University of California San Francisco

Susana Ortiz-Urda, M.D. Ph.D.
Susana
Ortiz-Urda
MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Dermatology
Department of Dermatology
Co-Director, UCSF Melanoma Center
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Address

2340 Sutter Street, #N419
San Francisco, CA 94115
United States

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 415-476-8502
Fax: 415-476-8218

ORCID: 0000-0002-5979-8876

Biography

Dr. Susana Ortiz-Urda is a dermatologist and melanoma specialist who serves as co-director of the UCSF Melanoma Center. She cares for patients with early and advanced melanoma.

Ortiz-Urda’s lab works with human models of epithelial neoplasia and melanoma. She studies cancer signaling at a genetic sequencing level to identify novel transcripts, their functions and the factors that promote resistance to drugs or cancer progression. She hopes her findings may point to key biomarkers or new targets for treating melanoma.

Ortiz-Urda earned her medical degree and doctorate at the University of Vienna. She completed a residency in dermatology and a postdoctoral fellowship in epithelial biology at Stanford University, followed by a cutaneous oncology fellowship at UCSF. She earned her master of business administration degree at New York University.

Ortiz-Urda is a member of the American Academy of Dermatology, Austrian Society of Dermatology and Venereology, and Dermatology Foundation. She has received several honors, including the Kardinal-Innitzer Award for Outstanding Science in Dermatology and the Unilever Award from the Austrian Society of Dermatology and Venereology.

Learn more about Ortiz-Urda's research: http://cancer.ucsf.edu/research/ortiz-lab.

Education

Institution Degree Dept or School End Date
New York University, NY M.B.A. Business Administration 2014
Stanford University Resident Dermatology 2010
University of California, San Francisco Research Fellowship Derm-Oncology 2010
The Brooklyn Hospital Center, NY Internship Medicine 2006
Stanford University Postdoctoral Fellowship Epithelial Biology 2005
AKH Vienna Research Resident Dermatology 2001
University of Vienna Research Fellow Dermatology 1999
Rappersberger, University of Vienna PhD Biology 1998
University of Vienna M.D. School of Medicine 1998

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Dermatology

Clinical Expertise

Basal Cell Carcinoma
Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Skin Cancer in Immunosuppressed Patients
Melanoma
Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Kaposi's sarcoma
Skin adnexal tumors
Skin sarcomas
General Dermatology
Cutaneous Oncology

Program Affiliations

Department of Dermatology
UCSF Melanoma Center
Member, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Research Narrative

My research interest is centered in the mechanisms involved in cancer progression. In recent studies we studied the role of tumor-stroma interactions in epithelial tumorigenesis. Our goal now is to identify the earliest melanoma precursors and to study the mechanisms of intraepidermal melanoma progression taking advantage of a human tissue model of human melanoma.

Our laboratory is currently pursuing studies of the signaling and gene regulatory networks that control this process. Our studies are designed to identify potential biomarkers in unresected occult melanoma, establish improved methods to identify occult intraepidermal melanoma, rationalize resection margins, and find treatments to reduce melanoma recurrence at the primary site. My lab is also interested in the epigenetic mechanisms involved in cancer progression and in expression analysis between consecutive stages of tumor progression. These studies are designed to identify targets for genes involved in the migration, proliferation, and invasion of mutant melanocytes.

