Faculty

Gregory L. Beatty, MD, PhD

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Associate Professor of Medicine (Hematology-Oncology)
Department: Medicine
Graduate Group Affiliations

Contact information
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
South Pavilion, Rm 8-107
3400 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104-5156
Education:
BS
Bucknell University, 1995.
PhD
University of Pennsylvania, 2000.
MD
University of Pennsylvania, 2004.
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Description of Clinical Expertise

Dr. Beatty's clinical expertise is in the area of early clinical trials for the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies including pancreas, esophageal and colon carcinomas. He has led the first clinical study of CD40 immunotherapy for pancreas cancer, the first in-human study of a novel inhibitor of indoleamine 2,3 deoxygenase, and is currently working to translate novel T cell adoptive therapies for pancreas cancer.

In addition to the translation of immunotherapeutic strategies for the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies, Dr. Beatty's clinical research is focused on translating novel imaging strategies to the clinic to understand therapeutic responses to immunotherapy. His research also collaborates with radiation oncology to understand the role of radiation for activating immune responses against pancreatic carcinoma.

Based on early clinical findings supporting a role for immunotherapy in pancreatic carcinoma, Dr. Beatty's laboratory is using preclinical models of cancer to advance our understanding of the role of the immune system in regulating tumor biology with the primary goal to inform the development of novel immunotherapeutics for translation to the clinical setting.

Description of Other Expertise

Current members of my laboratory include:
1. Devora Delman, research specialist, lab manager
2. Meredith Stone, PhD, post-doctoral researcher
3. Max Wattenberg, MD, Instructor
4. Stacy Thomas, MD/PhD graduate student
5. Jesse Lee, PhD graduate student
6. Jackie Plesset, PhD graduate student
7. Yan Li, research specialist
8. Xiaoqing Pan, research specialist
9. Heather Coho, research animal specialist, animal studies manager
10. Bob Bedensky, reserach animal specialist
11. Veronica Herrera, research flow cytometry specialist
12. Renee, Chang, research histology specialist
13. Yuqing Xue, research histology specialist
14. Shaanti Choi-Bose, research specialist
15. Hana Choi, research specialist
16. Rebecca Yelton, Administrative Assistant

Past members of my laboratory include:
1. Santiago Lombo Luque, research specialist
2. Amy Shyu, masters student
3. Kristen Schwab, medical student
4. Michael Chuang, undergraduate student
5. Patrick Guirnalda, post-doctoral researcher
6. Whitney Gladney, Ph.D., post-doctoral researcher
7. Graham Tooker, post-baccalaureate student
8. Kevin Alicea Torres, post-baccalaureate student
9. Dawson Knoblock, Ph.D., post-doctoral researcher
10. Irene Park, undergraduate student
11. Kristen Long, Ph.D., post-doctoral researcher
12. Anusha Kalbasi, M.D., radiation oncology resident
13. Fee Bengsch, post-doctoral researcher
14. Evan Tooker, masters student
15. Chad Komar, undergraduate/masters student
16. Shabnam Eghbali, undergraduate student
17. Robert Hu, undergraduate student
18. Rebecca Kim, medical student
19. Jason Liu, combined degree student
20. Jae Lee, combined degree student
21. Kathleen Graham, research specialist, animal studies manager
22. Anni Liu, undergraduate student
23. Thomas Buckingham, undergraduate student

Description of Research Expertise

My laboratory incorporates both basic science research and clinical investigation to examine the role of innate immunity, in particular monocytes/macrophages, in regulating tumor biology in pancreas cancer as well as other upper gastrointestinal malignancies. Our central hypothesis is that macrophages are key regulators of tumor biology.

Clinical research in the laboratory uses patient-derived samples to understand the role of macrophage biology in metastatic disease and therapeutic efficacy.

Preclinical research in the laboratory uses a genetically engineered mouse model of pancreas cancer in combination with advanced imaging strategies to study macrophage biology within the tumor microenvironment. This preclinical research platform allows for the study of basic immune biology within the tumor microenvironment as well as the rapid screening of novel immunotherapeutic strategies, including cell and gene therapies, for the treatment of cancer.

