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Tom Cunningham, PhD

Associate Professor

Cancer Biology | College of Medicine

Education/Credentials
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship: University of California, San Francisco
  • Doctoral Degree: Johns Hopkins University (Biochemistry, Cell, and Molecular Biology (BCMB) Program)
  • Bachelor's Degree: Western Kentucky University (Recombinant Gene Technology and Chemistry)
Contact Information
Research Interests

Research in the Cunningham lab aims to decipher the molecular mechanisms that underlie the re-wiring of cellular metabolism during cancer development and progression. We employ a multifaceted approach that utilizes the toolkits of cell biology, mouse genetics, biochemistry, and molecular biology in an effort to uncover novel, exploitable targets to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. 

Peer Reviewed Publications

Czyzyk-Krzeska, Maria F; Landero Figueroa, Julio A; Gulati, Shuchi; Cunningham, John T; Meller, Jarek; ShamsaeI, Behrouz; Vemuri, Bhargav; Plas, David R 2021. Molecular and Metabolic Subtypes in Sporadic and Inherited Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma. Genes, 12 3,

Czyzyk-Krzeska, Maria F; Meller, Jarek; Landero Figueroa, Julio A; Plas, David R; Cunningham, John T 2021. Metabolic subtypes of clear cell renal cell carcinoma defined by tobacco smoking. Molecular & cellular oncology, 8 2, 1859917

Reigle, James; Secic, Dina; Biesiada, Jacek; Wetzel, Collin; Shamsaei, Behrouz; Chu, Johnson; Zang, Yuanwei; Zhang, Xiang; Talbot, Nicholas J; Bischoff, Megan E; Zhang, Yongzhen; Thakar, Charuhas V; Gaitonde, Krishnanath; Sidana, Abhinav; Bui, Hai; Cunningham, John T; Zhang, Qing; Schmidt, Laura S; Linehan, W Marston; Medvedovic, Mario; Plas, David R; Figueroa, Julio A Landero; Meller, Jarek; Czyzyk-Krzeska, Maria F 2021. Tobacco smoking induces metabolic reprogramming of renal cell carcinoma. The Journal of clinical investigation, 131 1,

Xu, Yichen; Poggio, Mauro; Jin, Hyun Yong; Shi, Zhen; Forester, Craig M; Wang, Ying; Stumpf, Craig R; Xue, Lingru; Devericks, Emily; So, Lomon; Nguyen, Hao G; Griselin, Alice; Gordan, John D; Umetsu, Sarah E; Reich, Siegfried H; Worland, Stephen T; Asthana, Saurabh; Barna, Maria; Webster, Kevin R; Cunningham, John T; Ruggero, Davide 2019. Translation control of the immune checkpoint in cancer and its therapeutic targeting. Nature medicine, ,

Nguyen, Hao G; Conn, Crystal S; Kye, Yae; Xue, Lingru; Forester, Craig M; Cowan, Janet E; Hsieh, Andrew C; Cunningham, John T; Truillet, Charles; Tameire, Feven; Evans, Michael J; Evans, Christopher P; Yang, Joy C; Hann, Byron; Koumenis, Constantinos; Walter, Peter; Carroll, Peter R; Ruggero, Davide 2018. Development of a stress response therapy targeting aggressive prostate cancer. Science translational medicine, 10 439,

Truillet, Charles; Cunningham, John T; Parker, Matthew F L; Huynh, Loc T; Conn, Crystal S; Ruggero, Davide; Lewis, Jason S; Evans, Michael J 2017. Noninvasive Measurement of mTORC1 Signaling with 89Zr-Transferrin. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, 23 12, 3045-3052

Charles Truillet, John T. Cunningham, Matthew F. Parker, Loc T. Huynh, Crystal S. Conn, Davide Ruggero, Jason S. Lewis, Michael J. Evans 2016. Non-invasive measurement of mTORC1 signaling with 89Zr-transferrin Clinical Cancer Research, ,

Francisco Verdeguer, Sharon M. Blättler, John T. Cunningham, Jessica A. Hall, Helen Chim, and Pere Puigserver 2014. Decreased genetic dosage of hepatic yin yang 1 causes diabetic-like symptoms Molecular Endocrinology , 28 3, 308-316

John T. Cunningham, Melissa V. Moreno, Alessia Lodi, Sabrina M. Ronen, and Davide Ruggero 2014. Protein and nucleotide biosynthesis are coupled by a single rate-limiting enzyme, PRPS2, to drive cancer Cell, 157 5, 1088-1103

