Arun Wiita, MD, PhD

Associate Professor, Laboratory Medicine
+1 415 514-6238

My research laboratory spans a number of areas within genomics, proteomics, and hematologic malignancies. One major area of research involves the use of targeted, quantitative proteomics to answer important biological questions in myeloma and B-cell leukemia. We are particularly interested in questions related to translational regulation after cancer therapy as well as how clinically-relevant genomic alterations result in phenotypic changes at the level of the proteome. Furthermore, my group includes the UCSF Stephen and Nancy Grand Multiple Myeloma Translational Initiative Laboratory. In this role, we collaborate with industry and academic partners to advance preclinical evaluation of novel myeloma therapeutics using a suite of in vitro and in vivo approaches.

In my clinical work, I am Assistant Director of the UCSF Clinical Cytogenetics laboratory. In this role, I interpret molecular genetic testing for the prenatal and postnatal diagnosis of microdeletion and microduplication syndromes. In this area we have translational interests in emerging technologies for determination of DNA copy number variation, integration of single-nucleotide variants and CNV interpretation, and cell-free DNA for prenatal testing. In my research laboratory we are also using quantitative proteomics to evaluate the role of protein homeostasis in determining the phenotypic effects of CNVs, as well using CRISPR/Cas9 genome engineering to generate new functional models of syndromic CNVs.

Honors and Awards
Janet Rowley Memorial Medical Research Award, Gabrielle's Angels Foundation for Cancer Research, 2017
Clinical Scientist Development Award, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, 2016
New Innovator Award (DP2), NIH Director's Common Fund, 2016
Dale Frey Breakthrough Award, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, 2015
Individual Research Award, UCSF-American Cancer Society, 2015
K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Award, NIH-NCI, 2014-2019
Post-doctoral Fellowship, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, 2012-2014
Dean's Award for Excellence in Research (top PhD thesis prize), Columbia University, 2008

Publications

Tumor-wide RNA splicing aberrations and their potential as therapeutic neoantigen targets.

Journal of Clinical Oncology

Darwin Kwok, Nicholas Stevers, Inaki Etxeberria, Takahide Nejo, Maggie Colton Cove, Lee Chen, Jangham Jung, Kaori Okada, Senthilnath Lakshmanachetty, Marco Gallus, Abhilash Barpanda, Chibo Hong, Aaron Diaz, Shawn L. Hervey-Jumper, Susan Marina Chang, Joanna J. Phillips, Arun Wiita, Christopher Austin Klebanoff, Joseph Costello, Hideho Okada

Targeting high-risk multiple myeloma genotypes with optimized anti-CD70 CAR-T cells.

Blood

Kasap C, Izgutdina A, Patiño-Escobar B, Kang AS, Chilakapati N, Akagi N, Manoj AM, Johnson H, Rashid T, Werner J, Barpanda A, Geng H, Lin YT, Rampersaud S, Gil-Alós D, Sobh A, Dupéré-Richer D, Aleman A, Wicaksono G, Kelii KMK, Dalal R, Ramos E, Vijayanarayanan A, Lakhani K, Salangsang F, Phojanakong P, Camara Serrano JA, Zakraoui O, Tariq I, Chari A, Chung A, Kumar AD, Martin T, Wolf JL, Wong S, Steri V, Shanmugam M, Boise LH, Kortemme T, Parekh S, Stieglitz E, Licht JD, Karlon W, Barwick BG, Wiita A

Abstract 4250: Tumor-wide RNA splicing aberrations generate immunogenic public neoantigens across cancers.

Cancer research

Darwin Kwok, Nicholas Stevers, Inaki Etxeberria, Takahide Nejo, Maggie Colton Cove, Lee Chen, Jangham Jung, Kaori Okada, Senthilnath Lakshmanachetty, Marco Gallus, Abhilash Barpanda, Chibo Hong, Gary Chan, Jerry Liu, Samuel Wu, Emilio Ramos, Akane Yamamichi, Payal Watchmaker, Hirokazu Ogino, Atsuro Saijo, Aidan Du, Nadia Grishanina, James Woo, Aaron Diaz, Susan Chang, Joanna Phillips, Arun Wiita, Christopher Klebanoff, Joseph Costello, Hideho Okada

Abstract 4820: Anti-CD72 nanobody-based CAR-T affinity maturation leads to improved in vitro efficacy versus low antigen density lymphoma models, but limited benefit in vivo.

Cancer research

Adila Izgutdina, Tasfia Rashid, Bonell Patino-Escobar, Sujata Walunj, Huimin Geng, Amrik Kang, Szu-Ying Chen, Haley Johnson, William C. Temple, Matthew A. Nix, Akul Naik, Emilio Ramos, Hiroyuki Takamatsu, Daniel Gil-Alós, Joaquin Martinez-Lopez, Antonio Valeri, Constance Yuan, Hao-Wei Wang, Sarah Aminov, Srabani Sahu, Christopher Carpenter, Fernando Salangsang, Paul Phojanakong, Juan Antonio Camara Serrano, Isa Tariq, Veronica Steri, Samir Parekh, Amit Verma, Nirali N. Shah, Arun P. Wiita

Tumour-wide RNA splicing aberrations generate actionable public neoantigens.

