Arun Wiita

Arun Wiita is an Associate Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. He serves as Assistant Director of the UCSF Clinical Cytogenetics Laboratory, where he interprets molecular genetic testing for prenatal and postnatal diagnosis of microdeletion and microduplication syndromes.

Dr. Wiita's research spans multiple areas within genomics, proteomics, and hematologic malignancies, with particular focus on multiple myeloma and B-cell leukemia. His laboratory employs targeted, quantitative proteomics to investigate translational regulation after cancer therapy and how genomic alterations manifest at the proteome level. He leads the UCSF Stephen and Nancy Grand Multiple Myeloma Translational Initiative Laboratory, collaborating with industry and academic partners to advance preclinical evaluation of novel myeloma therapeutics.

His publication record reveals a strong emphasis on tumor-wide RNA splicing aberrations as therapeutic neoantigen targets, CAR-T cell development for hematologic malignancies, and proteomic approaches to understanding cancer biology. Recent work has centered on CD70-targeted CAR-T cells for high-risk multiple myeloma, CD72 nanobody-based CAR-T cells for B-cell malignancies, and cellular immunotherapy targeting CLL-1 for juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia.

Scientific Awards

• Janet Rowley Memorial Medical Research Award, Gabrielle's Angels Foundation for Cancer Research, 2017
• Clinical Scientist Development Award, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, 2016
• New Innovator Award (DP2), NIH Director's Common Fund, 2016
• Dale Frey Breakthrough Award, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, 2015
• Individual Research Award, UCSF-American Cancer Society, 2015
• K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Award, NIH-NCI, 2014-2019
• Post-doctoral Fellowship, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, 2012-2014
• Dean's Award for Excellence in Research (top PhD thesis prize), Columbia University, 2008

Dr. Wiita has secured substantial grant funding including the NIH Director's New Innovator Award and Doris Duke Foundation support. His laboratory maintains extensive collaborations with industry partners to translate basic discoveries into clinical applications, particularly in developing novel myeloma therapeutics. He has mentored numerous students and researchers in the fields of genomics, proteomics, and cancer biology.

As part of the UCSF Stephen and Nancy Grand Multiple Myeloma Translational Initiative Laboratory, Dr. Wiita leads a multidisciplinary team focused on developing and testing innovative therapeutic approaches for multiple myeloma, integrating proteomics, genomics, and functional approaches to identify novel targets and develop effective treatments.