Studies in the laboratory focus on understanding 1) the signaling pathways that regulate cross-talk between macrophages and tumor cells in vivo, 2) the role of hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic cells in regulating macrophage biology within tumors, 3) the cellular trafficking of macrophages to primary and metastatic lesions, 4) strategies to harness macrophages for anti-tumor therapy, and 5) the impact of chemotherapy/radiation therapy on macrophage biology within tumors.

Selected Publications

Andrew H Ko, Alexander C Jordan, Evan Tooker, Simon F Lacey, Renee B Chang, Yan Li, Alan P Venook, Margaret Tempero, Lloyd Damon, Lawrence Fong, Mark H O'Hara, Bruce L Levine, J Joseph Melenhorst, Gabriela Plesa, Carl H June, Gregory L Beatty : Dual Targeting of Mesothelin and CD19 with Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Modified T Cells in Patients with Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Molecular Therapy 28(11): 2367, Nov 2020.

Lee J.W., Stone M.L., Porrett P.M., Thomas S.K., Komar C.A., Li J.H., Delman D., Graham K., Gladney W.L., Hua X., Gao M., Liu D., Borad M.J., Ramanathan R.K., Carpenter E.L., Ji A., de Beer M.C., de Beer F.C., Webb N.R., and G.L. Beatty: Hepatocytes direct the formation of a pro-metastatic niche in the liver. Nature 567(7747): 249-252, Mar 2019.

Xu, J., Sai, H., Li, Y., Jordan, A.C., McGettigan, S.E., Chen, J-H., Bedoya, F., Fraietta, J.A., Gladney, W.L., Melenhorst, J.J., and G.L. Beatty: Peripheral blood T cell fitness is diminished in patients with pancreatic carcinoma but can be improved with homeostatic cytokines. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol 8(4): 656-658, 2019.

Liu M, O'Connor RS, Trefely S, Graham K, Snyder NW, Beatty GL.: Metabolic rewiring of macrophages by CpG potentiates clearance of cancer cells and overcomes tumor-expressed CD47-mediated 'don't eat me signal' Nat Immunol 20(3): 265-275, Mar 2019.

Beatty GL, O'Hara MH, Lacey SF, Torigian DA, Nazimuddin F, Chen F, Kulikovskaya IM, Soulen MC, McGarvey M, Nelson AM, Gladney WL, Levine BL, Melenhorst JJ, Plesa G, June CH.: Activity of mesothelin-specific chimeric antigen receptor T cells against pancreatic carcinoma metastases in a phase 1 trial. Gastroenterology 155(1): 29-32, Jul 2018.

Long KB, Gladney WL, Tooker GM, Graham K, Fraietta JA, Beatty GL.: IFNγ and CCL2 Cooperate to Redirect Tumor-Infiltrating Monocytes to Degrade Fibrosis and Enhance Chemotherapy Efficacy in Pancreatic Carcinoma. Cancer Discov 6(4): 400-413, Apr 2016.

Beatty GL, Gladney WL.: Immune escape mechanisms as a guide for cancer immunotherapy. Clin Cancer Res 21(4): 687, Feb 2015.

Beatty GL, Winograd R, Evans RA, Long KB, Luque SL, Lee JW, Clendenin C, Gladney WL, Knoblock DM, Guirnalda PD, Vonderheide RH.: Exclusion of T Cells From Pancreatic Carcinomas in Mice Is Regulated by Ly6C(low) F4/80(+) Extratumoral Macrophages. Gastroenterology 149(1): 201-10, Jul 2015.

Beatty, GL., Torigian, DA., Chiorean EG, Saboury B, Brothers, A., Alavi A. Troxel, AB, Sun W, Teitelbaum UR, Vonderheide RH, PJ O'Dwyer: A phase I study of an agonist CD40 monoclonal antibody (CP-870,893) in combination with gemcitabine in patients with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Clin Cancer Res. 19(22): 6286-95, Nov 2015.

Beatty GL, Chiorean EG, Fishman MP, Saboury B, Teitelbaum UR, Sun WJ, Huhn RD, Song WR, Li DG, Sharp LL, Torigian DA, O'Dwyer PJ, Vonderheide RH: CD40 Agonists Alter Tumor Stroma and Show Efficacy Against Pancreatic Carcinoma in Mice and Humans. Science 331(6024): 1612-1616, Mar 25 2011.

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Last updated: 07/10/2024
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