Dennis E. Hallahan, MD, FASTRO

Dennis E. Hallahan, MD, FASTRO

Elizabeth H. and James S. McDonnell III Distinguished Professor of Medicine

Education

  • BS, Biology: University of Illinois, Chicago, IL (1980)
  • MD: Rush University, Chicago, IL (1984)
  • Internship: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (1985)
  • Residency, Internal Medicine: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (1986)
  • Residency, Radiation Oncology: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (1989)

Board Certifications

  • Certified by the American Board of Radiology in Therapeutic Radiology (1989)

Recognition

  • Parent Committee Member: National Cancer Institute (NCI) (2012-2016)
  • Co-Chair: AACR Annual Meeting (2015)
  • Plenary Speaker: Cancer Conclave, Apollo Cancer Center – Hyderabad, India (2015)
  • Keynote Speaker: International Society Gene Therapy- Amsterdam, Netherlands (2015)
  • Keynote Speaker: Veterinary Cancer Society Annual Meeting – St. Louis, MO (2015)
  • Research Award: Breast Cancer Research Foundation/AACR (2013)
  • The Alvin Siteman Cancer Research Award: Siteman Cancer Center, St. Louis, MO (2013)
  • McDonnell Distinguished Professor: Washington University, St. Louis, MO (2010)
  • Fellowship (FASTRO): American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (2006)
  • Ingram Professor of Cancer Research: Vanderbilt University – Nashville, TN (2004)

Clinical Interests

Brain Tumors
Lung Cancer
Sarcoma

Biography

Dennis Hallahan, MD, is the Elizabeth and James McDonnell Distinguished Professor of medicine. Dr. Hallahan earned a medical degree from Rush University in 1984 and completed residencies in internal medicine and radiation oncology at the University of Chicago, as well as post-doctoral research in radiation and cellular oncology at the University of Chicago. He joined Washington University as Head of Radiation Oncology in 2009. He is a member of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Parent Committee. His primary focus is in drug development. Dr. Hallahan has prioritized several antigens and antibodies that will now enter clinical trials. Dr. Hallahan has a laboratory with 10 members including students, fellows, residents, junior faculty and research assistants that are all focused upon the antibodies proposed in this application. Dr. Hallahan is also a member of the Leadership Committee of Siteman Cancer Center and oversees all research conducted in the Department of Radiation Oncology. He has served as the Principal Investigator for many clinical investigations with uninterrupted NCI funding for 24 years and over a dozen R01 grants from the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Hallahan has developed several drugs that have entered Phase I through Phase III clinical trials. These drugs have been developed through biotechnology start-ups and through collaborations with pharmaceutical industry. He has discovered over a dozen radiation inducible antigens and prioritized monoclonal antibodies that bind specifically to irradiated cancers. Dr. Hallahan has over 50 national and international patents issued or pending for technology proposed within the present application. This will facilitate the later drug development as these drugs progress into Phase II and Phase III clinical trials.

Research

Dennis Hallahan, MD has 20+ years of uninterrupted NCI/NIH funding. The Hallahan laboratory has discovered several molecular targets for drug development in cancer. Discovery strategies have included Proteomics and lipidomics. These discoveries have gone on to preclinical and clinical drug development of a number of novel cancer drugs.  Most notable are inhibitors of PLA2 and the LPA receptor. More recently, the Hallahan laboratory has identified TIP1 and GRP78 as molecular targets to enhance the efficacy of radiation therapy. Dr. Hallahan’s lab has developed monoclonal antibodies and scFv antibodies to radiation inducible neoantigens that are specific to cancer. These antibodies activate immune effector cells. They have also been conjugated to therapeutic agents such as radiopharmaceuticals. More importantly, antibodies to radiation inducible TIP1 and GRP78 show efficacy in mouse models of human cancer. The Hallahan laboratory has developed several drug delivery systems using nanoparticles and liposomes. These particles have been conjugated to peptide ligands that bind to radiation inducible receptors in cancer. This approach has increased the bioavailability of doxorubicin and paclitaxel specifically to cancer. Pre-clinical efficacy and proof of concept studies have been completed. Current research combines our lead cancer specific ligand conjugated to PEG in liposomal formulation.

Publications

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(Disclaimer: This listing may not include all articles associated with this faculty member and may include publications related to others with a similar name.)

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