MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF
Hobart W. Harris, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor of Surgery
Chief, Division of General Surgery
David Donner, Ph.D.
Professor of Surgery
Contact Information
1600 Divisadero Street
San Francisco, California 94143-1932
New Patient Coordinator Telephone: (415) 353-9888
Academic Telephone: (415) 353-9294
Fax: (415) 353-9296
e-mail: donnerd@surgery.ucsf.edu
Biography
David Donner, PhD is Professor of Surgery in Residence and a member of the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California San Francisco. Dr. Donner’s research involves characterization of signaling mechanisms used by members of the TNF receptor superfamily to elicit cellular effects. Two receptors are of particular interest to Dr. Donner, the type 1 TNF receptor (TNFR1), and the low affinity nerve growth factor receptor (p75NTR). Each receptor induces pro-apoptotic and pro-survival signals; the predominance of one or the other signal determines how TNFR1 or p75NTR affect the viability of cancer cells. Dr. Donner is also interested in signaling events that regulate the functions of tumor suppressor proteins and oncogenes. Recent evidence from his group shows that these proteins are networked. Understanding how these proteins are wired together will provide fundamental insight into processes that inhibit and promote the growth of cancerous cells.Selected Publications
- Ozes, O., Mayo, L.D., Gustin, J.A., Pfeffer, S., Pfeffer, L.M. and Donner, D.B. NF-kB activation by tumour necrosis factor requires the Akt serine-threonine kinase. Nature 401:82-85, 1999.
- Mayo, L.D. and Donner, D.B. A phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway promotes translocation of Mdm2 from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98:11598-11603, 2001.
- Mayo, L.D. and Donner, D.B. The PTEN, Mdm2. p53 tumor suppressor-oncoprotein network. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 27: 462-467, 2002.
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Matei, D., Emerson, R.E., Lai, Y., Baldrige, L.A., Rao, J., Yiannoutsos, C., and Donner, D.B. Autocrine activation of the PDGFRa promotes the progression of ovarian cancer. Oncogene 25:2060-2069,2006.
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Matei, D.E., Satpathy, M., Lai, Y., Nakshatri, H. and Donner, D.B. The platelet derived growt factor receptor is destabilized by geldanamycins in cancer cells. J. Biol. Chem. 282:445-453, 2007.