David Solomon, MD, PhD

Member, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Assistant Professor
Division of Neuropathology
Department of Pathology
+1 415 514-9761
Research Description: 

I am a cancer researcher at the University of California, San Francisco with a dedicated interest in the genetic alterations that drive cancer development. We have recently discovered frequent inactivating mutations of the cohesin complex gene STAG2 in glioblastoma, urothelial bladder cancer, Ewing sarcoma, and myeloid leukemia, which define molecular subgroups of these tumors with distinct clinical outcomes. The cohesin complex is responsible for sister chromatid cohesion following DNA replication and helps ensure faithful chromosome segregation during mitosis, but has also been implicated in additional cellular processes such as regulation of chromatin architecture and gene transcription. Using a newly generated conditional STAG2 knockout mouse and isogenic sets of STAG2 proficient and deficient human cell lines, we are currently working to determine the function of STAG2 during development and tumorigenesis and to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities in the many cancers harboring cohesin gene alterations. Other ongoing studies in the Solomon Lab include functional genomics and epigenomics evaluation of the many different brain tumor subtypes including glioblastoma, low-grade glioneuronal tumors, and meningioma.

Primary Thematic Area: 
Cancer Biology & Cell Signaling
Secondary Thematic Area: 
Human Genetics
Research Summary: 
Molecular mechanisms governing chromosomal instability and oncogenesis
Mentorship Development: 

5/25/21  Sharpening your Mentoring Skills (SyMS) 

Websites

Featured Publications: 

The genomic landscape of the Ewing Sarcoma family of tumors reveals recurrent STAG2 mutation.

PLoS genetics

Brohl AS, Solomon DA, Chang W, Wang J, Song Y, Sindiri S, Patidar R, Hurd L, Chen L, Shern JF, Liao H, Wen X, Gerard J, Kim JS, Lopez Guerrero JA, Machado I, Wai DH, Picci P, Triche T, Horvai AE, Miettinen M, Wei JS, Catchpool D, Llombart-Bosch A, Waldman T, Khan J

Frequent truncating mutations of STAG2 in bladder cancer.

Nature genetics

Solomon DA, Kim JS, Bondaruk J, Shariat SF, Wang ZF, Elkahloun AG, Ozawa T, Gerard J, Zhuang D, Zhang S, Navai N, Siefker-Radtke A, Phillips JJ, Robinson BD, Rubin MA, Volkmer B, Hautmann R, Küfer R, Hogendoorn PC, Netto G, Theodorescu D, James CD, Czerniak B, Miettinen M, Waldman T

Mutational inactivation of STAG2 causes aneuploidy in human cancer.

Science (New York, N.Y.)

Solomon DA, Kim T, Diaz-Martinez LA, Fair J, Elkahloun AG, Harris BT, Toretsky JA, Rosenberg SA, Shukla N, Ladanyi M, Samuels Y, James CD, Yu H, Kim JS, Waldman T

Pharmacologic inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 arrests the growth of glioblastoma multiforme intracranial xenografts.

Cancer research

Michaud K, Solomon DA, Oermann E, Kim JS, Zhong WZ, Prados MD, Ozawa T, James CD, Waldman T

Identification of p18 INK4c as a tumor suppressor gene in glioblastoma multiforme.

Cancer research

Solomon DA, Kim JS, Jenkins S, Ressom H, Huang M, Coppa N, Mabanta L, Bigner D, Yan H, Jean W, Waldman T