Leigh Ellis Ph.D.

Education

1997-2001 Bachelor of Science, Medical Science, University of Canberra
2003-2004 Bachelor of Science Honors Degree, Tumor Biology, Australian National University
2004-2008 Doctor of Philosophy, Medical Science, Australian National University
2008-2009 Post-doctoral Fellow, Dr. Roberto Pili, John Hopkins University
2009-2012 Post-doctoral Fellow, Dr. Roberto Pili, Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Biography

Work within my laboratory focuses on dissecting underlying genetic/epigenetic mechanisms of aggressive prostate cancer. For this work, we utilize in vitro genetically modified human and mouse cell lines and 3D organoid cultures as well as in vivo genetically engineered mouse models coupled with innovative technology including next generation sequencing approaches. Our overall goal is to identify novel genomic/epigenomic mechanisms which will lead to discovery of biomarkers and therapeutic targets for clinical testing, with a specific focus on tumor and immune cell lineage plasticity in prostate cancer.

Career Highlights: Positions, Projects, Deployements, Awards and Additional Publications

2020-2023: Associate Professor, Departments of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

2020-2023: Scientific Director, Urologic Oncology Program, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

2017-2021: Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School

2017-2021: Principal Investigator, Department of Oncologic Pathology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

2012-2017: Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Cancer Therapeutics, State University of New York at Buffalo

2012-2017: Principal Investigator, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Cancer Therapeutics, Roswell Park Cancer Institute

Representative Bibliography

Ku SY, Rosario S, Wang Y, Mu P, Seshadri M, Goodrich ZW, Goodrich MM, Labbé DP, Gomez EC, Wang J, Long HW, Xu B, Brown M, Loda M, Sawyers CL, Ellis L*, Goodrich DW* (2017) Rb1 and Trp53 cooperate to suppress prostate cancer lineage plasticity, metastasis, and antiandrogen resistance. *Co-corresponding author. Science (2017).

Mu P, Zhang Z, Benelli M, Karthaus WR, Hoover E, Chen CC, Wongvipat J, Ku SY, Gao D, Cao Z, Shah N, Adams EJ, Abida W, Watson PA, Prandi D, Huang CH, de Stanchina E, Lowe SW, Ellis L, Beltran H, Rubin MA, Goodrich DW, Demichelis F, Sawyers CL. SOX2 promotes lineage plasticity and antiandrogen resistance in TP53- and RB1-deficient prostate cancer. Science (2017).

Labbé DP, Sweeney CJ, Brown M, Galbo P, Rosario S, Wadosky KM, Ku SY, Sjöström M, Alshalalfa M, Erho N, Davicioni E, Karnes RJ, Schaeffer EM, Jenkins RB, Den RB, Ross AE, Bowden M, Huang Y, Gray KP, Feng FY, Spratt DE, Goodrich DW, Eng KH, Ellis L. TOP2A and EZH2 provide early detection of an aggressive prostate cancer subgroup. Clinical Cancer Research (2017).

Pomerantz M, Qui X, Zhu Y, Takeda D, Korthauer K, Baca S, Gusev A, Severson T, Ha G, Srinivas V, Seo J, Nguyen H, Pasaniuc B, Giambartolomei C, Abou Alaiwi S, Bell C, O’Connor E, Chabot M, Stillman D, Font-Tello A, Li L, Cejas P, Bergman A, van der Poel H, Gayther S, Lawrenson K, Abraao M, Reddy J, Corona I, Martovetsky G, Egan B, Ellis L, Corey E, Long H, Zwart W, Pan W, Gwo-Shu ML, Lis R, Zhang B, Garraway I, Choueiri T, Sander J, Freedman ML. Prostate Cancer Reactivates Developmental Epigenomic Programs during Metastatic Progression. Nature Genetics (2020).

Burkhart DL, Morel KL, Wadosky KM, Labbé DP, Galbo PM, Dalimov Z, Xu B, Loda M, Ellis L. Evidence that Ezh2 Dysregulation is an Actionable Therapeutic Target for Prevention of Prostate Cancer. Cancer Prevention Research (2020). Selected for December Issue 2020 Cover Art.

Morel KL, Sheahan AV, Burkhart DL, Baca SC, Boufaied N, Lui Y, Qiu X, Cañadas I, Roehle K, Heckler M, Calagua C, Ye H, Pantelidou C, Galbo P, Panja S, Mitrofanova A, Wilkinson S, Whitlock NC, Trostel SY, Hamid AA, Kibel AS, Barbie DA, Choudhury AD, Pomerantz MM, Long HW, Einstein DJ, Shapiro GI, Dougan SK, Sowalsky A, He HH, Freedman ML, Balk SP, Loda M, Labbé DP, Olson BM, Ellis L. EZH2 Inhibition Activates a dsRNA-STING-Interferon Axis that Potentiates Response to PD-1 Check-Point Blockade in Prostate Cancer. Nature Cancer (2021).

Morel KL, Hamid AA, Clohessy JG, Pandell N, Ellis L, Sweeney CJ. NF-kB Blockade with Oral Administration of Dimethylaminoparthenolide Delays Prostate Cancer Resistance to Androgen Receptor Inhibition and Inhibits AR Variants. Molecular Cancer Research (2021).

German B, Ellis L. Polycomb Directed Cell Fate Decisions in Development and Cancer. Epigenomes. (2022).

Morel KL, Hamid AA, Falcón BG, Singh JN, Burkhart DL, Kim M, Kim J, Plummer JT, You S, Sweeney CJ, Ellis L. Loss of tristetraprolin activates NF-κB induced phenotypic plasticity and primes transition to lethal prostate cancer. bioRxiv (2022). Preprint.

German B, Nanda JS, Fonseca MAdS, Burkhart DL, Sheahan A, Bergom H, Morel KL, Beltran H, Hwang JH, Lawrenson K, Ellis L. MYBL2 drives prostate cancer plasticity and identifies CDK2 as a therapeutic vulnerability in RB1-loss and neuroendocrine prostate cancer. BioRxiv (2024).