Nature

Kwok DW, Stevers NO, Etxeberria I, Nejo T, Colton Cove M, Chen LH, Jung J, Okada K, Lakshmanachetty S, Gallus M, Barpanda A, Hong C, Chan GKL, Liu J, Wu SH, Ramos E, Yamamichi A, Watchmaker PB, Ogino H, Saijo A, Du A, Grishanina NR, Woo J, Diaz A, Hervey-Jumper SL, Chang SM, Phillips JJ, Wiita AP, Klebanoff CA, Costello JF, Okada H

IMMU-55. TUMOR-WIDE RNA SPLICING ABERRATIONS GENERATE IMMUNOGENIC PUBLIC NEOANTIGENS IN GLIOBLASTOMAS AND OTHER CANCER TYPES.

Neuro-Oncology

Darwin Kwok, Nicholas Stevers, Inaki Etxeberria, Takahide Nejo, Maggie Colton Cove, Lee Chen, Jangham Jung, Kaori Okada, Senthilnath Lakshmanachetty, Marco Gallus, Abhilash Barpanda, Chibo Hong, Gary Chan, Jerry Liu, Samuel Wu, Emilio Ramos, Akane Yamamichi, Payal Watchmaker, Hirokazu Ogino, Atsuro Saijo, Aidan Du, Nadia Grishanina, James Woo, Aaron Diaz, Susan Chang, Joanna Phillips, Arun Wiita, Christopher Klebanoff, Joseph Costello, Hideho Okada

Delayed Neurotoxicity after CAR-T in Multiple Myeloma: Results from a Global IMWG Registry.

Blood

Anupama Deepa Kumar, Suheil Albert Atallah-Yunes, Sridevi Rajeeve, Ahmed Abdelhak, Hamza Hashmi, Andre Corraes, Myo Htut, Paula Rodriguez-Otero, Ricardo D. Parrondo, Saurabh Chhabra, K. Martin Kortüm, Lukas Scheller, Sofie-Katrin Kadel, Hermann Einsele, Niels W.C.J. van de Donk, Jana Mihalyova, Roman Hajek, Joaquin Martinez Lopez, Noa Biran, Carlos Fernández de Larrea, Ingerid Weum Abrahamsen, Szu-Ying Chen, Melissa Ng, Bonell Patino Escobar, Simon J Harrison, Caitlin Costello, Isadora Matos, Edvan Crusoe, Luciano J. Costa, Arun P Wiita, Sasha Gupta, Thomas Martin, Yi Lin, Ajai Chari

Single-Cell Analysis Reveals Depletion of Antigen-Presenting Cell (APC) and IFN-Stimulated CD4 T Cell Populations in High-Risk Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patients.

Blood

Junia Vieira, Alison S Park, David Melnekoff, Tarek H. Mouhieddine, Alessia D'anna, Adolfo Aleman, Meghana Ram, Katerina Kappes, Mark Hamilton, George Mulligan, Arun P Wiita, Ajai Chari, Thomas Martin, Michael Slade, Li Ding, Ravi Vij, Brian Brown, Benjamin Tycko, Rena Feinman, David S. Siegel, Sundar Jagannath, Samir Parekh, Alessandro Lagana

Abstract 3907: Novel public and tumor-wide neoantigens arising from clonal aberrant splicing events drive tumor-specific T-cell responses across diverse cancer types.

Cancer research

Darwin Kwok, Nicholas O. Stevers, Takahide Nejo, Lee H. Chen, Inaki Etxeberria, Jangham Jung, Kaori Okada, Maggie Colton Cove, Senthilnath Lakshmanachetty, Marco Gallus, Abhilash Barpanda, Chibo Hong, Gary KL Chan, Samuel H. Wu, Emilio Ramos, Akane Yamamichi, Jerry YZ Liu, Payal Watchmaker, Hirokazu Ogino, Atsuro Saijo, Aidan Du, Nadia Grishanina, James Woo, Aaron Diaz, Susan M. Chang, Joanna J. Phillips, Arun P. Wiita, Christopher A. Klebanoff, Joseph F. Costello, Hideho Okada

Targeting high-risk multiple myeloma genotypes with optimized anti-CD70 CAR-T cells.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology

Kasap C, Izgutdina A, Patiño-Escobar B, Kang A, Chilakapati N, Akagi N, Johnson H, Rashid T, Werner J, Barpanda A, Geng H, Lin YT, Rampersaud S, Gil-Alós D, Sobh A, Dupéré-Richer D, Wicaksono G, Kawehi Kelii KM, Dalal R, Ramos E, Vijayanarayanan A, Salangsang F, Phojanakong P, Serrano JAC, Zakraoui O, Tariq I, Steri V, Shanmugam M, Boise LH, Kortemme T, Stieglitz E, Licht JD, Karlon WJ, Barwick BG, Wiita AP

Discovery and Development of CD70 As a Cellular Therapy Target in High Risk Multiple Myeloma.

