Dipankar Ray

Dipankar Ray, PhD

Associate Professor, Radiation Oncology
Adjunct Associate Professor, Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences
Director, Cancer Research Summer Internship Program

Med Sci I
Room 4326A
1301 Catherine St
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5637

dipray@umich.edu
734-763-7286
Grants ↓ Articles ↓ Web Sites ↓

Administrative Contact

Kurt Nelson

Biography

Dr. Ray has over 15 years of research experience in the field of cancer cell signaling with specific emphasis on understanding the role of post-translational protein modifications during oncogenesis. His research goal involves in identifying ubiquitination machineries involved in the maintenance of oncoproteins’ stabilities including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and mutant KRAS. He seeks to then further translate such findings to develop novel and efficacious anticancer strategies.

Dr. Ray also has a research interest in understanding the roles of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF-α) in radiation pneumonitis and using that to develop a strategy of lung radioprotection. In addition, he has several intra-institutional collaborative projects including one with Dr. David Beer in the Department of Surgery, whose laboratory is studying the novel role of RNF128/Grail, a RING-family ubiquitin ligase (E3) in mutant TP53 protein stability during Barrett’s progression. Another recent collaboration is with Dr. Nithya Ramnath from the Department of Internal Medicine. Her lab is exploring the roles of Vitamin D in metabolizing Cytochrome P450 (CYP24A1), nuclear division, and mitochondrial biogenesis which is critical for lung tumor growth and invasion.

Areas of Interest

  • Targeting ubiquitination machinery to destabilize oncoprotein’s stability.
  • Lung radioprotection by inhibition of TNF-α signaling.

Grants

  • R01-CA215596-01, (PI: Beer, Ray) 8/31/17-7/31/22, National Institutes of Health: RNF128 Regulation of TP53 in Barrett's Progression. Role: Principal Investigator.

Published Articles or Reviews

Recent publications

  1. Ray P, Nancarrow DJ, Ferrer-Torres D, Wang Z, San Martinho M, Hinton T, Wu JH, Wu A, Turgeon DK, Hammer MA, Dame MK, Lawrence TS, O'Brien PJ, Spence JR, Beer DG, Ray D. UBCH5 Family Members Differentially Impact Stabilization of Mutant p53 via RNF128 Iso1 During Barrett's Progression to Esophageal Adenocarcinoma. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Aug 17;13(1):129-149. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2021.08.003. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34416429; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8593620
  2. Lagisetty KH, McEwen DP, Nancarrow DJ, Schiebel JG, Ferrer-Torres D, Ray D, Frankel TL, Lin J, Chang AC, Kresty LA, Beer DG. Immune determinants of Barrett's progression to esophageal adenocarcinoma. JCI Insight. 2021 Jan 11;6(1). doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.143888. PubMed PMID: 33290281; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7821593.
  3. Cousins MM, Morris E, Maurino C, Devasia TP, Karnak D, Ray D, Parikh ND, Owen D, Ten Haken RK, Schipper MJ, Lawrence TS, Cuneo KC. TNFR1 and the TNFα axis as a targetable mediator of liver injury from stereotactic body radiation therapy. Transl Oncol. 2021 Jan;14(1):100950. doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2020.100950. Epub 2020 Dec 13. PubMed PMID: 33395747; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7744766.
  4. Martinho MS, Nancarrow DJ, Lawrence TS, Beer DG, Ray D. Chaperones and Ubiquitin Ligases Balance Mutant p53 Protein Stability in Esophageal and Other Digestive Cancers. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021;11(2):449-464. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2020.10.012. Epub 2020 Oct 31. Review. PubMed PMID: 33130332; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7788241.
  5. Ray P, Raghunathan K, Ahsan A, Allam US, Shukla S, Basrur V, Veatch S, Lawrence TS, Nyati MK, Ray D. Ubiquitin ligase SMURF2 enhances epidermal growth factor receptor stability and tyrosine-kinase inhibitor resistance. J Biol Chem. 2020 Sep 4;295(36):12661-12673. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA120.013519. Epub 2020 Jul 15. PubMed PMID: 32669362; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7476725.
  6. Huang W, Ray P, Ji W, Wang Z, Nancarrow D, Chen G, Galbán S, Lawrence TS, Beer DG, Rehemtulla A, Ramnath N, Ray D. The cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP24A1 increases proliferation of mutant KRAS-dependent lung adenocarcinoma independent of its catalytic activity. J Biol Chem. 2020 May 1;295(18):5906-5917. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA119.011869. Epub 2020 Mar 12. PubMed PMID: 32165494; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7196648.
  7. Nyati S, Gregg BS, Xu J, Young G, Kimmel L, Nyati MK, Ray D, Speers C, Rehemtulla A. TGFBR2 mediated phosphorylation of BUB1 at Ser-318 is required for transforming growth factor-β signaling. Neoplasia. 2020 Apr;22(4):163-178. doi: 10.1016/j.neo.2020.02.001. Epub 2020 Mar 3. PubMed PMID: 32143140; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7057164.
  8. Ray D, Ray P, Ferrer-Torres D, Wang Z, Nancarrow D, Yoon HW, San Martinho M, Hinton T, Owens S, Thomas D, Jiang H, Lawrence TS, Lin J, Lagisetty K, Chang AC, Beer DG. Isoforms of RNF128 Regulate the Stability of Mutant P53 in Barrett's Esophageal Cells. Gastroenterology. 2020 Feb;158(3):583-597.e1. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2019.10.040. Epub 2019 Nov 9. PubMed PMID: 31715145; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7429981.
  9. Ferrer-Torres D, Nancarrow DJ, Steinberg H, Wang Z, Kuick R, Weh KM, Mills RE, Ray D, Ray P, Lin J, Chang AC, Reddy RM, Orringer MB, Canto MI, Shaheen NJ, Kresty LA, Chak A, Wang TD, Rubenstein JH, Beer DG. Constitutively Higher Level of GSTT2 in Esophageal Tissues From African Americans Protects Cells Against DNA Damage. Gastroenterology. 2019 Apr;156(5):1404-1415. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2018.12.004. Epub 2018 Dec 19. PubMed PMID: 30578782; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6441633.
  10. Luo Y, McShan D, Ray D, Matuszak M, Jolly S, Lawrence T, Ming Kong F, Ten Haken R, El Naqa I. Development of a Fully Cross-Validated Bayesian Network Approach for Local Control Prediction in Lung Cancer. IEEE Trans Radiat Plasma Med Sci. 2019 Mar;3(2):232-241. doi: 10.1109/TRPMS.2018.2832609. Epub 2018 May 2. PubMed PMID: 30854500; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6404542.

Web Sites

Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences
Cancer Research Summer Internship Program
Dipankar Ray Laboratory