El-Deiry Recognized in 2005 by ISI as Highly Cited Over 20 Year Period in Molecular Biology and Genetics

Abstract

Wafik S. El-Deiry, M.D. Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Biology and Therapy, has been recognized by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and Thomson-ISI as a highly cited researcher in the field of Molecular Biology and Genetics. According to ISI, being acknowledged as a Highly Cited Researcher means that an individual is among the 250 most cited researchers for their published articles within a specific time-period. According to ISI (www.isihighlycited.com), citation is a direct measure of influence on the literature of a subject, and it is also a strong indicator of scientific contribution, since it is derived from pattern of interaction among millions of published articles. To identify Highly Cited Researchers, ISI identifies all articles indexed in the ISI Citation Databases in a 20 year, rolling time period and ranks authors by the total number of citations across all articles.

Dr. El-Deiry is a Professor of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology) at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Co-Program Leader of the Radiation Biology Program at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. He holds joint appointments in the Departments of Genetics and Pharmacology and an Adjunct appointment at the Wistar Institute. Dr. El-Deiry is also a member of several graduate groups at the University of Pennsylvania including Cell and Molecular Biology, Pharmacology and Biochemistry and he is a member of the new Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics. "I am very honored to be recognized by ISI in this way in such a competitive field, and to join a very distinguished group of colleagues" says El-Deiry. "I am thankful not only to my outstanding mentors and colleagues but to the outstanding students and post-doctoral scientists who have worked in my lab at the University of Pennsylvania over the last 12 years."

Dr. El-Deiry obtained his M.D./Ph.D. degrees from the University of Miami School of Medicine in 1987 and completed a medical residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and a clinical oncology fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center. While at Johns Hopkins working with Dr. Bert Vogelstein he defined the consensus sequence for human genome DNA binding by the p53 tumor suppressor protein and discovered p21(WAF1) as a mediator of p53-dependent cell cycle arrest. The discovery of p21 published in Cell in 1993 has also been highly cited with nearly 5000 citations by December of 2005.

Since coming to the University of Pennsylvania in 1994, Dr. El-Deiry has made significant contributions to the understanding of apoptosis signaling in response to radiation or chemotherapy. His work has focused on the tumor suppressor p53 and the contribution of its downstream target genes to cellular growth control. Analysis of this pathway led to identification of a number of genes directly regulated by p53 and which can inhibit tumor growth or induce cell death. Insights have emerged into the tissue specificity of the DNA damage response in vivo as well as into the mechanism by which wild-type p53 sensitizes cells to killing by anti-cancer drugs. Efforts have been directed at understanding regulation of p53 activity through control of its stability as well as its selectivity in target gene activation.

An area of focus in Dr. El-Deiry's lab that emerged from his work on p53 involves analysis of the extrinsic cell death pathway and its activation by the death ligand TRAIL. Dr. El-Deiry's group discovered TRAIL death receptor KILLER/DR5 and continues to unravel TRAIL signaling and its therapeutic potential. "Our work on the TRAIL pathway has involved analysis of mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance of cancer cells, exploration of intracellular signaling events involved in regulating caspase activation and studies of how cell death occurs with respect to mitochondrial involvement. The TRAIL pathway is used by the host immune system to fight cancer, and currently both TRAIL or agonist antibodies that activate signaling by its receptors, including KILLER/DR5, are in clinical trials to study their toxicity and efficacy in cancer patients. We are interested in understanding TRAIL pathway resistance mechanisms and in developing strategies to bypass resistance using combination therapy and novel small molecule therapeutics."

Dr. El-Deiry has developed preclinical models using live molecular imaging to study cancer biology and develop novel therapeutics. "We are interested in drug discovery and development to attack the problem of drug resistance in cancer. We became interested in live non-invasive molecular imaging about 4 years ago and have been building an infrastructure at the University of Pennsylvania for the purpose of developing novel therapies for cancer." Using the tools of molecular biology, genetics, pharmacology, non-invasive molecular in vivo optical imaging, animal models and high throughput screening Dr. El-Deiry's laboratory has been identifying novel therapeutics that have in vivo anti-tumor effects through targets in the cell death and growth arrest pathways. "Our goal is to develop novel therapeutics and combinations for clinical testing and development," Dr. El-Deiry says.

Dr. El-Deiry has published well over 200 manuscripts and reviews, and has edited text books on Tumor Suppressor Genes (2 volumes, Humana Press, 2003) and Death Receptors in Cancer Therapy (Humana Press, 2004). He has nearly 20,000 total citations and is frequently invited to speak at national and international meetings. He has served as a full-member of the NIH Pathology B and the Tumor Progression and Metastasis Study Sections. Dr. El-Deiry serves on journal Editorial Boards including those of Clinical Cancer Research, the Journal of Biological Chemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Cell Death & Differentiation, and as the Editor-in-Chief of Cancer Biology & Therapy. He is the Principal Investigator of several NIH grants including 2 active R01's, is a project leader in 2 P01's, and is the PI of a multi-institutional NIH NTROI grant using imaging to accelerate translational research on cancer. Dr. El-Deiry has been continuously funded by extramural funds since becoming a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. El-Deiry is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the Interurban Clinical Club (ICC), an honor society for physician-scientists started by Sir William Osler in 1905. Dr. El-Deiry has been an extremely active participant in AACR scientific programs including the annual program and special conferences and has served on the AACR Cell Death Committee, as Chair of the Cell Cycle Committee and is a member of the AACR Science Policy and Legislative Affairs Committee. He organizes the annual International conference on Tumor Progression and Therapeutic Resistance that attracted over 250 participants in 2004. He has received several awards including the 1998 Michael Brown Junior Faculty Award at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the 2004 Pioneer in Technology Award from the Sbarro Health Research Organization and the 2005 Elizabeth and John Cox Award for Molecular Advances in GI Diseases and Cancer from Georgetown University. Dr. El-Deiry was also fortunate to receive for nearly 10 years support until 2004 from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Despite his numerous activities which include clinical work in solid tumor oncology on the inpatient service for several weeks each year, Dr. El-Deiry is most focused on his laboratory and in pursuing the goal of improving therapy for cancer patients through basic and translational research. Dr. El-Deiry is committed to teaching and to advancing the careers of his trainees, many of whom hold faculty positions in the U.S. and abroad.