Biography
Adam Marcus, PhD, is Winship 5K Research Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Marcus serves as deputy director for Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, leading the integration of the research, clinical, and educational components within Winship. He also previously served as associate director of basic research and shared resources, and in 2021 served as interim executive director of Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. He has provided senior leadership oversight of the current Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) planning process and contributed to Winship's successful CCSG submissions in 2011 and 2016.
Dr. Marcus also serves as senior associate dean for research for Emory University School of Medicine where he is responsible for refining the School of Medicine research strategy in close partnership with Woodruff Health Sciences Center leaders, School of Medicine leaders, and department chairs and vice chairs of research across the school. He has previously served as associate vice president for research in Emory University's Woodruff Health Sciences Center, and as associate dean for novel technology and research cores leading the Emory Integrated Core Facilities and Division of Animal Resources.
Dr. Marcus also previously served as scientific director for 18 years of the Emory Integrated Cell Imaging Core (ICI), a jointly managed shared resource of Winship Cancer Institute and Emory University School of Medicine.
Dr. Marcus joined the faculty at Winship Cancer Institute in 2006, and developed his own laboratory which focuses on cell biology and pharmacology in lung and breast cancer. He is a national leader in understanding how cancer cells invade and metastasize and how to apply this knowledge in developing new therapeutic strategies.
Dr. Marcus has led a long-standing effort to stimulate critical thinking and enthusiasm for sciences in children from kindergarten through 12th grade in the state of Georgia. In addition, he collaborates with Theresa Gillespie, PhD, to increase underrepresented minority participation in STEM with a focus on middle-school students through grant support from the National Institutes of Health.
In 2014, Dr. Marcus gave a TEDx talk on how the future of personalized medicine in cancer care is already here today. View video.
Education
Dr. Marcus received his PhD in Biology from Penn State University in 2002 and went on to do a post-doctoral fellowship in cancer pharmacology at Emory University in the laboratory of Dr. Paraskevi Giannakakou from 2002 to 2004.
Titles & Roles
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Winship 5K Research Professor, Department of Hematology and Medical OncologyEmory University School of Medicine
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Deputy DirectorWinship Cancer Institute of Emory University
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Senior Associate Dean of ResearchEmory University School of Medicine
Research
Dr. Marcus' laboratory studies how cancer cells invade and metastasize using a combination of molecular and imaging-based approaches. His work focuses on how cancer cells cooperate during invasion and metastasis. He has developed a new image-guided genomics platform to precisely isolate any living cell(s) of interest for functional genomic analysis, a technique termed Spatiotemporal Cellular and Genomic Analysis. This work in lung, breast and melanoma has led to an understanding of how differential sub-populations within a tumor contribute to metastasis. He is now developing several small molecular inhibitors that seek to target these highly invasive tumor sub-populations.
His work is also focused on the lung cancer tumor suppressor protein and epithelial signaling protein, LKB1. This serine/threonine kinase is mutated in 30% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer; however, the functional significance of LKB1 loss in lung cancer is unknown. His group has shown that LKB1 plays a central role in cancer cell migration by behaving as a dynamic, actin-associated protein that regulates the cell polarity and adhesion pathway. Currently his work is focused on understanding how LKB1 mutations impact metastasis in mouse models and use this information to develop new treatments that can be specific for LKB1-inactivated tumors.
Dr. Marcus' laboratory has been funded by National Cancer Institute, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, American Cancer Society and private donations.
Grants
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Publications
Title/Journal Authors Publication Date Nature cancer
BK Tripathi, NH Hirsh, X Qian, ME Durkin, D Wang, AG Papageorge, R Lake, YA Evrard, AI Marcus, SS Ramalingam, M Dasso, KH Vousden, JH Doroshow, KJ Walters, DR Lowy 12/01/2024 Live-Cell Invasive Phenotyping Uncovers ALK2 as a Therapeutic Target in LKB1-Mutant Lung Cancer.