Blood

Corynn Kasap, Adila Izgutdina, Bonell Patino Escobar, Yu-Hsiu Tony Lin, Huimin Geng, Gianina Wicaksono, Daphne Dupere-Richer, Emilio Ramos, Abhilash Barpanda, Anjanaa Vijayanarayanan, Fernando Salangsang, Paul Phojanakong, Juan Antonio Camara Serrano, Veronica Steri, William Karlon, Mala Shanmugam, Lawrence H. Boise, Benjamin G. Barwick, Jonathan D. Licht, Arun P Wiita

Structural surfaceomics reveals an AML-specific conformation of integrin β2 as a CAR T cellular therapy target.

Nature cancer

Mandal K, Wicaksono G, Yu C, Adams JJ, Hoopmann MR, Temple WC, Izgutdina A, Escobar BP, Gorelik M, Ihling CH, Nix MA, Naik A, Xie WH, Hübner J, Rollins LA, Reid SM, Ramos E, Kasap C, Steri V, Serrano JAC, Salangsang F, Phojanakong P, McMillan M, Gavallos V, Leavitt AD, Logan AC, Rooney CM, Eyquem J, Sinz A, Huang BJ, Stieglitz E, Smith CC, Moritz RL, Sidhu SS, Huang L, Wiita AP

Tumor-wide RNA splicing aberrations generate immunogenic public neoantigens.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology

Kwok DW, Stevers NO, Nejo T, Chen LH, Etxeberria I, Jung J, Okada K, Cove MC, Lakshmanachetty S, Gallus M, Barpanda A, Hong C, Chan GKL, Wu SH, Ramos E, Yamamichi A, Liu J, Watchmaker P, Ogino H, Saijo A, Du A, Grishanina N, Woo J, Diaz A, Chang SM, Phillips JJ, Wiita AP, Klebanoff CA, Costello JF, Okada H

Structural Surfaceomics Reveals an AML-Specific Conformation of Integrin-ß2 As an Immunotherapeutic Target.

Blood

Kamal Mandal, Gianina Wicaksono, Clinton Yu, Jarrett J Adams, Michael R Hoopmann, William C Temple, Bonell Patino Escobar, Maryna Gorelik, Christian Ihling, Matthew A Nix, Akul Naik, Emilio Ramos, Corynn Kasap, Veronica Steri, Juan Antonio Camara Serrano, Fernando Salangsang, Paul Phojanakong, Melanie McMillan, Victor Gavallos, Andrew D Leavitt, Andrea Sinz, Benjamin J. Huang, Elliot Stieglitz, Catherine Smith, Robert L Moritz, Sachdeva S Sidhu, Lan Huang, Arun P Wiita

IFITM3 functions as a PIP3 scaffold to amplify PI3K signalling in B cells.

Nature

Lee J, Robinson ME, Ma N, Artadji D, Ahmed MA, Xiao G, Sadras T, Deb G, Winchester J, Cosgun KN, Geng H, Chan LN, Kume K, Miettinen TP, Zhang Y, Nix MA, Klemm L, Chen CW, Chen J, Khairnar V, Wiita AP, Thomas-Tikhonenko A, Farzan M, Jung JU, Weinstock DM, Manalis SR, Diamond MS, Vaidehi N, Müschen M

Engineered ACE2 receptor traps potently neutralize SARS-CoV-2.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Glasgow A, Glasgow J, Limonta D, Solomon P, Lui I, Zhang Y, Nix MA, Rettko NJ, Zha S, Yamin R, Kao K, Rosenberg OS, Ravetch JV, Wiita AP, Leung KK, Lim SA, Zhou XX, Hobman TC, Kortemme T, Wells JA

Signalling input from divergent pathways subverts B cell transformation.

Nature

Chan LN, Murakami MA, Robinson ME, Caeser R, Sadras T, Lee J, Cosgun KN, Kume K, Khairnar V, Xiao G, Ahmed MA, Aghania E, Deb G, Hurtz C, Shojaee S, Hong C, Pölönen P, Nix MA, Chen Z, Chen CW, Chen J, Vogt A, Heinäniemi M, Lohi O, Wiita AP, Izraeli S, Geng H, Weinstock DM, Müschen M

Targeted peptide measurements in biology and medicine: best practices for mass spectrometry-based assay development using a fit-for-purpose approach.

Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCP

Carr SA, Abbatiello SE, Ackermann BL, Borchers C, Domon B, Deutsch EW, Grant RP, Hoofnagle AN, Hüttenhain R, Koomen JM, Liebler DC, Liu T, MacLean B, Mani DR, Mansfield E, Neubert H, Paulovich AG, Reiter L, Vitek O, Aebersold R, Anderson L, Bethem R, Blonder J, Boja E, Botelho J, Boyne M, Bradshaw RA, Burlingame AL, Chan D, Keshishian H, Kuhn E, Kinsinger C, Lee JS, Lee SW, Moritz R, Oses-Prieto J, Rifai N, Ritchie J, Rodriguez H, Srinivas PR, Townsend RR, Van Eyk J, Whiteley G, Wiita A, Weintraub S