Russell Pieper

Russell Pieper, PhD, is a Professor and Vice-Chair of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) since 1998, and Director of Basic Science at the UCSF Brain Tumor Center since 2004. His research spans over three decades, focusing on glioma biology and therapeutic development.

• Education: BS (1982, University of Wisconsin), PhD (1987, George Washington University), Postdoctoral Fellowship (1987-1990, Loyola University Medical Center)
• Awards: National Research Service Award (1989-1991), Suzanne Marie Haderle Endowed Chair (2001-2016), Neill H. Brownstein Chair (2016-present)

Dr. Pieper's work explores:

• Signal Transduction: Mechanisms linking cell signaling to chemotherapy response in gliomas, particularly temozolomide resistance
• Gliomagenesis: Genetic pathways driving brain tumor formation, including IDH1 mutations and four critical regulatory pathways
• Metabolic Reprogramming: How mutant IDH1 alters pyruvate metabolism and phospholipid biosynthesis
• Telomere Dysfunction: Survival pathways in gliomas during telomere stress and alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT)

His lab's publications demonstrate consistent focus on:

• IDH1 mutation biology (7/15 articles)
• Telomere maintenance mechanisms (4/15 articles)
• Metabolic imaging (5/15 articles)
• DNA repair pathways (6/15 articles)

Award highlights include:

• NIH/NCI National Research Service Award (1989-1991)
• Two prestigious endowed chairs in molecular neuro-oncology (2001-2016) and brain tumor research (2016-present)

Dr. Pieper's team includes postdocs like Yongjian Tang, MD, PhD, and former graduate student Joe Costello, now a UCSF Professor. Current work leverages NIH/NCI grants (R01NS105087, R01CA172845) and private funding from The Loglio Collective.