Cancer research
J Koo, CS Seong, RE Parker, A Herrera, B Dwivedi, RA Arthur, AR Dinasarapu, HR Johnston, H Claussen, C Tucker-Burden, SS Ramalingam, H Fu, W Zhou, AI Marcus, M Gilbert-Ross 11/15/2024 iScience
R Sharma, S Sharma, P Shriwas, L Mehta, AH Vu, JK Mouw, J Koo, C Huang, VY Matsuk, C Tucker-Burden, G Joseph, M Behera, SY Sun, MA Roy, M Gilbert-Ross, T Leal, AI Marcus, M Shanmugam 11/15/2024 bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
SC Samson, A Rojas, RG Zitnay, KR Carney, W Hettinga, MC Schaelling, D Sicard, W Zhang, M Gilbert-Ross, GK Dy, MJ Cavnar, M Furqan, RF Browning, AR Naqash, BP Schneider, A Tarhini, DJ Tschumperlin, A Venosa, AI Marcus, LL Emerson, BT Spike, BS Knudsen, MC Mendoza 09/21/2024 Subpopulation commensalism promotes Rac1-dependent invasion of single cells via laminin-332.
The Journal of cell biology
SB Yoon, L Chen, IE Robinson, TO Khatib, RA Arthur, H Claussen, NM Zohbi, H Wu, JK Mouw, AI Marcus 06/03/2024 International journal of molecular sciences
L Monterroza, MM Parrilla, SG Samaranayake, DE Rivera-Rodriguez, SB Yoon, R Bommireddy, J Hosten, LC Barragan, A Marcus, BS Dobosh, P Selvaraj, R Tirouvanziam 05/15/2024 Bisbiguanide analogs induce mitochondrial stress to inhibit lung cancer cell invasion.
iScience
CM Knippler, JL Arnst, IE Robinson, V Matsuk, TO Khatib, RD Harvey, M Shanmugam, JK Mouw, H Fu, T Ganesh, AI Marcus 04/19/2024 bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
J Koo, CS Seong, RE Parker, B Dwivedi, RA Arthur, AR Dinasarapu, HR Johnston, H Claussen, C Tucker-Burden, SS Ramalingam, H Fu, W Zhou, AI Marcus, M Gilbert-Ross 06/14/2023 bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
TO Khatib, AM Amanso, B Pedro, CM Knippler, ER Summerbell, NM Zohbi, JM Konen, JK Mouw, AI Marcus 03/01/2023 Loss of the endocytic tumor suppressor HD-PTP phenocopies LKB1 and promotes RAS-driven oncogenesis.
bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology
CS Seong, C Huang, AC Boese, Y Hou, J Koo, JK Mouw, M Rupji, G Joseph, HR Johnston, H Claussen, JM Switchenko, M Behera, M Churchman, JM Kolesar, SM Arnold, K Kerrigan, W Akerley, H Colman, MA Johns, C Arciero, W Zhou, AI Marcus, SS Ramalingam, H Fu, M Gilbert-Ross 01/27/2023 PloS one
TO Khatib, AM Amanso, CM Knippler, B Pedro, ER Summerbell, NM Zohbi, JM Konen, JK Mouw, AI Marcus 01/01/2023 Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
F Liu, Y Liu, X Liu, K Mao, D Zhong, AI Marcus, FR Khuri, SY Sun, Y He, W Zhou 04/01/2021 Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
K Mao, F Liu, X Liu, FR Khuri, AI Marcus, M Li, W Zhou 04/01/2021 Molecular cancer therapeutics
R Jin, B Liu, X Liu, Y Fan, W Peng, C Huang, A Marcus, G Sica, M Gilbert-Ross, Y Liu, W Zhou 02/01/2021 Prognostic significance of an invasive leader cell-derived mutation cluster on chromosome 16q.
