Susana Ortiz-Urda, MD, PhD
Associate Professor
Dermatology
School of Medicine

Ortiz-Urda’s lab works with human models of epithelial neoplasia and melanoma. She studies cancer signaling at a genetic sequencing level to identify novel transcripts, their functions and the factors that promote resistance to drugs or cancer progression. She hopes her findings may point to key biomarkers or new targets for treating melanoma.

Ortiz-Urda earned her medical degree and doctorate at the University of Vienna. She completed a residency in dermatology and a postdoctoral fellowship in epithelial biology at Stanford University, followed by a cutaneous oncology fellowship at UCSF. She earned her master of business administration degree at New York University.

Ortiz-Urda is a member of the American Academy of Dermatology, Austrian Society of Dermatology and Venereology, and Dermatology Foundation. She has received several honors, including the Kardinal-Innitzer Award for Outstanding Science in Dermatology and the Unilever Award from the Austrian Society of Dermatology and Venereology.

Learn more about Ortiz-Urda's research: http://cancer.ucsf.edu/research/ortiz-lab.

• Dual MEK/AKT inhibition with trametinib and GSK2141795 does not yield clinical benefit in metastatic NRAS-mutant and wild-type melanoma.
  Pigment cell & melanoma research 2017 Algazi AP, Esteve-Puig R, Nosrati A, Hinds B, Hobbs-Muthukumar A, Nandoskar P, Ortiz-Urda S, Chapman PB, Daud A
• New insights in melanoma biomarkers: long-noncoding RNAs.
  Melanoma management 2016 Moreno-Traspas R, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Ortiz-Urda S
• Pharmacological inhibitors of c-KIT block mutant c-KIT mediated migration of melanocytes and melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo.
  Oncotarget 2016 Posch C, Moslehi H, Sanlorenzo M, Green G, Vujic I, Panzer-Grümayer R, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S
• Phosphoproteomic Analyses of NRAS(G12) and NRAS(Q61) Mutant Melanocytes Reveal Increased CK2α Kinase Levels in NRAS(Q61) Mutant Cells.
  The Journal of investigative dermatology 2016 Posch C, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Oses-Prieto JA, Cholewa BD, Kim ST, Ma J, Lai K, Zekhtser M, Esteve-Puig R, Green G, Chand S, Burlingame AL, Panzer-Grümayer R, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S
• Oncogenic KIT mutations in different exons lead to specific changes in melanocyte phospho-proteome.
  Journal of proteomics 2016 Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Posch C, Ma J, Lin K, Lai K, Lee D, Vujic M, Oses-Prieto JA, Chand S, Rodriguez-Peralto JL, Burlingame A, Ortiz-Urda S
• Searching for the Chokehold of NRAS Mutant Melanoma.
  The Journal of investigative dermatology 2016 Posch C, Vujic I, Monshi B, Sanlorenzo M, Weihsengruber F, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S
• Acyl protein thioesterase 1 and 2 (APT-1, APT-2) inhibitors palmostatin B, ML348 and ML349 have different effects on NRAS mutant melanoma cells.
  Oncotarget 2016 Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Esteve-Puig R, Vujic M, Kwong A, Tsumura A, Murphy R, Moy A, Posch C, Monshi B, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S
• The burden of malignant melanoma--lessons to be learned from Austria.
  European journal of cancer (Oxford, England : 1990) 2016 Monshi B, Vujic M, Kivaranovic D, Sesti A, Oberaigner W, Vujic I, Ortiz-Urda S, Posch C, Feichtinger H, Hackl M, Rappersberger K
• Time-Dependent Measurement of Adverse Events-Reply.
  JAMA dermatology 2015 Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Ortiz-Urda S
• Pembrolizumab Cutaneous Adverse Events and Their Association With Disease Progression.
  JAMA dermatology 2015 Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Daud A, Algazi A, Gubens M, Luna SA, Lin K, Quaglino P, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S
• Melanoma risk perception and prevention behavior among African-Americans: the minority melanoma paradox.
  Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology 2015 Goldenberg A, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Ortiz-Urda S
• Combined Inhibition of MEK and Plk1 Has Synergistic Antitumor Activity in NRAS Mutant Melanoma.
  The Journal of investigative dermatology 2015 Posch C, Cholewa BD, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Ma J, Kim ST, Kleffel S, Schatton T, Rappersberger K, Gutteridge R, Ahmad N, Ortiz/Urda S
• Correction: Cost-Effectiveness Of Treatment Strategies for BRAF-Mutated Metastatic Melanoma.
  PloS one 2015 Curl P, Vujic I, van 't Veer LJ, Ortiz-Urda S, Kahn JG
• The risk of melanoma in pilots and cabin crew: UV measurements in flying airplanes.
  JAMA dermatology 2015 Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Posch C, Cleaver JE, Quaglino P, Ortiz-Urda S
• The combination of axitinib followed by paclitaxel/carboplatin yields extended survival in advanced BRAF wild-type melanoma: results of a clinical/correlative prospective phase II clinical trial.
  British journal of cancer 2015 Algazi AP, Cha E, Ortiz-Urda SM, McCalmont T, Bastian BC, Hwang J, Pampaloni MH, Behr S, Chong K, Cortez B, Quiroz A, Coakley F, Liu S, Daud AI
• Detection of GNAQ mutations and reduction of cell viability in uveal melanoma cells with functionalized gold nanoparticles.
  Biomedical microdevices 2015 Posch C, Latorre A, Crosby MB, Celli A, Latorre A, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Green GA, Weier J, Zekhtser M, Ma J, Monico G, Char DH, Jusufbegovic D, Rappersberger K, Somoza Á, Ortiz-Urda S
• Metformin and trametinib have synergistic effects on cell viability and tumor growth in NRAS mutant cancer.
  Oncotarget 2015 Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Posch C, Esteve-Puig R, Yen AJ, Kwong A, Tsumura A, Murphy R, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S
• The risk of melanoma in airline pilots and cabin crew: a meta-analysis.
  JAMA dermatology 2015 Sanlorenzo M, Wehner MR, Linos E, Kornak J, Kainz W, Posch C, Vujic I, Johnston K, Gho D, Monico G, McGrath JT, Osella-Abate S, Quaglino P, Cleaver JE, Ortiz-Urda S
• Comparative profile of cutaneous adverse events: BRAF/MEK inhibitor combination therapy versus BRAF monotherapy in melanoma.
  Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2014 Sanlorenzo M, Choudhry A, Vujic I, Posch C, Chong K, Johnston K, Meier M, Osella-Abate S, Quaglino P, Daud A, Algazi A, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S
• Mutant NRASQ61 shares signaling similarities across various cancer types--potential implications for future therapies.
  Oncotarget 2014 Vujic I, Posch C, Sanlorenzo M, Yen AJ, Tsumura A, Kwong A, Feichtenschlager V, Lai K, Arneson DV, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda SM
• Cost-effectiveness of treatment strategies for BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma.
  PloS one 2014 Curl P, Vujic I, van 't Veer LJ, Ortiz-Urda S, Kahn JG
• Merkel cell carcinoma: mitoses, expression of Ki-67 and bcl-2 correlate with disease progression.
  Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV 2014 Vujic I, Marker M, Posch C, Mühlehner D, Monshi B, Breier F, Steiner A, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K
• DNA and aptamer stabilized gold nanoparticles for targeted delivery of anticancer therapeutics.
  Nanoscale 2014 Latorre A, Posch C, Garcimartín Y, Celli A, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Ma J, Zekhtser M, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S, Somoza Á
• Single-point mutation detection in RNA extracts using gold nanoparticles modified with hydrophobic molecular beacon-like structures.
  Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) 2014 Latorre A, Posch C, Garcimartín Y, Ortiz-Urda S, Somoza Á
• Melanoma immunotherapy.
  Cancer biology & therapy 2014 Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Posch C, Dajee A, Yen A, Kim S, Ashworth M, Rosenblum MD, Algazi A, Osella-Abate S, Quaglino P, Daud A, Ortiz-Urda S
• Mycoplasma pneumoniae-associated mucositis--case report and systematic review of literature.
  Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV 2014 Vujic I, Shroff A, Grzelka M, Posch C, Monshi B, Sanlorenzo M, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K
• Low-dose inhalation of interleukin-2 bio-chemotherapy for the treatment of pulmonary metastases in melanoma patients.
  British journal of cancer 2014 Posch C, Weihsengruber F, Bartsch K, Feichtenschlager V, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Monshi B, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K
• NRAS mutant melanoma--undrugable?
  Oncotarget 2013 Posch C, Ortiz-Urda S
• Combined targeting of MEK and PI3K/mTOR effector pathways is necessary to effectively inhibit NRAS mutant melanoma in vitro and in vivo.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2013 Posch C, Moslehi H, Feeney L, Green GA, Ebaee A, Feichtenschlager V, Chong K, Peng L, Dimon MT, Phillips T, Daud AI, McCalmont TH, LeBoit PE, Ortiz-Urda S
• Cutting edge in medical management of cutaneous oncology.
  Seminars in cutaneous medicine and surgery 2012 Chong K, Daud A, Ortiz-Urda S, Arron ST, UCSF High Risk Skin Cancer Program
• Modeling inducible human tissue neoplasia identifies an extracellular matrix interaction network involved in cancer progression.
  Cancer cell 2009 Reuter JA, Ortiz-Urda S, Kretz M, Garcia J, Scholl FA, Pasmooij AM, Cassarino D, Chang HY, Khavari PA
• A laminin-collagen complex drives human epidermal carcinogenesis through phosphoinositol-3-kinase activation.
  Cancer research 2007 Waterman EA, Sakai N, Nguyen NT, Horst BA, Veitch DP, Dey CN, Ortiz-Urda S, Khavari PA, Marinkovich MP
• Type VII collagen is required for Ras-driven human epidermal tumorigenesis.
  Science (New York, N.Y.) 2005 Ortiz-Urda S, Garcia J, Green CL, Chen L, Lin Q, Veitch DP, Sakai LY, Lee H, Marinkovich MP, Khavari PA
• [Erythema induratum-nodular vasculitis].
  Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft = Journal of the German Society of Dermatology : JDDG 2004 Marker M, Ortiz-Urda S, Lilgenau N, Rappersberger K
• Carbamazepine-induced DRESS syndrome with recurrent fever and exanthema.
  International journal of dermatology 2004 Valencak J, Ortiz-Urda S, Heere-Ress E, Kunstfeld R, Base W
• The plant lectin wheat germ agglutinin inhibits the binding of pemphigus foliaceus autoantibodies to desmoglein 1 in a majority of patients and prevents pathomechanisms of pemphigus foliaceus in vitro and in vivo.
  Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 2003 Ortiz-Urda S, Elbe-Bürger A, Smolle J, Marquart Y, Chudnovsky Y, Ridky TW, Bernstein P, Wolff K, Rappersberger K
• Sustainable correction of junctional epidermolysis bullosa via transposon-mediated nonviral gene transfer.
  Gene therapy 2003 Ortiz-Urda S, Lin Q, Yant SR, Keene D, Kay MA, Khavari PA
• PhiC31 integrase-mediated nonviral genetic correction of junctional epidermolysis bullosa.
  Human gene therapy 2003 Ortiz-Urda S, Thyagarajan B, Keene DR, Lin Q, Calos MP, Khavari PA
• [New immunosuppressive agents for treating psoriasis].
  Der Hautarzt; Zeitschrift fur Dermatologie, Venerologie, und verwandte Gebiete 2003 Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K
• Injection of genetically engineered fibroblasts corrects regenerated human epidermolysis bullosa skin tissue.
  The Journal of clinical investigation 2003 Ortiz-Urda S, Lin Q, Green CL, Keene DR, Marinkovich MP, Khavari PA
• Stable nonviral genetic correction of inherited human skin disease.
  Nature medicine 2002 Ortiz-Urda S, Thyagarajan B, Keene DR, Lin Q, Fang M, Calos MP, Khavari PA
• Pathogenesis of the permeability barrier abnormality in epidermolytic hyperkeratosis.
  The Journal of investigative dermatology 2001 Schmuth M, Yosipovitch G, Williams ML, Weber F, Hintner H, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K, Crumrine D, Feingold KR, Elias PM
• A localized variant of paraneoplastic pemphigus: acantholysis associated with malignant melanoma.
  The British journal of dermatology 2001 Schaeppi H, Bauer JW, Hametner R, Metze D, Ortiz-Urda S, Salmhofer W, Rappersberger K, Hintner H