James Brugarolas, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor
Internal Medicine
Graduate Program: Cancer Biology

Contact Information

UT Southwestern Medical Center
5323 Harry Hines Boulevard
Dallas, Texas 75390

james.brugarolas@utsouthwestern.edu

To make an appointment, call 214-645-8300.

Biography

Dr. James Brugarolas received his M.D. degree in 1993 from the University of Navarra, Spain, and his Ph.D. in 1998 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a graduate student Dr. Brugarolas worked in the laboratory of Dr. Tyler Jacks exploring mechanisms of cellular transformation. Subsequently, Dr. Brugarolas did an Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at Duke University Medical Center (1998-2001) and a Fellowship in Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (2001-2003). In 2002, he joined the laboratory of Dr. William G. Kaelin, where he initiated a new line of research to study the function of the TSC1/TSC2 tumor suppressor complex in hypoxia signaling. In 2003, Dr. Brugarolas was promoted to Instructor at Harvard Medical School. He is the recipient of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Claudia Adams Barr award for Innovative Basic Cancer Research (2003) and the Department of Medicine Young Investigator Award (2004). In 2006, Dr. Brugarolas became an Assistant Professor at U.T. Southwestern Medical Center, where he is the 2006 Virginia Murchison Linthicum Endowed Scholar in Medical Research. While primarily a laboratory based investigator, Dr. Brugarolas also sees patients in the clinic. The mission of the Brugarolas lab is: 1. To contribute to the development of new cancer treatment paradigms established upon a greater understanding of the molecular genetics and biology of tumors that exploit tumor plasticity and the principle of synthetic lethality. 2. To establish better preclinical models that recapitulate the behavior of cancer in patients and that can be harnessed in developmental therapeutic programs. 3. To contribute to the training of scientists and physician-scientists. This lab seeks to attract highly motivated individuals who are interested in cancer biology. The lab is particularly suited for ambitious graduate students and postdocs committed to pursuing a career in Academia, who enjoy a highly interactive environment and have a desire to excel.

Education

FellowshipDana-Farber Cancer Institute - Medical Director, Medical Oncology (2003)
InternshipDuke University - Medicine Internship, Internal Medicine (2001)
ResidencyDuke University - Medicine Residency, Internal Medicine (2001)
Graduate SchoolMassachusetts Institute of Technology (1998)
Medical SchoolUniversidad de Navarra (1993)

Research Interests

Development of animal models for cancer
Molecular genetics of renal cancer
Personalized cancer medicine and research translation
Signaling pathways implicated in renal cancer

Publications

Featured
Uncoupling hypoxia signaling from oxygen sensing in the liver results in hypoketotic hypoglycemic death

Kucejova B, Sunny NE, Nguyen AD, Hallac R, Fu X, Pena-Llopis S, Mason RP, Deberardinis RJ, Xie XJ, Debose-Boyd R, Kodibagkar VD, Burgess SC, Brugarolas J. , Oncogene , May 2011; (30(18)):2147-60

Featured
Renal-cell carcinoma--molecular pathways and therapies

Brugarolas J , N Engl J Med , January 2007; (356(2)):185-7

Featured
Regulation of TFEB and V-ATPases by mTORC1

Pena-Llopis S, Vega-Rubin-de-Celis S, Schwartz JC, Wolff NC, Tran TA, Zou L, Xie XJ, Corey DR, Brugarolas J, , 2011 Jul 29; (30(16)):3242-58

Cell-type-dependent regulation of mTORC1 by REDD1 and the tumor suppressors TSC1/TSC2 and LKB1 in response to hypoxia

Wolff NC, Vega-Rubin-de-Celis S, Xie XJ, Castrillon DH, Kabbani W, Brugarolas J. , Mol Cell Biol , May 2011; (31(9)):1870-84

Exploring a glycolytic inhibitor for the treatment of an FH-deficient type-2 papillary RCC

Yamasaki T, Tran TA, Oz OK, Raj GV, Schwarz RE, Deberardinis RJ, Zhang X, Brugarolas J. , Nat Rev Urol , March 2011; (8(3)):165-71

Interplay between pVHL and mTORC1 pathways in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma.

Kucejova B, Peña-Llopis S, Yamasaki T, Sivanand S, Tran TA, Alexander S, Wolff NC, Lotan Y, Xie XJ, Kabbani W, Kapur P, Brugarolas J, Molecular cancer research : MCR, 2011 Sep; 9 (9):1255-65

Structural analysis and functional implications of the negative mTORC1 regulator REDD1.

Vega-Rubin-de-Celis S, Abdallah Z, Kinch L, Grishin NV, Brugarolas J, Zhang X, Biochemistry, 2010 Mar; 49 (11):2491-501

Honors/Awards

Research Scholar

American Cancer Society (2008)

Basil OConnor Starter Scholar Research Award

March of Dimes (2007)

Clinical Scientist Development Award

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (2007)

V Scholar Award

The V Foundation for Cancer Research (2007)

Virginia Murchison Linthicum Endowed Scholar in Medical Research

UT Southwestern Medical School (2006)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

American Association for Cancer Research

American Society of Clinical Oncology

MIT chapter of Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society of North America