Cancer
B Pedro, M Rupji, B Dwivedi, J Kowalski, JM Konen, TK Owonikoko, SS Ramalingam, PM Vertino, AI Marcus 07/01/2020 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 Nature communications
R Commander, C Wei, A Sharma, JK Mouw, LJ Burton, E Summerbell, D Mahboubi, RJ Peterson, J Konen, W Zhou, Y Du, H Fu, M Shanmugam, AI Marcus 03/24/2020 Genetic heterogeneity within collective invasion packs drives leader and follower cell phenotypes.
Journal of cell science
EL Zoeller, B Pedro, J Konen, B Dwivedi, M Rupji, N Sundararaman, L Wang, JR Horton, C Zhong, BG Barwick, X Cheng, ED Martinez, MP Torres, J Kowalski, AI Marcus, PM Vertino 10/09/2019 Advanced biosystems
KG Birmingham, MJ O'Melia, D Ban, J Mouw, EE Edwards, AI Marcus, J McDonald, SN Thomas 03/01/2019 PloS one
TK Owonikoko, G Zhang, SB Lallani, Z Chen, DE Martinson, FR Khuri, S Lonial, A Marcus, SY Sun 01/01/2019 Inhibition of IGF1R enhances 2-deoxyglucose in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.
Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
F Liu, Y Liu, X Liu, K Mao, D Zhong, AI Marcus, FR Khuri, SY Sun, Y He, W Zhou 09/01/2018 TASI: A software tool for spatial-temporal quantification of tumor spheroid dynamics.
Scientific reports
Y Hou, J Konen, DJ Brat, AI Marcus, LAD Cooper 05/08/2018 The complex ecosystem in non small cell lung cancer invasion.
PLoS computational biology
S Haney, J Konen, AI Marcus, M Bazhenov 05/01/2018 Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research
AM Richardson, LS Havel, AE Koyen, JM Konen, J Shupe, WG Wiles, WD Martin, HE Grossniklaus, G Sica, M Gilbert-Ross, AI Marcus 01/15/2018 Modulation of Bax and mTOR for Cancer Therapeutics.
Cancer research
R Li, C Ding, J Zhang, M Xie, D Park, Y Ding, G Chen, G Zhang, M Gilbert-Ross, W Zhou, AI Marcus, SY Sun, ZG Chen, GL Sica, SS Ramalingam, AT Magis, H Fu, FR Khuri, WJ Curran, TK Owonikoko, DM Shin, J Zhou, X Deng 06/01/2017 Nature communications
J Konen, E Summerbell, B Dwivedi, K Galior, Y Hou, L Rusnak, A Chen, J Saltz, W Zhou, LH Boise, P Vertino, L Cooper, K Salaita, J Kowalski, AI Marcus 05/12/2017 Nature communications
Z Li, AA Ivanov, R Su, V Gonzalez-Pecchi, Q Qi, S Liu, P Webber, E McMillan, L Rusnak, C Pham, X Chen, X Mo, B Revennaugh, W Zhou, A Marcus, S Harati, X Chen, MA Johns, MA White, CS Moreno, LAD Cooper, Y Du, FR Khuri, H Fu 04/18/2017 Targeting adhesion signaling in KRAS, LKB1 mutant lung adenocarcinoma.
JCI insight
M Gilbert-Ross, J Konen, J Koo, J Shupe, BS Robinson, WG Wiles, C Huang, WD Martin, M Behera, GH Smith, CE Hill, MR Rossi, GL Sica, M Rupji, Z Chen, J Kowalski, AL Kasinski, SS Ramalingam, H Fu, FR Khuri, W Zhou, AI Marcus 03/09/2017 Nature communications
Z Li, AA Ivanov, R Su, V Gonzalez-Pecchi, Q Qi, S Liu, P Webber, E McMillan, L Rusnak, C Pham, X Chen, X Mo, B Revennaugh, W Zhou, A Marcus, S Harati, X Chen, MA Johns, MA White, C Moreno, LA Cooper, Y Du, FR Khuri, H Fu 02/16/2017 Coordinated cell motility is regulated by a combination of LKB1 farnesylation and kinase activity.
