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Ueno Laboratory
Naoto T. Ueno, M.D., Ph.D.
Principal Investigator
Areas of Research
- Breast Cancer Research
- Targeted Therapy Research
- Tumor Suppression Research
- Drug Development Research
Research in the Ueno Laboratory focuses on the molecular mechanism of metastasis and tumorigenicity in breast cancers, including of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and metastatic breast cancer.
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Research Focus
The Ueno Laboratory aims to develop novel therapeutic approaches for breast cancer and translate preclinical findings to clinical trials. Projects in the laboratory are elucidating the roles and underlying mechanisms of several signaling pathways in promoting the progression of triple negative breast cancer and inflammatory breast cancer, including:
- epidermal growth factor receptor
- transforming growth factor beta (TGF- beta)
- c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)
- Axl receptor tyrosine kinase
The lab also focuses on determining the impact of the tumor microenvironment on the efficacy of targeted therapy and establishing novel therapeutic approaches by modulating the tumor microenvironment.
Lastly, through our Enhanced Drug Development Guidance and Evaluation (EDGE) Preclinical Solutions effort, we're committed to more quickly and efficiently translating basic research discoveries into therapeutic realities for patients.
About Naoto Ueno, M.D., Ph.D.
Ueno is a tenured professor of Medicine in the Breast Medical Oncology department at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He is the Executive Director of the Morgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program and Clinic and Section Chief of Translational Breast Cancer Research in the Breast Medical Oncology department. His current extramural funding is R01, R21, CPRIT and BCRF.
His disease focus is in the area of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC), triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and metastatic breast cancer. He has more than six ongoing investigator-initiated clinical trials for patients with IBC, TNBC, and bone metastasis.
He also directly supervises numerous medical students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, junior faculty, and clinical residents and fellows other than those at MD Anderson and The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Science. His mentees have successfully developed their career in both academia and industry. Outside of MD Anderson, Ueno has had extensive experience in directly supervising trainees in the Japanese Team Oncology Program and Clinical Skill Advancement Workshop. Currently, he is a mentor for 100 participants in the program. Ueno received The University of Texas System Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award for his mentoring contributions in 2014 and the Nylene Eckles Distinguished Professorship of Breast Cancer Research in 2012.
Meet the Team
Learn about the specialties and interests of the Ueno lab members.
Current Funding
Enhancing anti-EGFR therapeutic efficacy in IBC
April 2017 - March 2022
NCI/NIH, 1R01CA205043-01A1
Role: Principal Investigator
Major goals: To determine how the EGFR pathway promotes the progression of IBC and, through understanding the pathway, to identify novel therapeutic targets that could enhance the efficacy of EGFR targeted therapy.
Development of novel therapy by targeting the tumor microenvironment in IBC
10/01/17-09/31/28
BCRF-17-161
Role: Principal Investigator
Major goals: To determine the cancer microenvironment in IBC. We plan to identify novel therapeutic targets.
Development of an Ex-vivo Tumor model of IBC for drug testing
Jan. 2016 - Dec. 2018
AVON Foundation for Women, 02-2015-067
Role: Co-Investigator
Major goals: Develop an ex-vivo IBC tumors model from murine PDX IBC tumors and confirm its authenticity. Text complex ex-vivo IBC tumor models for drug response.
Comparative Effectiveness of Cancer Research: Use Data from Multiple Sources
May 2016 - April 2020
NIH/NCI, 1R01CA193878
Role: Co-Investigator
Major goals: To develop statistical methods and risk prediction models by combining cohort data containing detailed tumor biology variables with aggregate information with or without sampling error from population-based registry databases.
Development of anti-EGFR therapy and anti-AR therapy for primary triple-negative non-IBC refractory to anthracycline preoperative chemotherapy
Sept. 16 - Aug. 19
MD Anderson Moon Shots Program™, 710499-80-116858-21
Role: Co-Investigator
Life in the Ueno Lab
Ueno lab members analyzing microscopy images
Ueno lab members brainstorm at the whiteboard
Ueno lab members have fun while problem solving
Selected Publications
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Oncotarget, 2018
Dynamic changes in CD44v-positive cells after preoperative anti-HER2 therapy and its correlation with pathologic complete response in HER2-positive breast cancer.
Yamauchi, T., Espinosa Fernandez, J. R., Imamura, C. K., Yamauchi, H., Jinno, H., Takahashi, M., et al
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JAMA Oncology, 2017
Androgen Receptor Function and Androgen Receptor-Targeted Therapies in Breast Cancer: A Review.
Torres-Adorno, A. M., Lee, J., Kogawa, T., Ordentlich, P., Tripathy, D., Lim, B., & Ueno, N. T
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Clinical Cancer Research, 2017
Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Enhances the Efficacy of MEK Inhibitor through NOXA-Mediated MCL1 Degradation in Triple-Negative and Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Torres-Adorno, A. M., Lee, J., Kogawa, T., Ordentlich, P., Tripathy, D., Lim, B., & Ueno, N. T
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Oncogene, 2017
Revisiting the definition of estrogen receptor positivity in HER2-negative primary breast cancer.
T. Fujii, T. Kogawa, W. Dong, A. A. Sahin, S. Moulder, J. K. Litton, D. Tripathy, T. Iwamoto, K. K. Hunt, L. Pusztai et al
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Oncogene, 2017
c-Jun N-terminal kinase promotes stem cell phenotype in triple-negative breast cancer through upregulation of Notch1 via activation of c-Jun
Xie, X., Kaoud, T. S., Edupuganti, R., Zhang, T., Kogawa, T., Zhao, Y., et al
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The Lancet Oncology, 2017
Inflammatory breast cancer: a proposed conceptual shift in the UICC-AJCC TNM staging system
Fouad, T. M., Barrera, A. M. G., Reuben, J. M., Lucci, A., Woodward, W. A., Stauder, M. C., et al
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Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 2015
MEK Inhibitor Selumetinib (AZD6244; ARRY-142886) Prevents Lung Metastasis in a Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Xenograft Model
Bartholomeusz, C., Xie, X., Pitner, M. K., Kondo, K., Dadbin, A., Lee, J., et al
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JAMA Oncology, 2015
Effectiveness of an Adjuvant Chemotherapy Regimen for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis
Fujii, T., Le Du, F., Xiao, L., Kogawa, T., Barcenas, C. H., Alvarez, R. H., et al
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PLoS One, 2017
Androgen receptor expression on circulating tumor cells in metastatic breast cancer
Fujii, T., Reuben, J. M., Huo, L., Espinosa Fernandez, J. R., Gong, Y., Krupa, R., et al
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Nature, 2017
Somatic mutations reveal asymmetric cellular dynamics in the early human embryo
Ju, Y. S., Martincorena, I., Gerstung, M., Petljak, M., Alexandrov, L. B., Rahbari, R., et al
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Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 2015
Antitumor Activity of KW-2450 against Triple-Negative Breast Cancer by Inhibiting Aurora A and B Kinases
Kai, K., Kondo, K., Wang, X., Xie, X., Pitner, M. K., Reyes, M. E., et al
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Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2017
Identification of frequent somatic mutations in inflammatory breast cancer
Matsuda, N., Lim, B., Wang, Y., Krishnamurthy, S., Woodward, W., Alvarez, R. H., et al