Benjamin Barwick, PhD

Research Program

Cell and Molecular Biology
Phone Number

404-727-5320
Email Address

bbarwic@emory.edu

Biography

Benjamin G. Barwick, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. An experienced computational biologist, Dr. Barwick has extensive training in molecular and cellular biology including genetics/genomics, epigenetics, immunology and cancer biology. He is a member of the Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute.

Education

Dr. Barwick received his PhD in the Genetics and Molecular Biology Program at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. He completed his postdoc training studying multiple myeloma genetics and epigenetics at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned his MS in Bioinformatics at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia.

Titles & Roles

Assistant Professor, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology

Emory University School of Medicine

Professional Memberships

Dr. Barwick holds professional memberships with American Society of Hematology and American Association of Cancer Research.

Research

Dr. Barwick's research is focused on better understanding genetic and epigenetic alterations in hematological cancers and specifically in multiple myeloma. In this capacity, he leverages his expertise in computational biology to characterize common genomic and epigenomic alterations in the context of disease subtype and patient outcomes. His research investigates such cancer-specific alterations using cutting-edge genomic and epigenomic assays coupled with bioinformatic analyses, and functional perturbation using CRISPR-based tools. The long-term aim of his research is to leverage genomic and epigenomic data to understand disease etiology, mechanisms of drug resistance and predict patient therapeutic responses.

Grants

View Grants

Grant Number	Title
1K22CA266739-01A1	Revealing the cis-Regulatory Function of IMiDs in Multiple Myeloma”.
1R21CA280584-01	The genetic and epigenetic cartography of multiple myeloma
5K22CA266739-02	Revealing the cis-Regulatory Function of IMiDs in Multiple Myeloma”.
5K22CA266739-03	Revealing the cis-Regulatory Function of IMiDs in Multiple Myeloma”.
5R21CA280584-02	The genetic and epigenetic cartography of multiple myeloma

Publications

Dr. Barwick has published in peer-reviewed scientific journals including Nature Immunology, Nature Communications, Blood, Blood Cancer Journal, Science Advances and The Journal of Immunology, among others.