Scientific reports
S Wilkinson, Y Hou, JT Zoine, J Saltz, C Zhang, Z Chen, LA Cooper, AI Marcus 01/19/2017 Local alignment vectors reveal cancer cell-induced ECM fiber remodeling dynamics.
Scientific reports
B Lee, J Konen, S Wilkinson, AI Marcus, Y Jiang 01/03/2017 A role for activated Cdc42 in glioblastoma multiforme invasion.
Oncotarget
H Okura, BJ Golbourn, U Shahzad, S Agnihotri, N Sabha, JR Krieger, CA Figueiredo, A Chalil, N Landon-Brace, A Riemenschneider, H Arai, CA Smith, S Xu, S Kaluz, AI Marcus, EG Van Meir, JT Rutka 08/30/2016 Oncotarget
P De, JH Carlson, H Wu, A Marcus, B Leyland-Jones, N Dey 07/12/2016 The Journal of biological chemistry
CJ Coke, KA Scarlett, MA Chetram, KJ Jones, BJ Sandifer, AS Davis, AI Marcus, CV Hinton 05/06/2016 Molecular biology of the cell
J Konen, S Wilkinson, B Lee, H Fu, W Zhou, Y Jiang, AI Marcus 04/01/2016 Oncotarget
F Liu, R Jin, X Liu, H Huang, SC Wilkinson, D Zhong, FR Khuri, H Fu, A Marcus, Y He, W Zhou 01/19/2016 Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
K Mao, F Liu, X Liu, FR Khuri, AI Marcus, M Li, W Zhou 05/01/2015 Oncogene
LS Havel, ER Kline, AM Salgueiro, AI Marcus 04/09/2015 Oncotarget
L Taliaferro-Smith, E Oberlick, T Liu, T McGlothen, T Alcaide, R Tobin, S Donnelly, R Commander, E Kline, GP Nagaraju, L Havel, A Marcus, R Nahta, R O'Regan 03/10/2015 RhoA, a novel tumor suppressor or oncogene as a therapeutic target?
Genes & diseases
M Gilbert-Ross, AI Marcus, W Zhou 03/01/2015 Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy for monitoring biomolecular interactions.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)
AL Mattheyses, AI Marcus 01/01/2015 LKB1 Tumor Suppressor: Therapeutic Opportunities Knock when LKB1 Is Inactivated.
Genes & diseases
W Zhou, J Zhang, AI Marcus 09/01/2014 Journal of cell science
M Brentnall, DB Weir, A Rongvaux, AI Marcus, LH Boise 05/15/2014 Acetylated tubulin (AT) as a prognostic marker in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.
Head and neck pathology
NF Saba, KR Magliocca, S Kim, S Muller, Z Chen, TK Owonikoko, NJ Sarlis, C Eggers, V Phelan, WJ Grist, AY Chen, SS Ramalingam, ZG Chen, JJ Beitler, DM Shin, FR Khuri, AI Marcus 03/01/2014 PloS one
SA Brodie, C Lombardo, G Li, J Kowalski, K Gandhi, S You, FR Khuri, A Marcus, PM Vertino, JC Brandes 01/01/2014 Energizing the search to target LKB1-mutant tumors.
Cancer discovery
AI Marcus, FR Khuri 08/01/2013 Dysregulation of mTOR activity through LKB1 inactivation.
Chinese journal of cancer
W Zhou, AI Marcus, PM Vertino 08/01/2013 The Journal of biological chemistry
ER Kline, J Shupe, M Gilbert-Ross, W Zhou, AI Marcus 06/14/2013 PloS one
Z Yang, A Garcia, S Xu, DR Powell, PM Vertino, S Singh, AI Marcus 01/01/2013 uPAR-targeted optical imaging contrasts as theranostic agents for tumor margin detection.
Theranostics
L Yang, HK Sajja, Z Cao, W Qian, L Bender, AI Marcus, M Lipowska, WC Wood, YA Wang 01/01/2013 AMPK regulates mitotic spindle orientation through phosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain.
