Rushika Perera, PhD

Title(s)Associate Professor, Anatomy
SchoolSchool of Medicine
Address513 Parnassus Ave, HSW, #1321
San Francisco CA 94143
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    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse Awards and Honors
    American Society for Cell Biology2021Gunter Blobel Early Career Award
    Damon Runyon Cancer Reserach Foundation2016  - 2020Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award
    National Institute of Health2016  - 2021Director's New Innovator Award
    AACR-Pancreatic Cancer Action Network2016  - 2018Career Development Award
    American Association for Cancer Research2015NEXTGen Star

    Collapse Overview 
    Collapse Overview
    In our lab we study how autophagy and the lysosome regulate the response to cellular stress to promote cancer progression.

    Collapse Research 
    Collapse Research Activities and Funding
    Targeting the autophagy-lysosome system to block pancreatic cancer
    NIH R01CA251726Apr 1, 2021 - Mar 31, 2026
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Dissecting new mechanisms of lysosome quality control in health and disease
    NIH R01CA260249Apr 1, 2021 - Mar 31, 2026
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Identifying Molecular Drivers of Cellular Plasticity in Pancreatic Cancer
    NIH R01CA240603Sep 3, 2020 - May 31, 2025
    Role: Principal Investigator
    Tracking tumor evolution through in vivo organelle profiling
    NIH DP2CA216364Sep 30, 2016 - May 31, 2021
    Role: Principal Investigator

    Collapse ORNG Applications 
    Collapse Featured Publications

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    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse Publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
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    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Lysosomes as coordinators of cellular catabolism, metabolic signalling and organ physiology. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2024 Mar; 25(3):223-245. Settembre C, Perera RM. PMID: 38001393.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 2     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    2. Functional characterization of Alzheimer's disease genetic variants in microglia. Nat Genet. 2023 Oct; 55(10):1735-1744. Yang X, Wen J, Yang H, Jones IR, Zhu X, Liu W, Li B, Clelland CD, Luo W, Wong MY, Ren X, Cui X, Song M, Liu H, Chen C, Eng N, Ravichandran M, Sun Y, Lee D, Van Buren E, Jiang MZ, Chan CSY, Ye CJ, Perera RM, Gan L, Li Y, Shen Y. PMID: 37735198; PMCID: PMC10939305.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    3. Emerging roles of the MiT/TFE factors in cancer. Trends Cancer. 2023 10; 9(10):817-827. Zoncu R, Perera RM. PMID: 37400313.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    4. Coordinated Transcriptional and Catabolic Programs Support Iron-Dependent Adaptation to RAS-MAPK Pathway Inhibition in Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Discov. 2022 09 02; 12(9):2198-2219. Ravichandran M, Hu J, Cai C, Ward NP, Venida A, Foakes C, Kuljanin M, Yang A, Hennessey CJ, Yang Y, Desousa BR, Rademaker G, Staes AAL, Cakir Z, Jain IH, Aguirre AJ, Mancias JD, Shen Y, DeNicola GM, Perera RM. PMID: 35771494; PMCID: PMC9444964.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 14     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    5. Lysosomal GPCR-like protein LYCHOS signals cholesterol sufficiency to mTORC1. Science. 2022 09 16; 377(6612):1290-1298. Shin HR, Citron YR, Wang L, Tribouillard L, Goul CS, Stipp R, Sugasawa Y, Jain A, Samson N, Lim CY, Davis OB, Castaneda-Carpio D, Qian M, Nomura DK, Perera RM, Park E, Covey DF, Laplante M, Evers AS, Zoncu R. PMID: 36007018; PMCID: PMC10023259.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 19     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    6. Autophagy in cancer cell remodeling and quality control. Mol Cell. 2022 04 21; 82(8):1514-1527. Hernandez GA, Perera RM. PMID: 35452618; PMCID: PMC9119670.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 14     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    7. Built to last: lysosome remodeling and repair in health and disease. Trends Cell Biol. 2022 07; 32(7):597-610. Zoncu R, Perera RM. PMID: 35123838; PMCID: PMC9189017.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 14     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    8. Challenges and opportunities in 2021. Nat Cancer. 2021 12; 2(12):1278-1283. Akkari L, Finley SD, Ho PC, Jenkins M, Maier BB, McGranahan N, Mutebi M, Perera RM, Robles-Espinoza CD, Vardhana S, Wan L, Xu MM. PMID: 35121916.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    