Title/Journal	Authors	Publication Date
Heme promotes venetoclax resistance in multiple myeloma through MEK-ERK signaling and purine biosynthesis. Blood	R Nair, AH Vu, AK Freer, KS Bhatia, D Wang, MR Savani, SM Matulis, S Lonial, DL Jaye, LH Boise, SY Seo, TW Corson, AK Nooka, S Bhatt, SK McBrayer, VA Gupta, X Hu, BG Barwick, AR Reddi, M Shanmugam	02/13/2025
KDM6A regulates immune response genes in multiple myeloma. Blood	D Dupéré-Richer, A Riva, BG Barwick, S Maji, H Casellas Román, J Li, U De, A Sobh, G Quickstad, C Piper, M Kulis, T Ezponda, JI Martín-Subero, G Tonon, W Zhang, CS Mitsiades, LH Boise, RL Bennett, JD Licht	10/03/2024
NSD2 drives t(4;14) myeloma cell dependence on adenylate kinase 2 by diverting one-carbon metabolism to the epigenome. Blood	A Sobh, E Encinas, A Patel, G Surapaneni, E Bonilla, C Kaestner, J Poullard, M Clerio, K Vasan, T Freeman, D Lv, D Dupéré-Richer, A Riva, BG Barwick, D Zhou, LH Boise, CS Mitsiades, B Kim, RL Bennett, NS Chandel, JD Licht	07/18/2024
Interruption of KLF5 acetylation promotes PTEN-deficient prostate cancer progression by reprogramming cancer-associated fibroblasts. The Journal of clinical investigation	B Zhang, M Liu, F Mai, X Li, W Wang, Q Huang, X Du, W Ding, Y Li, BG Barwick, JJ Ni, AO Osunkoya, Y Chen, W Zhou, S Xia, JT Dong	05/23/2024
Targeting high-risk multiple myeloma genotypes with optimized anti-CD70 CAR-T cells. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology	C Kasap, A Izgutdina, B Patiño-Escobar, A Kang, N Chilakapati, N Akagi, H Johnson, T Rashid, J Werner, A Barpanda, H Geng, YT Lin, S Rampersaud, D Gil-Alós, A Sobh, D Dupéré-Richer, G Wicaksono, KM Kawehi Kelii, R Dalal, E Ramos, A Vijayanarayanan, F Salangsang, P Phojanakong, JAC Serrano, O Zakraoui, I Tariq, V Steri, M Shanmugam, LH Boise, T Kortemme, E Stieglitz, JD Licht, WJ Karlon, BG Barwick, AP Wiita	02/28/2024
KDM6A Regulates Immune Response Genes in Multiple Myeloma. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology	D Dupéré-Richer, A Riva, S Maji, BG Barwick, HC Román, A Sobh, G Quickstad, J Li, U De, C Piper, M Kulis, T Ezponda, JI Martin-Subero, G Tonon, W Zhang, CS Mitsiades, LH Boise, RL Bennett, JD Licht	02/12/2024
ETV4-Dependent Transcriptional Plasticity Maintains MYC Expression and Results in IMiD Resistance in Multiple Myeloma. Blood cancer discovery	P Neri, BG Barwick, D Jung, JC Patton, R Maity, I Tagoug, CK Stein, R Tilmont, N Leblay, S Ahn, H Lee, SJ Welsh, DL Riggs, N Stong, E Flynt, A Thakurta, JJ Keats, S Lonial, PL Bergsagel, LH Boise, NJ Bahlis	01/08/2024
Transcriptional Heterogeneity Overcomes Super-Enhancer Disrupting Drug Combinations in Multiple Myeloma. Blood cancer discovery	SJ Welsh, BG Barwick, EW Meermeier, DL Riggs, CX Shi, YX Zhu, ME Sharik, MT Du, LD Abrego Rocha, VM Garbitt, CK Stein, JL Petit, N Meurice, Y Tafoya Alvarado, R Fonseca, KT Todd, S Brown, ZJ Hammond, NH Cuc, C Wittenberg, C Herzog, AV Roschke, YN Demchenko, WD Chen, P Li, W Liao, WJ Leonard, S Lonial, NJ Bahlis, P Neri, LH Boise, M Chesi, PL Bergsagel	01/08/2024
Integrated epigenetic and transcriptional single-cell analysis of t(11;14) multiple myeloma and its BCL2 dependency. Blood	N Leblay, S Ahn, R Tilmont, M Poorebrahim, R Maity, H Lee, E Barakat, JB Alberge, S Sinha, A Jaffer, BG Barwick, LH Boise, N Bahlis, P Neri	01/04/2024
Integrated Genomic Analysis of Primary Prostate Tumor Foci and Corresponding Lymph Node Metastases Identifies Mutations and Pathways Associated with Metastasis. Cancers	CS Moreno, CL Winham, M Alemozaffar, ER Klein, IO Lawal, OA Abiodun-Ojo, D Patil, BG Barwick, Y Huang, DM Schuster, MG Sanda, AO Osunkoya	11/30/2023
Genome-scale functional genomics identify genes preferentially essential for multiple myeloma cells compared to other neoplasias. Nature cancer	R de Matos Simoes, R Shirasaki, SL Downey-Kopyscinski, GM Matthews, BG Barwick, VA Gupta, D Dupéré-Richer, S Yamano, Y Hu, M Sheffer, E Dhimolea, O Dashevsky, S Gandolfi, K Ishiguro, RM Meyers, JG Bryan, NV Dharia, PJ Hengeveld, JB Brüggenthies, H Tang, AJ Aguirre, QL Sievers, BL Ebert, BJ Glassner, CJ Ott, JE Bradner, NP Kwiatkowski, D Auclair, J Levy, JJ Keats, RWJ Groen, NS Gray, AC Culhane, JM McFarland, JM Dempster, JD Licht, LH Boise, WC Hahn, F Vazquez, A Tsherniak, CS Mitsiades	05/01/2023