Molecular and cellular biology
JT Thaiparambil, CM Eggers, AI Marcus 08/01/2012 Cancer
HJ Khoury, G Garcia-Manero, G Borthakur, T Kadia, MC Foudray, M Arellano, A Langston, B Bethelmie-Bryan, S Rush, K Litwiler, S Karan, H Simmons, AI Marcus, M Ptaszynski, H Kantarjian 07/15/2012 The Journal of biological chemistry
CM Eggers, ER Kline, D Zhong, W Zhou, AI Marcus 05/25/2012 International immunopharmacology
A Olivera, TW Moore, F Hu, AP Brown, A Sun, DC Liotta, JP Snyder, Y Yoon, H Shim, AI Marcus, AH Miller, TW Pace 02/01/2012 International journal of computational biology and drug design
KY Kong, AI Marcus, P Giannakakou, MD Wang 01/01/2012 International journal of cancer
JT Thaiparambil, L Bender, T Ganesh, E Kline, P Patel, Y Liu, M Tighiouart, PM Vertino, RD Harvey, A Garcia, AI Marcus 12/01/2011 A Web Interface for the Quantification of Microtubule Dynamics.
IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine workshops. IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine
KY Kong, AI Marcus, P Giaanakakou, MD Wang 11/01/2011 Localization-specific LKB1 loss in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma metastasis.
Head & neck
ER Kline, S Muller, L Pan, M Tighiouart, ZG Chen, AI Marcus 10/01/2011 Cancer
J Kauh, C Chanel-Vos, D Escuin, MP Fanucchi, RD Harvey, N Saba, DM Shin, A Gal, L Pan, M Kutner, SS Ramalingam, L Bender, A Marcus, P Giannakakou, FR Khuri 09/01/2011 Blood
E David, JL Kaufman, CR Flowers, K Schafer-Hales, C Torre, J Chen, AI Marcus, SY Sun, LH Boise, S Lonial 12/09/2010 LKB1 regulated pathways in lung cancer invasion and metastasis.
Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer
AI Marcus, W Zhou 12/01/2010 The Journal of clinical investigation
S Kang, S Elf, K Lythgoe, T Hitosugi, J Taunton, W Zhou, L Xiong, D Wang, S Muller, S Fan, SY Sun, AI Marcus, TL Gu, RD Polakiewicz, ZG Chen, FR Khuri, DM Shin, J Chen 04/01/2010 Automatic tip selection for microtubule dynamics quantification.
Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference
MO Malavé, X Zhao, KY Kong, AI Marcus, MD Wang 01/01/2010 Biomolecule labeling and imaging with a new fluorenyl two-photon fluorescent probe.
Bioconjugate chemistry
AR Morales, CO Yanez, KJ Schafer-Hales, AI Marcus, KD Belfield 10/21/2009 Molecular vision
I Schmack, L Berglin, X Nie, J Wen, SJ Kang, AI Marcus, H Yang, MJ Lynn, JA Kapp, HE Grossniklaus 01/01/2009 Molecular cancer therapeutics
D Zhong, X Liu, K Schafer-Hales, AI Marcus, FR Khuri, SY Sun, W Zhou 04/01/2008 Cancer research
S Zhang, K Schafer-Hales, FR Khuri, W Zhou, PM Vertino, AI Marcus 02/01/2008 Journal of the American Chemical Society
G Ruan, A Agrawal, AI Marcus, S Nie 11/28/2007 Awards
Recent awards and honors for Dr. Marcus' include:
- Emory 1% Award
- Innovation of the Year Award (2019), Emory Office of Technology Transfer
- 40 Under 40 Award, Atlanta Business Chronicle
- Faculty Mentor of the Year Award (2016), Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Laney Graduate School
- National Lung Cancer Partnership Career Development Award
- Elsa J. Pardee Foundation Award
- American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award
- Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar
- Fund for Innovative Teaching Award
- Chair's Award for All Around Achievement
- Friends of Winship Scholar