Verdeguer, Francisco; Blättler, Sharon M; Cunningham, John T; Hall, Jessica A; Chim, Helen; Puigserver, Pere 2014. Decreased genetic dosage of hepatic Yin Yang 1 causes diabetic-like symptoms. Molecular endocrinology (Baltimore, Md.), 28 3, 308-16

Cunningham, John T; Pourdehnad, Michael; Stumpf, Craig R; Ruggero, Davide 2013. Investigating Myc-dependent translational regulation in normal and cancer cells. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), 1012 , 201-12

Cunningham, John T; Ruggero, Davide 2013. New connections between old pathways: PDK1 signaling promotes cellular transformation through PLK1-dependent MYC stabilization. Cancer discovery, 3 10, 1099-102

Blättler, Sharon M; Cunningham, John T; Verdeguer, Francisco; Chim, Helen; Haas, Wilhelm; Liu, Huifei; Romanino, Klaas; Rüegg, Markus A; Gygi, Steven P; Shi, Yang; Puigserver, Pere 2012. Yin Yang 1 deficiency in skeletal muscle protects against rapamycin-induced diabetic-like symptoms through activation of insulin/IGF signaling. Cell metabolism, 15 4, 505-17

Blättler, Sharon M; Verdeguer, Francisco; Liesa, Marc; Cunningham, John T; Vogel, Rutger O; Chim, Helen; Liu, Huifei; Romanino, Klaas; Shirihai, Orian S; Vazquez, Francisca; Rüegg, Markus A; Shi, Yang; Puigserver, Pere 2012. Defective mitochondrial morphology and bioenergetic function in mice lacking the transcription factor Yin Yang 1 in skeletal muscle. Molecular and cellular biology, 32 16, 3333-46

Hart, Lori S; Cunningham, John T; Datta, Tatini; Dey, Souvik; Tameire, Feven; Lehman, Stacey L; Qiu, Bo; Zhang, Haiyan; Cerniglia, George; Bi, Meixia; Li, Yan; Gao, Yan; Liu, Huayi; Li, Changhong; Maity, Amit; Thomas-Tikhonenko, Andrei; Perl, Alexander E; Koong, Albert; Fuchs, Serge Y; Diehl, J Alan; Mills, Ian G; Ruggero, Davide; Koumenis, Constantinos 2012. ER stress-mediated autophagy promotes Myc-dependent transformation and tumor growth. The Journal of clinical investigation, 122 12, 4621-34

Lori Hart, John T. Cunningham, Tatini Datta, Souvik Dey, Feven Tameire, Stacey L. Lehman, Bo Qiu, Haiyan Zhang, George Cerniglia, Meixia Bi, Yan Li, Yan Gao, Huayi Liu, Changhong Li, Amit Maity, Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko, Alexander E. Perl, Albert Koong, Serge Y. Fuchs, J. Alan Diehl, Ian G. Mills, Davide Ruggero, and Constantinos Koumenis 2012. ER stress–mediated autophagy promotes Myc-dependent transformation and tumor growth Journal of Clinical Investigation, 122 12, 4621-4634

Sharon M. Blättler, Francisco Verdeguer, Marc Liesa, John T. Cunningham, Rutger O. Vogel, Helen Chim, Huifei Liu, Klaas Romanino, Orian S. Shirihai, Francisca Vazquez, Markus Rüegg, Yang Shi, and Pere Puigserver 2012. Defective mitochondrial morphology and bioenergetic function in mice lacking the transcription factor yin yang 1 in skeletal muscle Molecular and Cellular Biology, 32 16, 3333-3346

Sharon M. Blättler, John T. Cunningham, Francisco Verdeguer, Helen Chim, Wilhelm Haas, Huifei Liu, Klaas Romanino, Markus Rüegg, Steven P. Gygi, Yang Shi, and Pere Puigserver 2012. Yin Yang 1 deficiency in mouse skeletal muscle protects against rapamycin-induced diabetic-like symptoms through activation of insulin/IGF signaling Cell Metabolism, 15 4, 505-517

Cunningham, John T; Rodgers, Joseph T; Arlow, Daniel H; Vazquez, Francisca; Mootha, Vamsi K; Puigserver, Pere 2007. mTOR controls mitochondrial oxidative function through a YY1-PGC-1alpha transcriptional complex. Nature, 450 7170, 736-40

John T. Cunningham, Joseph T. Rodgers, Daniel H. Arlow, Francisca Vazquez, Vamsi K. Mootha, and Pere Puigserver 2007. mTOR controls mitochondrial oxidative function through a YY1/PGC-1α transcriptional complex Nature, 450 7170, 736-740