleman J, Fuchs CS, Kulke MH, Ryan DP, Clark JW, Sgroi DC, Haber DA, …
• Frequent met oncogene amplification in a Brca1/Trp53 mouse model of mammary tumorigenesis.
  Cancer research 2006 Smolen GA, Muir B, Mohapatra G, Barmettler A, Kim WJ, Rivera MN, Haserlat SM, Okimoto RA, Kwak E, Dahiya S, Garber JE, Bell DW, Sgroi DC, Chin L, Deng CX, Haber DA
• Amplification of MET may identify a subset of cancers with extreme sensitivity to the selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor PHA-665752.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2006 Smolen GA, Sordella R, Muir B, Mohapatra G, Barmettler A, Archibald H, Kim WJ, Okimoto RA, Bell DW, Sgroi DC, Christensen JG, Settleman J, Haber DA
• American founder mutation for Lynch syndrome. Prevalence estimates and implications.
  Cancer 2006 Lynch HT, de la Chapelle A, Hampel H, Wagner A, Fodde R, Lynch JF, Okimoto R, Clark MB, Coronel S, Trowonou A, Fu YX, Haynatzki GR, Gong G
• Response of some head and neck cancers to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors may be linked to mutation of ERBB2 rather than EGFR.
  Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research 2005 Cohen EE, Lingen MW, Martin LE, Harris PL, Brannigan BW, Haserlat SM, Okimoto RA, Sgroi DC, Dahiya S, Muir B, Clark JR, Rocco JW, Vokes EE, Haber DA, Bell DW
• Inherited susceptibility to lung cancer may be associated with the T790M drug resistance mutation in EGFR.
  Nature genetics 2005 Bell DW, Gore I, Okimoto RA, Godin-Heymann N, Sordella R, Mulloy R, Sharma SV, Brannigan BW, Mohapatra G, Settleman J, Haber DA
• Epidermal growth factor receptor mutations and gene amplification in non-small-cell lung cancer: molecular analysis of the IDEAL/INTACT gefitinib trials.
  Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2005 Bell DW, Lynch TJ, Haserlat SM, Harris PL, Okimoto RA, Brannigan BW, Sgroi DC, Muir B, Riemenschneider MJ, Iacona RB, Krebs AD, Johnson DH, Giaccone G, Herbst RS, Manegold C, Fukuoka M, Kris MG, …
• Irreversible inhibitors of the EGF receptor may circumvent acquired resistance to gefitinib.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2005 Kwak EL, Sordella R, Bell DW, Godin-Heymann N, Okimoto RA, Brannigan BW, Harris PL, Driscoll DR, Fidias P, Lynch TJ, Rabindran SK, McGinnis JP, Wissner A, Sharma SV, Isselbacher KJ, Settleman J, Haber…
• Activating mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor underlying responsiveness of non-small-cell lung cancer to gefitinib.
  The New England journal of medicine 2004 Lynch TJ, Bell DW, Sordella R, Gurubhagavatula S, Okimoto RA, Brannigan BW, Harris PL, Haserlat SM, Supko JG, Haluska FG, Louis DN, Christiani DC, Settleman J, Haber DA
• A founder mutation of the MSH2 gene and hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer in the United States.
  JAMA 2004 Lynch HT, Coronel SM, Okimoto R, Hampel H, Sweet K, Lynch JF, Barrows A, Wijnen J, van der Klift H, Franken P, Wagner A, Fodde R, de la Chapelle A
• Molecular analysis of hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer in the United States: high mutation detection rate among clinically selected families and characterization of an American founder genomic deletion of the MSH2 gene.
  American journal of human genetics 2003 Wagner A, Barrows A, Wijnen JT, van der Klift H, Franken PF, Verkuijlen P, Nakagawa H, Geugien M, Jaghmohan-Changur S, Breukel C, Meijers-Heijboer H, Morreau H, van Puijenbroek M, Burn J, Coronel S, …
• Mytilus mitochondrial DNA contains a functional gene for a tRNASer(UCN) with a dihydrouridine arm-replacement loop and a pseudo-tRNASer(UCN) gene.
  Genetics 1999 Beagley CT, Okimoto R, Wolstenholme DR