Email

rutulkumar.patel@bcm.edu

Positions

Assistant Professor

Radiation Oncology
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, US

Addresses

Neurosensory/Jones Building (Office)

6501 Fannin St.
Office - NA506
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 798-2662
rutulkumar.patel@bcm.edu

Neurosensory/Jones Building (Lab)

6501 Fannin St.
Lab - NA522 D/E
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (713) 798-2662
rutulkumar.patel@bcm.edu

Education

BS from A.R.College of Pharmacy, Sardar Patel University

05/2007 - Anand, Gujarat India

Pharmacy

MS from Illinois Institute of Technology

12/2009 - Chicago, Illinois United States

Molecular Biochemistry & Biophysics

PhD from Case Western Reserve University

01/2019 - Cleveland, Ohio United States

Pharmacology

Postdoctoral Training at Duke University

11/2023 - Durham, North Carolina United States

Radiation and Cancer Biology

Professional Interests

• Radiation biology
• Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
• Cancer metabolism
• Genetically engineered mouse models of cancers

Professional Statement

My laboratory investigates the mechanism(s) of radioresistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), which could help develop novel pharmacological interventions, improving the radiation therapy response and ultimately extending the lives of cancer patients. The five-year overall survival of Human Papillomavirus (HPV)-negative HNSCC is below 50%, and outcomes have been relatively stagnant for patients with locally advanced HPV-negative HNSCC. Surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy (such as Cisplatin), and more recently, immunotherapy remain the primary treatments for advanced HNSCC, as there are no effective targeted therapies. In addition, acquired resistance to standard-of-care therapies, especially radiation therapy, is common in locally advanced HPV-negative HNSCC. Finally, there is a lack of molecular and imaging biomarkers that can accurately predict HNSCC patients’ response to radiation therapy.

We believe altered metabolism plays a crucial role in acquired resistance to radiation therapy since it neutralizes cytotoxic ROS, dampening intracellular stress and likely moderating the inflammatory response. We utilize human tissue/biopsy samples, novel genetically engineered mouse models, and primary cancer cell lines to perform 13C-labeled metabolite tracing, multi-omics analysis, CRISPR knockout, and drug screens in delineating the role of altered metabolism in radioresistance of HNSCC. Our laboratory’s long-term goals are to (1) determine how cancer metabolism plays a role in radiation resistance and metastasis, (2) identify potential metabolic targets for pharmacological screening, (3) Investigate metabolites as prognostic markers for radioresistance or recurrence, and (4) study how different types of HPV viruses impact patient survival using GEMMs of HNSCC.

Selected Publications

• Schmidt DR, Patel R, Kirsch DG, Vander Heiden MG, Locasale JW "Metabolomics in cancer research and emerging applications in clinical oncology." ; Pubmed PMID: 33982817
• Patel R, Zhang L, Desai A, Hoenerhoff MJ, Kennedy LH, Radivoyevitch T, Ban Y, Chen S, Gerson SL, Welford SM "Mlh1 deficiency increases the risk of hematopoietic malignancy after simulated space radiation exposure." ; Pubmed PMID: 30275527
• Patel R, Mowery YM, Qi Y, Bassil AM, Holbrook M, Xu ES, Hong CS, Himes JE, Williams NT, Everitt J, Kirsch DG, Badea CT "Neoadjuvant radiation therapy and surgery improves metastasis-free survival over surgery alone in a primary mouse model of soft-tissue sarcoma." ; Pubmed PMID: 36162051
• Patel R, Zhang L, Desai A, Hoenerhoff MJ, Kennedy LH, Radivoyevitch T, La Tessa C, Gerson SL, Welford SM "Protons and high-LET radiation induce genetically similar lymphomas with high penetrance in a mouse model of the aging human hematopoietic system." ; Pubmed PMID: 32629081