    9. Zooming in on the cell biology of disease. Mol Biol Cell. 2021 12 01; 32(22):ae4. Perera RM. PMID: 34747628; PMCID: PMC8694084.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    10. Autophagy in major human diseases. EMBO J. 2021 10 01; 40(19):e108863. Klionsky DJ, Petroni G, Amaravadi RK, Baehrecke EH, Ballabio A, Boya P, Bravo-San Pedro JM, Cadwell K, Cecconi F, Choi AMK, Choi ME, Chu CT, Codogno P, Colombo MI, Cuervo AM, Deretic V, Dikic I, Elazar Z, Eskelinen EL, Fimia GM, Gewirtz DA, Green DR, Hansen M, Jäättelä M, Johansen T, Juhász G, Karantza V, Kraft C, Kroemer G, Ktistakis NT, Kumar S, Lopez-Otin C, Macleod KF, Madeo F, Martinez J, Meléndez A, Mizushima N, Münz C, Penninger JM, Perera RM, Piacentini M, Reggiori F, Rubinsztein DC, Ryan KM, Sadoshima J, Santambrogio L, Scorrano L, Simon HU, Simon AK, Simonsen A, Stolz A, Tavernarakis N, Tooze SA, Yoshimori T, Yuan J, Yue Z, Zhong Q, Galluzzi L, Pietrocola F. PMID: 34459017; PMCID: PMC8488577.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 357     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    11. Oncogene-regulated release of extracellular vesicles. Dev Cell. 2021 07 12; 56(13):1989-2006.e6. Kilinc S, Paisner R, Camarda R, Gupta S, Momcilovic O, Kohnz RA, Avsaroglu B, L'Etoile ND, Perera RM, Nomura DK, Goga A. PMID: 34118203; PMCID: PMC8292920.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 18     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    12. Lysosomal retargeting of Myoferlin mitigates membrane stress to enable pancreatic cancer growth. Nat Cell Biol. 2021 03; 23(3):232-242. Gupta S, Yano J, Mercier V, Htwe HH, Shin HR, Rademaker G, Cakir Z, Ituarte T, Wen KW, Kim GE, Zoncu R, Roux A, Dawson DW, Perera RM. PMID: 33686253; PMCID: PMC9446896.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 23     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    13. NPC1-mTORC1 Signaling Couples Cholesterol Sensing to Organelle Homeostasis and Is a Targetable Pathway in Niemann-Pick Type C. Dev Cell. 2021 02 08; 56(3):260-276.e7. Davis OB, Shin HR, Lim CY, Wu EY, Kukurugya M, Maher CF, Perera RM, Ordonez MP, Zoncu R. PMID: 33308480; PMCID: PMC8919971.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 57     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    14. Selective autophagy of MHC-I promotes immune evasion of pancreatic cancer. Autophagy. 2020 08; 16(8):1524-1525. Yamamoto K, Venida A, Perera RM, Kimmelman AC. PMID: 32459143; PMCID: PMC7469632.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 31     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    15. Autophagy promotes immune evasion of pancreatic cancer by degrading MHC-I. Nature. 2020 05; 581(7806):100-105. Yamamoto K, Venida A, Yano J, Biancur DE, Kakiuchi M, Gupta S, Sohn ASW, Mukhopadhyay S, Lin EY, Parker SJ, Banh RS, Paulo JA, Wen KW, Debnath J, Kim GE, Mancias JD, Fearon DT, Perera RM, Kimmelman AC. PMID: 32376951; PMCID: PMC7296553.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 377     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    16. Transcriptional control of subtype switching ensures adaptation and growth of pancreatic cancer. Elife. 2019 05 28; 8. Adams CR, Htwe HH, Marsh T, Wang AL, Montoya ML, Subbaraj L, Tward AD, Bardeesy N, Perera RM. PMID: 31134896; PMCID: PMC6538376.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 35     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    17. Host Control of Tumor Feeding: Autophagy Holds the Key. Cell Metab. 2019 02 05; 29(2):236-238. Venida A, Perera RM. PMID: 30726755.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 4     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    18. MiT/TFE Family of Transcription Factors, Lysosomes, and Cancer. Annu Rev Cancer Biol. 2019 03; 3:203-222. Perera RM, Di Malta C, Ballabio A. PMID: 31650096; PMCID: PMC6812561.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 59  
    19. Transcriptional activation of RagD GTPase controls mTORC1 and promotes cancer growth. Science. 2017 06 16; 356(6343):1188-1192. Di Malta C, Siciliano D, Calcagni A, Monfregola J, Punzi S, Pastore N, Eastes AN, Davis O, De Cegli R, Zampelli A, Di Giovannantonio LG, Nusco E, Platt N, Guida A, Ogmundsdottir MH, Lanfrancone L, Perera RM, Zoncu R, Pelicci PG, Settembre C, Ballabio A. PMID: 28619945; PMCID: PMC5730647.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 120     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    20. Lysosomal cholesterol activates mTORC1 via an SLC38A9-Niemann-Pick C1 signaling complex. Science. 2017 03 24; 355(6331):1306-1311. Castellano BM, Thelen AM, Moldavski O, Feltes M, van der Welle RE, Mydock-McGrane L, Jiang X, van Eijkeren RJ, Davis OB, Louie SM, Perera RM, Covey DF, Nomura DK, Ory DS, Zoncu R. PMID: 28336668; PMCID: PMC5823611.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 246     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    21. Beige Adipocyte Maintenance Is Regulated by Autophagy-Induced Mitochondrial Clearance. Cell Metab. 2016 09 13; 24(3):402-419. Altshuler-Keylin S, Shinoda K, Hasegawa Y, Ikeda K, Hong H, Kang Q, Yang Y, Perera RM, Debnath J, Kajimura S. PMID: 27568548; PMCID: PMC5023491.