Research Interests

Xenograft models of cutaneous neoplasia

Mechanisms of cancer progression: signal transduction pathways

Molecular therapeutics in cancer

Epigenetics

Publications

MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS FROM A TOTAL OF 48
  1. Poor melanoma outcomes and survival in Asian American and Pacific Islander patients.
    Zheng YJ, Ho C, Lazar A, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  2. A dual pathway inhibition strategy using BKM120 combined with vemurafenib is poorly tolerated in BRAF V600E/K mutant advanced melanoma.
    Algazi AP, Rotow J, Posch C, Ortiz-Urda S, Pelayo A, Munster PN, Daud A| | PubMed
  3. MEK/CDK4,6 co-targeting is effective in a subset of NRAS, BRAF and 'wild type' melanomas.
    Posch C, Sanlorenzo M, Ma J, Kim ST, Zekhtser M, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  4. The lincRNA MIRAT binds to IQGAP1 and modulates the MAPK pathway in NRAS mutant melanoma.
    Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Esteve-Puig R, Lai K, Vujic M, Lin K, Posch C, Dimon M, Moy A, Zekhtser M, Johnston K, Gho D, Ho W, Gajjala A, Oses Prieto J, Burlingame A, Daud A, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  5. Cutaneous CD56+ T-cell lymphoma developing during pembrolizumab treatment for metastatic melanoma.
    Zheng YJ, Lee A, Pincus L, Ho W, Vujic M, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  6. Dual MEK/AKT inhibition with trametinib and GSK2141795 does not yield clinical benefit in metastatic NRAS-mutant and wild-type melanoma.
    Algazi AP, Esteve-Puig R, Nosrati A, Hinds B, Hobbs-Muthukumar A, Nandoskar P, Ortiz-Urda S, Chapman PB, Daud A| | PubMed
  7. New insights in melanoma biomarkers: long-noncoding RNAs.
    Moreno-Traspas R, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  8. Pharmacological inhibitors of c-KIT block mutant c-KIT mediated migration of melanocytes and melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo.
    Posch C, Moslehi H, Sanlorenzo M, Green G, Vujic I, Panzer-Grümayer R, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  9. Phosphoproteomic Analyses of NRAS(G12) and NRAS(Q61) Mutant Melanocytes Reveal Increased CK2α Kinase Levels in NRAS(Q61) Mutant Cells.
    Posch C, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Oses-Prieto JA, Cholewa BD, Kim ST, Ma J, Lai K, Zekhtser M, Esteve-Puig R, Green G, Chand S, Burlingame AL, Panzer-Grümayer R, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  10. Oncogenic KIT mutations in different exons lead to specific changes in melanocyte phospho-proteome.
    Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Posch C, Ma J, Lin K, Lai K, Lee D, Vujic M, Oses-Prieto JA, Chand S, Rodriguez-Peralto JL, Burlingame A, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  11. Searching for the Chokehold of NRAS Mutant Melanoma.
    Posch C, Vujic I, Monshi B, Sanlorenzo M, Weihsengruber F, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  12. Acyl protein thioesterase 1 and 2 (APT-1, APT-2) inhibitors palmostatin B, ML348 and ML349 have different effects on NRAS mutant melanoma cells.
    Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Esteve-Puig R, Vujic M, Kwong A, Tsumura A, Murphy R, Moy A, Posch C, Monshi B, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  13. The burden of malignant melanoma--lessons to be learned from Austria.
    Monshi B, Vujic M, Kivaranovic D, Sesti A, Oberaigner W, Vujic I, Ortiz-Urda S, Posch C, Feichtinger H, Hackl M, Rappersberger K| | PubMed
  14. Time-Dependent Measurement of Adverse Events-Reply.
    Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  15. Pembrolizumab Cutaneous Adverse Events and Their Association With Disease Progression.
    Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Daud A, Algazi A, Gubens M, Luna SA, Lin K, Quaglino P, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  16. Melanoma risk perception and prevention behavior among African-Americans: the minority melanoma paradox.
    Goldenberg A, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  17. Combined Inhibition of MEK and Plk1 Has Synergistic Antitumor Activity in NRAS Mutant Melanoma.
    Posch C, Cholewa BD, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Ma J, Kim ST, Kleffel S, Schatton T, Rappersberger K, Gutteridge R, Ahmad N, Ortiz/Urda S| | PubMed
  18. Correction: Cost-Effectiveness Of Treatment Strategies for BRAF-Mutated Metastatic Melanoma.
    Curl P, Vujic I, van 't Veer LJ, Ortiz-Urda S, Kahn JG| | PubMed
  19. The risk of melanoma in pilots and cabin crew: UV measurements in flying airplanes.
    Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Posch C, Cleaver JE, Quaglino P, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  20. The combination of axitinib followed by paclitaxel/carboplatin yields extended survival in advanced BRAF wild-type melanoma: results of a clinical/correlative prospective phase II clinical trial.
    Algazi AP, Cha E, Ortiz-Urda SM, McCalmont T, Bastian BC, Hwang J, Pampaloni MH, Behr S, Chong K, Cortez B, Quiroz A, Coakley F, Liu S, Daud AI| | PubMed
  21. Detection of GNAQ mutations and reduction of cell viability in uveal melanoma cells with functionalized gold nanoparticles.
    Posch C, Latorre A, Crosby MB, Celli A, Latorre A, Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Green GA, Weier J, Zekhtser M, Ma J, Monico G, Char DH, Jusufbegovic D, Rappersberger K, Somoza Á, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  22. Metformin and trametinib have synergistic effects on cell viability and tumor growth in NRAS mutant cancer.
    Vujic I, Sanlorenzo M, Posch C, Esteve-Puig R, Yen AJ, Kwong A, Tsumura A, Murphy R, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  23. The risk of melanoma in airline pilots and cabin crew: a meta-analysis.
    Sanlorenzo M, Wehner MR, Linos E, Kornak J, Kainz W, Posch C, Vujic I, Johnston K, Gho D, Monico G, McGrath JT, Osella-Abate S, Quaglino P, Cleaver JE, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  24. Comparative profile of cutaneous adverse events: BRAF/MEK inhibitor combination therapy versus BRAF monotherapy in melanoma.
    Sanlorenzo M, Choudhry A, Vujic I, Posch C, Chong K, Johnston K, Meier M, Osella-Abate S, Quaglino P, Daud A, Algazi A, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  25. Mutant NRASQ61 shares signaling similarities across various cancer types--potential implications for future therapies.
    Vujic I, Posch C, Sanlorenzo M, Yen AJ, Tsumura A, Kwong A, Feichtenschlager V, Lai K, Arneson DV, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda SM| | PubMed
  26. Cost-effectiveness of treatment strategies for BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma.
    Curl P, Vujic I, van 't Veer LJ, Ortiz-Urda S, Kahn JG| | PubMed
  27. Merkel cell carcinoma: mitoses, expression of Ki-67 and bcl-2 correlate with disease progression.
    Vujic I, Marker M, Posch C, Mühlehner D, Monshi B, Breier F, Steiner A, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K| | PubMed
  28. DNA and aptamer stabilized gold nanoparticles for targeted delivery of anticancer therapeutics.
    Latorre A, Posch C, Garcimartín Y, Celli A, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Ma J, Zekhtser M, Rappersberger K, Ortiz-Urda S, Somoza Á| | PubMed
  29. Single-point mutation detection in RNA extracts using gold nanoparticles modified with hydrophobic molecular beacon-like structures.
    Latorre A, Posch C, Garcimartín Y, Ortiz-Urda S, Somoza Á| | PubMed
  30. Melanoma immunotherapy.
    Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Posch C, Dajee A, Yen A, Kim S, Ashworth M, Rosenblum MD, Algazi A, Osella-Abate S, Quaglino P, Daud A, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  31. Mycoplasma pneumoniae-associated mucositis--case report and systematic review of literature.
    Vujic I, Shroff A, Grzelka M, Posch C, Monshi B, Sanlorenzo M, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K| | PubMed
  32. Low-dose inhalation of interleukin-2 bio-chemotherapy for the treatment of pulmonary metastases in melanoma patients.
    Posch C, Weihsengruber F, Bartsch K, Feichtenschlager V, Sanlorenzo M, Vujic I, Monshi B, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K| | PubMed
  33. NRAS mutant melanoma--undrugable?
    Posch C, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  34. Combined targeting of MEK and PI3K/mTOR effector pathways is necessary to effectively inhibit NRAS mutant melanoma in vitro and in vivo.
    Posch C, Moslehi H, Feeney L, Green GA, Ebaee A, Feichtenschlager V, Chong K, Peng L, Dimon MT, Phillips T, Daud AI, McCalmont TH, LeBoit PE, Ortiz-Urda S| | PubMed
  35. Cutting edge in medical management of cutaneous oncology.
    Chong K, Daud A, Ortiz-Urda S, Arron ST, UCSF High Risk Skin Cancer Program| | PubMed
  36. Modeling inducible human tissue neoplasia identifies an extracellular matrix interaction network involved in cancer progression.
    Reuter JA, Ortiz-Urda S, Kretz M, Garcia J, Scholl FA, Pasmooij AM, Cassarino D, Chang HY, Khavari PA| | PubMed
  37. A laminin-collagen complex drives human epidermal carcinogenesis through phosphoinositol-3-kinase activation.
    Waterman EA, Sakai N, Nguyen NT, Horst BA, Veitch DP, Dey CN, Ortiz-Urda S, Khavari PA, Marinkovich MP| | PubMed
  38. Type VII collagen is required for Ras-driven human epidermal tumorigenesis.
    Ortiz-Urda S, Garcia J, Green CL, Chen L, Lin Q, Veitch DP, Sakai LY, Lee H, Marinkovich MP, Khavari PA| | PubMed
  39. [Erythema induratum-nodular vasculitis].
    Marker M, Ortiz-Urda S, Lilgenau N, Rappersberger K| | PubMed
  40. Carbamazepine-induced DRESS syndrome with recurrent fever and exanthema.
    Valencak J, Ortiz-Urda S, Heere-Ress E, Kunstfeld R, Base W| | PubMed
  41. The plant lectin wheat germ agglutinin inhibits the binding of pemphigus foliaceus autoantibodies to desmoglein 1 in a majority of patients and prevents pathomechanisms of pemphigus foliaceus in vitro and in vivo.
    Ortiz-Urda S, Elbe-Bürger A, Smolle J, Marquart Y, Chudnovsky Y, Ridky TW, Bernstein P, Wolff K, Rappersberger K| | PubMed
  42. Sustainable correction of junctional epidermolysis bullosa via transposon-mediated nonviral gene transfer.
    Ortiz-Urda S, Lin Q, Yant SR, Keene D, Kay MA, Khavari PA| | PubMed
  43. PhiC31 integrase-mediated nonviral genetic correction of junctional epidermolysis bullosa.
    Ortiz-Urda S, Thyagarajan B, Keene DR, Lin Q, Calos MP, Khavari PA| | PubMed
  44. [New immunosuppressive agents for treating psoriasis].
    Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K| | PubMed
  45. Injection of genetically engineered fibroblasts corrects regenerated human epidermolysis bullosa skin tissue.
    Ortiz-Urda S, Lin Q, Green CL, Keene DR, Marinkovich MP, Khavari PA| | PubMed
  46. Stable nonviral genetic correction of inherited human skin disease.
    Ortiz-Urda S, Thyagarajan B, Keene DR, Lin Q, Fang M, Calos MP, Khavari PA| | PubMed
  47. Pathogenesis of the permeability barrier abnormality in epidermolytic hyperkeratosis.
    Schmuth M, Yosipovitch G, Williams ML, Weber F, Hintner H, Ortiz-Urda S, Rappersberger K, Crumrine D, Feingold KR, Elias PM| | PubMed
  48. A localized variant of paraneoplastic pemphigus: acantholysis associated with malignant melanoma.
    Schaeppi H, Bauer JW, Hametner R, Metze D, Ortiz-Urda S, Salmhofer W, Rappersberger K, Hintner H| | PubMed