Donita Brady

Donita C. Brady
Alma mater	Radford University - Chemistry, B.S. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, PhD
Scientific career
Fields	Cancer Biology
Institutions	Duke University School of Medicine, Postdoctoral Researcher with Christopher Counter, 2008-2013 Duke University School of Medicine, Research Associate Senior with Christopher Counter, 2013-2015
Thesis	The transforming Rho family GTPase, Wrch-1, regulates epithelial cell morphogenesis through modulating cell junctions and actin cytoskeletal dynamics  (May 2008)
Doctoral advisor	Adrienne D. Cox
Website	https://www.med.upenn.edu/bradylab/

Donita C. Brady is a cancer biologist and the Presidential Associate Professor of Cancer Biology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} Her research examines how cells communicate through kinases and nutrient homeostasis, and in particular, the central role of copper and other metals in these interactions. ^{[2] [5]}

Early life and education

Brady grew up near Virginia Beach and was inspired to purse Chemistry as a result of her AP Chemistry teacher. ^[5] Brady studied chemistry at Radford University where she graduated magna cum laude. ^{[2] [6] [7]}

Career

Brady completed a PhD in pharmacology in 2008 at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in the laboratory of Adrienne D. Cox. ^{[1] [2] [8]} As a graduate student, Brady studied how cancer cells exploit normal cellular functions to alter their shape. ^[8] After graduation, Brady became a postdoctoral fellow (2008 - 2013) and senior research associate (2013 - 2015) in the laboratory of Christopher Counter at Duke University School of Medicine. ^{[1] [2]} In 2015, she joined the Department of Cancer Biology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania as an assistant professor. ^[8] In 2016, Brady was recognized as one of 22 Pew Scholars in Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts. ^[9] In 2019, Brady was awarded a grant through the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund to continue her work in PDAC (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma) research. ^[10]

Research interests

Brady research focuses on how cells communicate through kinases and nutrient homeostasis, ^[5] and the central role of metals such as copper in healthy cell physiology and cancer. ^{[1] [8] [11]} She discovered that kinases require copper for their ability to function. ^[5] Brady also showed that by inhibiting a protein called CTR1, which is responsible for importing copper into cells, tumor growth could be slowed in a mouse model. ^[1]

Awards and honors

Brady has received several honors and awards for her research, including:

• James Lewis Howe Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemistry - American Chemical Society (2003) ^[7]
• AACR Annual Meeting Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Award (2013 and 2014) ^[7]
• CRCHD CURE scholar (2014) ^[7]
• Pew Scholar in the biomedical sciences (2016) ^[12]
• JBC/Herb Tabor Young Investigator Award (2016) ^[13]
• William Guy Forbeck Research Foundation Scholar (2017) ^[6]
• Linda Pechenik Montague Investigator Award (2018)

Selected publications

• Brady, Donita C., et al. "Copper is required for oncogenic BRAF signalling and tumorigenesis." Nature 509.7501 (2014): 492–496.
• Brady, Donita C., et al. "Copper chelation inhibits BRAFV600E-driven melanomagenesis and counters resistance to BRAFV600E and MEK1/2 inhibitors." Cancer research 77.22 (2017): 6240–6252.
• Sadeghi, Rochelle Shirin. "Wnt5a Signaling Induced Phosphorylation Increases Acyl Protein Thioesterase Activity And Promotes Melanoma Metastatic Behavior." (2018).
• Kim, Ye-Jin, et al. "Copper chaperone ATOX1 is required for MAPK signaling and growth in BRAF mutation-positive melanoma." Metallomics 11.8 (2019): 1430–1440.
• Kim, Ye-Jin, et al. "Inhibition of BCL2 family members increases the efficacy of copper chelation in BRAFV600E-driven melanoma." Cancer Research 80.7 (2020): 1387–1400.
• Tsang, Tiffany, et al. "Copper is an essential regulator of the autophagic kinases ULK1/2 to drive lung adenocarcinoma." Nature Cell Biology 22.4 (2020): 412–424.

Personal life

At Radford University, Brady played Division I softball. ^[6]

External links

• Brady Lab at the Perelman School of Medicine
• Donita Brady faculty page at the University of Pennsylvania

References

1. "Copper: A 'Novel Vulnerability' in Fighting Cancer – PR News". www.pennmedicine.org. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
2. Stern, Corey. "Donita Brady named as Penn's seventh Presidential Professor". www.thedp.com. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
3. "Cancer Biologist Donita Brady Appointed Penn Presidential Professor – PR News". www.pennmedicine.org. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
4. Hinton, Antentor O. Jr. "100 inspiring black scientists in America". crosstalk.cell.com. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
5. "Humans of Banbury: Interview with Donita Brady". Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
6. "Scholar Award Winners". William Guy Forbeck Research Foundation. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
7. "CURE Scholar Spotlight - Dr. Brady - National Cancer Institute". www.cancer.gov. 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
8. "Speaker: Cell Symposia: Metabolites as Signalling Molecules". www.cell-symposia.com. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
9. "Donita C. Brady, Ph.D." pew.org. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
10. "Donita Brady, Ph.D. • V Foundation". V Foundation. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
11. Garber, Ken (2015-07-10). "Targeting copper to treat breast cancer" . Science. 349 (6244): 128–129. doi:10.1126/science.349.6244.128. ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   26160923.
12. "Exceptional Early-Career Scientists Named Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences". pew.org. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
13. "JBC/Herb Tabor Young Investigator Award Program, 2016". Archived from the original on 2017-07-16.