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 168     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    22. The Lysosome as a Regulatory Hub. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. 2016 10 06; 32:223-253. Perera RM, Zoncu R. PMID: 27501449; PMCID: PMC9345128.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 236     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    23. Pancreatic Cancer Metabolism: Breaking It Down to Build It Back Up. Cancer Discov. 2015 Dec; 5(12):1247-61. Perera RM, Bardeesy N. PMID: 26534901; PMCID: PMC4687899.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 87     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    24. Transcriptional control of autophagy-lysosome function drives pancreatic cancer metabolism. Nature. 2015 Aug 20; 524(7565):361-5. Perera RM, Stoykova S, Nicolay BN, Ross KN, Fitamant J, Boukhali M, Lengrand J, Deshpande V, Selig MK, Ferrone CR, Settleman J, Stephanopoulos G, Dyson NJ, Zoncu R, Ramaswamy S, Haas W, Bardeesy N. PMID: 26168401; PMCID: PMC5086585.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 420     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    25. YAP Inhibition Restores Hepatocyte Differentiation in Advanced HCC, Leading to Tumor Regression. Cell Rep. 2015 Mar 17; 10(10):1692-1707. Fitamant J, Kottakis F, Benhamouche S, Tian HS, Chuvin N, Parachoniak CA, Nagle JM, Perera RM, Lapouge M, Deshpande V, Zhu AX, Lai A, Min B, Hoshida Y, Avruch J, Sia D, Campreciós G, McClatchey AI, Llovet JM, Morrissey D, Raj L, Bardeesy N. PMID: 25772357; PMCID: PMC4565791.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 126     Fields:    
    26. Stromal response to Hedgehog signaling restrains pancreatic cancer progression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 Jul 29; 111(30):E3091-100. Lee JJ, Perera RM, Wang H, Wu DC, Liu XS, Han S, Fitamant J, Jones PD, Ghanta KS, Kawano S, Nagle JM, Deshpande V, Boucher Y, Kato T, Chen JK, Willmann JK, Bardeesy N, Beachy PA. PMID: 25024225; PMCID: PMC4121834.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 266     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    27. CDK4/6 and IGF1 receptor inhibitors synergize to suppress the growth of p16INK4A-deficient pancreatic cancers. Cancer Res. 2014 Jul 15; 74(14):3947-58. Heilmann AM, Perera RM, Ecker V, Nicolay BN, Bardeesy N, Benes CH, Dyson NJ. PMID: 24986516; PMCID: PMC4122288.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 65     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    28. Glutamine supports pancreatic cancer growth through a KRAS-regulated metabolic pathway. Nature. 2013 Apr 04; 496(7443):101-5. Son J, Lyssiotis CA, Ying H, Wang X, Hua S, Ligorio M, Perera RM, Ferrone CR, Mullarky E, Shyh-Chang N, Kang Y, Fleming JB, Bardeesy N, Asara JM, Haigis MC, DePinho RA, Cantley LC, Kimmelman AC. PMID: 23535601; PMCID: PMC3656466.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 961     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    29. Ready, set, go: the EGF receptor at the pancreatic cancer starting line. Cancer Cell. 2012 Sep 11; 22(3):281-2. Perera RM, Bardeesy N. PMID: 22975369; PMCID: PMC3564545.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 14     Fields:    
    30. On oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in the mammary gland. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2012 Jun 01; 4(6). Perera RM, Bardeesy N. PMID: 22661637; PMCID: PMC3367547.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:Animals
    31. Cancer: when antioxidants are bad. Nature. 2011 Jul 06; 475(7354):43-4. Perera RM, Bardeesy N. PMID: 21734699.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 31     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    32. The inositol 5-phosphatase SHIP2 regulates endocytic clathrin-coated pit dynamics. J Cell Biol. 2010 Aug 09; 190(3):307-15. Nakatsu F, Perera RM, Lucast L, Zoncu R, Domin J, Gertler FB, Toomre D, De Camilli P. PMID: 20679431; PMCID: PMC2922640.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 59     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    33. A genome-wide screen for microdeletions reveals disruption of polarity complex genes in diverse human cancers. Cancer Res. 2010 Mar 15; 70(6):2158-64. Rothenberg SM, Mohapatra G, Rivera MN, Winokur D, Greninger P, Nitta M, Sadow PM, Sooriyakumar G, Brannigan BW, Ulman MJ, Perera RM, Wang R, Tam A, Ma XJ, Erlander M, Sgroi DC, Rocco JW, Lingen MW, Cohen EE, Louis DN, Settleman J, Haber DA. PMID: 20215515; PMCID: PMC2881662.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 44     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    34. Mechanistic Insights into Membrane Remodeling Through BAR-Domain Proteins. The FASEB Journal. 2009 Apr 1; 23:82.2-82.2. Frost FA, Mim MC, Perera PR, Spasov SK, Egelman EE, De Camilli DP, Unger UV. .