CD8⁺ T cell activation in cancer comprises an initial activation phase in lymph nodes followed by effector differentiation within the tumor. Immunity	N Prokhnevska, MA Cardenas, RM Valanparambil, E Sobierajska, BG Barwick, C Jansen, A Reyes Moon, P Gregorova, L delBalzo, R Greenwald, MA Bilen, M Alemozaffar, S Joshi, C Cimmino, C Larsen, V Master, M Sanda, H Kissick	01/10/2023
Inhibition of NADPH Oxidase-ROS Signal using Hyaluronic Acid Nanoparticles for Overcoming Radioresistance in Cancer Therapy. ACS nano	L Zhu, Y Zhao, T Liu, M Chen, WP Qian, B Jiang, BG Barwick, L Zhang, TM Styblo, X Li, L Yang	11/22/2022
Therapeutic implications of mitochondrial stress-induced proteasome inhibitor resistance in multiple myeloma. Science advances	A Sharma, R Nair, A Achreja, A Mittal, P Gupta, K Balakrishnan, CL Edgar, O Animasahun, B Dwivedi, BG Barwick, VA Gupta, SM Matulis, M Bhasin, S Lonial, AK Nooka, AP Wiita, LH Boise, D Nagrath, M Shanmugam	09/30/2022
β adrenergic signaling regulates hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell commitment and therapy sensitivity in multiple myeloma. Haematologica	R Nair, V Subramaniam, BG Barwick, VA Gupta, SM Matulis, S Lonial, LH Boise, AK Nooka, K Muthumalaiappan, M Shanmugam	09/01/2022
Venetoclax ex vivo functional profiling predicts improved progression-free survival. Blood cancer journal	VA Gupta, SM Matulis, BG Barwick, RD Bog, CW Shebelut, M Shanmugam, P Neri, NJ Bahlis, MV Dhodapkar, LT Heffner, CC Hofmeister, NS Joseph, S Lonial, JL Kaufman, DL Jaye, AK Nooka, LH Boise	08/04/2022
PDZ Proteins SCRIB and DLG1 Regulate Myeloma Cell Surface CD86 Expression, Growth, and Survival. Molecular cancer research : MCR	T Moser-Katz, CM Gavile, BG Barwick, KP Lee, LH Boise	07/06/2022
Multivariant Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Modules and Hub Genes Associated with Poor Outcomes in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patients. Cancers	OO Adebayo, EB Dammer, CD Dill, AO Adebayo, SO Oseni, TL Griffen, AQ Ohandjo, F Yan, S Jain, BG Barwick, R Singh, LH Boise, JW Lillard	04/29/2022
Aberrant Extrafollicular B Cells, Immune Dysfunction, Myeloid Inflammation, and MyD88-Mutant Progenitors Precede Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia. Blood cancer discovery	A Kaushal, AK Nooka, AR Carr, KE Pendleton, BG Barwick, J Manalo, SS McCachren, VA Gupta, NS Joseph, CC Hofmeister, JL Kaufman, LT Heffner, SM Ansell, LH Boise, S Lonial, KM Dhodapkar, MV Dhodapkar	11/01/2021
Venetoclax sensitivity in multiple myeloma is associated with B-cell gene expression. Blood	VA Gupta, BG Barwick, SM Matulis, R Shirasaki, DL Jaye, JJ Keats, B Oberlton, NS Joseph, CC Hofmeister, LT Heffner, MV Dhodapkar, AK Nooka, S Lonial, CS Mitsiades, JL Kaufman, LH Boise	07/01/2021
Chromatin Accessibility Identifies Regulatory Elements Predictive of Gene Expression and Disease Outcome in Multiple Myeloma. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research	BG Barwick, VA Gupta, SM Matulis, JC Patton, DR Powell, Y Gu, DL Jaye, KN Conneely, YC Lin, CC Hofmeister, AK Nooka, JJ Keats, S Lonial, PM Vertino, LH Boise	06/01/2021
The Murine MHC Class II Super Enhancer IA/IE-SE Contains a Functionally Redundant CTCF-Binding Component and a Novel Element Critical for Maximal Expression. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)	P Majumder, JT Lee, BG Barwick, DG Patterson, APR Bally, CD Scharer, JM Boss	05/01/2021
Ten-eleven translocation protein 1 modulates medulloblastoma progression. Genome biology	H Kim, Y Kang, Y Li, L Chen, L Lin, ND Johnson, D Zhu, MH Robinson, L McSwain, BG Barwick, X Yuan, X Liao, J Zhao, Z Zhang, Q Shu, J Chen, EG Allen, AM Kenney, RC Castellino, EG Van Meir, KN Conneely, PM Vertino, P Jin, J Li	04/29/2021
