Kenneth J. Pienta

Mitotic bypass and continued endocycling promote cancer cell survival after genotoxic chemotherapy

This study shows cancer cells survive genotoxic chemotherapy by entering a drug-tolerant persister state involving mitotic bypass and endocycling, which can be targeted by inhibiting WEE1 or Myt1.

Indirect genomic effects shape cancer risk across species

This study identifies genes linked to cancer risk variation across species, showing indirect effects on body size dominate cancer suppression, while direct effects increase tumour prevalence.

ExposoGraph: An Interactive Platform for Carcinogen Bioactivation and Detoxification Pathway Visualization

ExposoGraph is an interactive knowledge-graph platform that visualizes carcinogen metabolism and DNA damage pathways, integrating data from multiple sources to support gene-environment interaction studies.

A microfluidic platform for multi-marker profiling of extracellular vesicles from single-cell-derived clones

This paper introduces a microfluidic platform for multi-marker EV profiling from single-cell clones, revealing EV marker heterogeneity and EpCAM correlation with cell proliferation.

Drug-tolerant persister cells reallocate carbon sources to fuel antioxidant metabolism for survival

This study identifies metabolic shifts in drug-tolerant persister cells that support antioxidant metabolism, offering new targets to overcome therapy resistance.

Cancer cells surviving cisplatin chemotherapy increase stress-induced OMA1 activity and mitochondrial fragmentation

This study shows that cancer cells surviving cisplatin chemotherapy increase OMA1 activity and mitochondrial fragmentation to resist oxidative stress.

HIF-1α and RhoA Drive Enhanced Motility and Aerotaxis of Polyaneuploid Prostate Cancer Cells in Hypoxia

The paper shows polyaneuploid prostate cancer cells under hypoxia exhibit enhanced motility and aerotaxis driven by HIF-1α and RhoA, enabling invasion and intravasation.

Dysregulation of cellular iron predisposes chemotherapy resistant cancer cells to ferroptosis

The paper shows chemoresistant cancer cells are vulnerable to ferroptosis due to iron dysregulation, despite varying ferroptosis sensitivity in untreated cells.

Oncogenic signaling in the adult Drosophila prostate-like accessory gland leads to activation of a conserved pro-tumorigenic program, in the absence of proliferation.

This study shows that oncogenic signaling in adult Drosophila accessory glands activates a pro-tumorigenic program without proliferation, leading to tissue hyperplasia and aneuploidy through endoreduplication.

Single-Cell Proteomic and Transcriptomic Characterization of Drug-Resistant Prostate Cancer Cells Reveals Molecular Signatures Associated with Morphological Changes

This study uses single-cell proteomics and RNA-seq to analyze drug-resistant prostate cancer cells, identifying proteomic sub-clusters and gene expression changes linked to morphological and functional traits.

Punctuational evolution is pervasive in distal site metastatic colonization

The paper shows that metastatic tumors exhibit more punctuational molecular evolution compared to primary tumors, indicating different evolutionary modes in cancer progression.

Cells in the Polyaneuploid Cancer Cell State are Pro-Metastatic

This study shows that polyaneuploid cancer cells (PACCs) are pro-metastatic in vivo, based on in vitro and in vivo experiments in mouse models.

Polyploid cancer cells reveal signatures of chemotherapy resistance

The paper identifies polyploid cancer cells as markers of chemotherapy resistance and recurrence in prostate cancer, linking them to poorer survival outcomes.

A Clear, Legible, Explainable, Transparent, and Elucidative (CLETE) Binary Classification Platform for Tabular Data

The paper introduces a CLETE binary classification platform for tabular data that offers explainable, transparent, and modifiable machine learning models with various feature selection, sampling, and evaluation methods.

Optimized Data-Independent Acquisition Approach for Proteomic Analysis at Single-Cell Level

The paper optimizes data-independent acquisition (DIA) mass spectrometry for single-cell proteomics, achieving reliable quantification of proteins and post-translational modifications at sub-nano-gram levels.

Computational modeling of the crosstalk between macrophage polarization and tumor cell plasticity in the tumor microenvironment

The paper uses computational models to study how macrophage polarization and cancer cell plasticity interact in the tumor microenvironment, showing that these interactions can lead to multiple stable states, including cancer cell extinction.

3D Shape Modeling for Cell Nuclear Morphological Analysis and Classification

The paper develops a 3D morphometric analysis pipeline for cell nuclei and nucleoli, achieving high classification accuracy in prostate cancer and fibroblast cells.

3D Cell Nuclear Morphology: Microscopy Imaging Dataset and Voxel-Based Morphometry Classification Results

The paper introduces a 3D cell nuclear morphology dataset and evaluates classification algorithms using voxel-based morphometric measures.