      View in: Publisher Site   Mentions:
    35. A phosphoinositide switch controls the maturation and signaling properties of APPL endosomes. Cell. 2009 Mar 20; 136(6):1110-21. Zoncu R, Perera RM, Balkin DM, Pirruccello M, Toomre D, De Camilli P. PMID: 19303853; PMCID: PMC2705806.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 186     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    36. Structural basis of membrane invagination by F-BAR domains. Cell. 2008 Mar 07; 132(5):807-17. Frost A, Perera R, Roux A, Spasov K, Destaing O, Egelman EH, De Camilli P, Unger VM. PMID: 18329367; PMCID: PMC2384079.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 295     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    37. Internalization, intracellular trafficking, and biodistribution of monoclonal antibody 806: a novel anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibody. Neoplasia. 2007 Dec; 9(12):1099-110. Perera RM, Zoncu R, Johns TG, Pypaert M, Lee FT, Mellman I, Old LJ, Toomre DK, Scott AM. PMID: 18084617; PMCID: PMC2134906.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 33     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    38. The efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor-specific antibodies against glioma xenografts is influenced by receptor levels, activation status, and heterodimerization. Clin Cancer Res. 2007 Mar 15; 13(6):1911-25. Johns TG, Perera RM, Vernes SC, Vitali AA, Cao DX, Cavenee WK, Scott AM, Furnari FB. PMID: 17363548.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 36     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    39. Loss of endocytic clathrin-coated pits upon acute depletion of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Mar 06; 104(10):3793-8. Zoncu R, Perera RM, Sebastian R, Nakatsu F, Chen H, Balla T, Ayala G, Toomre D, De Camilli PV. PMID: 17360432; PMCID: PMC1805489.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 147     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    40. Two synaptojanin 1 isoforms are recruited to clathrin-coated pits at different stages. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Dec 19; 103(51):19332-7. Perera RM, Zoncu R, Lucast L, De Camilli P, Toomre D. PMID: 17158794; PMCID: PMC1693868.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 91     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    41. Treatment of human tumor xenografts with monoclonal antibody 806 in combination with a prototypical epidermal growth factor receptor-specific antibody generates enhanced antitumor activity. Clin Cancer Res. 2005 Sep 01; 11(17):6390-9. Perera RM, Narita Y, Furnari FB, Gan HK, Murone C, Ahlkvist M, Luwor RB, Burgess AW, Stockert E, Jungbluth AA, Old LJ, Cavenee WK, Scott AM, Johns TG. PMID: 16144944.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 31     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    42. The tumor-specific de2-7 epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) promotes cells survival and heterodimerizes with the wild-type EGFR. Oncogene. 2004 Aug 12; 23(36):6095-104. Luwor RB, Zhu HJ, Walker F, Vitali AA, Perera RM, Burgess AW, Scott AM, Johns TG. PMID: 15221011.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 45     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    43. Antitumor efficacy of cytotoxic drugs and the monoclonal antibody 806 is enhanced by the EGF receptor inhibitor AG1478. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Dec 23; 100(26):15871-6. Johns TG, Luwor RB, Murone C, Walker F, Weinstock J, Vitali AA, Perera RM, Jungbluth AA, Stockert E, Old LJ, Nice EC, Burgess AW, Scott AM. PMID: 14676326; PMCID: PMC307660.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 36     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
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