Oncolytic herpes simplex virus infects myeloma cells in vitro and in vivo. Molecular therapy oncolytics	J Ghose, A Dona, M Murtadha, EG Gunes, E Caserta, JY Yoo, L Russell, AC Jaime-Ramirez, BG Barwick, VA Gupta, JF Sanchez, DW Sborov, ST Rosen, A Krishnan, LH Boise, B Kaur, CC Hofmeister, F Pichiorri	03/26/2021
Acetylation of KLF5 maintains EMT and tumorigenicity to cause chemoresistant bone metastasis in prostate cancer. Nature communications	B Zhang, Y Li, Q Wu, L Xie, B Barwick, C Fu, X Li, D Wu, S Xia, J Chen, WP Qian, L Yang, AO Osunkoya, L Boise, PM Vertino, Y Zhao, M Li, HR Chen, J Kowalski, O Kucuk, W Zhou, JT Dong	03/17/2021
YAP1 Expression in SCLC Defines a Distinct Subtype With T-cell-Inflamed Phenotype. Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer	TK Owonikoko, B Dwivedi, Z Chen, C Zhang, B Barwick, V Ernani, G Zhang, M Gilbert-Ross, J Carlisle, FR Khuri, WJ Curran, AA Ivanov, H Fu, S Lonial, SS Ramalingam, SY Sun, EK Waller, GL Sica	03/01/2021
Downregulation of PA28α induces proteasome remodeling and results in resistance to proteasome inhibitors in multiple myeloma. Blood cancer journal	Y Gu, BG Barwick, M Shanmugam, CC Hofmeister, J Kaufman, A Nooka, V Gupta, M Dhodapkar, LH Boise, S Lonial	12/14/2020
Epigenetically heterogeneous tumor cells direct collective invasion through filopodia-driven fibronectin micropatterning. Science advances	ER Summerbell, JK Mouw, JSK Bell, CM Knippler, B Pedro, JL Arnst, TO Khatib, R Commander, BG Barwick, J Konen, B Dwivedi, S Seby, J Kowalski, PM Vertino, AI Marcus	07/01/2020
CD28 Regulates Metabolic Fitness for Long-Lived Plasma Cell Survival. Cell reports	A Utley, C Chavel, S Lightman, GA Holling, J Cooper, P Peng, W Liu, BG Barwick, CM Gavile, O Maguire, M Murray-Dupuis, C Rozanski, MS Jordan, T Kambayashi, SH Olejniczak, LH Boise, KP Lee	06/23/2020
Electron transport chain activity is a predictor and target for venetoclax sensitivity in multiple myeloma. Nature communications	R Bajpai, A Sharma, A Achreja, CL Edgar, C Wei, AA Siddiqa, VA Gupta, SM Matulis, SK McBrayer, A Mittal, M Rupji, BG Barwick, S Lonial, AK Nooka, LH Boise, D Nagrath, M Shanmugam	03/06/2020
PD-1 Expression during Acute Infection Is Repressed through an LSD1-Blimp-1 Axis. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)	APR Bally, DK Neeld, P Lu, P Majumder, Y Tang, BG Barwick, Q Wang, JM Boss	01/15/2020
Gain of Chromosome 1q is associated with early progression in multiple myeloma patients treated with lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone. Blood cancer journal	TM Schmidt, BG Barwick, N Joseph, LT Heffner, CC Hofmeister, L Bernal, MV Dhodapkar, VA Gupta, DL Jaye, J Wu, S Goyal, Z Chen, LH Boise, S Lonial, AK Nooka, JL Kaufman	11/25/2019
Epigenetic programming underpins B cell dysfunction in human SLE. Nature immunology	CD Scharer, EL Blalock, T Mi, BG Barwick, SA Jenks, T Deguchi, KS Cashman, BE Neary, DG Patterson, SL Hicks, A Khosroshahi, F Eun-Hyung Lee, C Wei, I Sanz, JM Boss	08/01/2019
Multiple myeloma immunoglobulin lambda translocations portend poor prognosis. Nature communications	BG Barwick, P Neri, NJ Bahlis, AK Nooka, MV Dhodapkar, DL Jaye, CC Hofmeister, JL Kaufman, VA Gupta, D Auclair, JJ Keats, S Lonial, PM Vertino, LH Boise	04/23/2019
Plasma cell differentiation is controlled by multiple cell division-coupled epigenetic programs. Nature communications	CD Scharer, BG Barwick, M Guo, APR Bally, JM Boss	04/27/2018
CD86 regulates myeloma cell survival. Blood advances	CM Gavile, BG Barwick, S Newman, P Neri, AK Nooka, S Lonial, KP Lee, LH Boise	11/28/2017

Awards

Dr. Barwick's recent awards and honors include:

American Society of Hematology Research Scholar Award, 2020
Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation Research Fellowship, 2020
American Society of Hematology Abstract Achievement Award, 2018 and 2019
Winship Rising Star, 2018
American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellow, 2017
Winship 5K Myeloma Research Scholar, 2016
Genetics and Molecular Biology Scholar of the Year, 2013
Ruth L. Kirschstein Pre-doctoral National Research Service Award (F31), 2013