DineshRaoMD, PhD, FCAP

Pathology • Los Angeles, CA

Hematopathology, Anatomic Pathology, Clinical Pathology

Professor

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Office
10833 Le Conte Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Phone+1 310-794-8285

Summary

Dinesh S. Rao received a B.S. summa cum laude in Biochemistry and an M.D. from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA. During this time he developed a deep interest in the pathogenesis of cancer, completing several projects in cancer research during medical school, and went on to a research fellowship at the University of Michigan. There, he made a seminal discovery implicating clathrin mediated trafficking of growth factor receptor tyrosine kinases in the pathogenesis of oncogenic transformation. He then combined clinical training in the pathology of hematologic diseases with further research training in the laboratory of Nobel laureate David Baltimore at Caltech. His research came to focus on post transcriptional mechanisms of gene regulation in hematologic development, immunity, and cancer, and resulted in several high-impact publications in well-regarded journals. He combines running a vibrant research laboratory with a busy diagnostic service in leukemia and lymphoma pathology.

Clinical Expertise

Leukemia, Lymphoma

Education & Training

California Institute of TechnologyPh.D., 2010
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical CenterFellowship, Hematopathology, 2005 - 2006
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine/UCLA Medical CenterResidency, Pathology-Anatomic and Clinical, 2003 - 2005
University of Michigan Medical CenterPost-Doctoral Fellowship, 2000 - 2003
Case Western Reserve University School of MedicineClass of 2000
Case Western Reserve UniversityB.S., Biochemistry, Summa Cum Laude, 1995

Certifications & Licensure

CA State Medical License 2004 - 2026
American Board of Pathology Anatomic Pathology
American Board of Pathology Hematopathology

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

Harland G. Wood Prize, Best Undergraduate student in Biochemistry Case Western Reserve University, 1995
Phi Beta Kappa Case Western Reserve University, 1994
The Irving Feintech Family Foundation Research Award Tower Cancer Foundation, 2011
Kimmel Scholar in Translational Cancer Research Sidney Kimmel Foundation, 2011
Stein-Oppenheimer Endowment Award UCLA, 2011
Kimmel Translational Scholar Award Sidney Kimmel Foundation, 2011
Research Grant Award Tower Cancer Research Foundation/ Irving Feintech Family Foundation, 2011
Oppenheimer Endowment Award UCLA, 2011
Travel Award 4th Aegean Conference on transcriptional regulation in lymphocyte development, 2008
Joanne Levy, M.D., Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement American Society of Hematology, 2007
Fellow, Specialty Training and Advanced Research UCLA, 2006
Fellow Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR), UCLA, 2003
Daljit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Fellow in Disease Research and Clinical Innovation Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UCLA, 2003
Research Fellow Huntington's Disease Society of America, 2001
Department of Neurology Award, Best Medical Student in Neurology 2000
Neurology Prize Case Western Reserve University, 2000
Joseph S. Silber Fellow American Cancer Society, 1997
Harland G. Wood Prize in Biochemistry Case Western Reserve University, 1995
Provost Scholar Case Western Reserve University, 1991
Dean's High Honors Case Western Reserve University, 1991
Robert C. Byrd Scholar Case Western Reserve University, 1991
Joanne Levy, M.D. Award for Outstanding Achievement American Society of Hematology
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Publications & Presentations

PubMed

173 citations
MicroRNAs in B cell development and malignancy
Thilini Fernando, Norma I. Rodriguez-Malave, Dinesh S. Rao
Journal of Hematology & Oncology. 2012-03-08
900 citations
MicroRNAs: new regulators of immune cell development and function.
David Baltimore, Mark Boldin, Ryan M. O'Connell, Dinesh S. Rao, Konstantin Taganov
Nature Immunology. 2008-08-01
1255 citations
Physiological and pathological roles for microRNAs in the immune system
Ryan M. O'Connell, Dinesh S. Rao, Aadel A. Chaudhuri, David Baltimore
Nature Reviews. Immunology. 2010-02-01

Journal Articles

"MicroRNA-146a acts as a guardian of the quality and longevity of hematopoietic stem cells in mice"
Zhao JL, Rao DS, O'Connell RM, Garcia-Flores Y, Baltimore D, eLife, 5/21/2013
"A case of pediatric B-Lymphoblastic leukemia presenting with a t(9;12)(p24;q112) involving JAK2 and concomitant MLL rearrangement with apparent insertion at 6q27"
Tirado CA, Shabsovich D, Denicola M, Rao D, Yang L, Garcia R, Rao N, Biomark Res, 1/1/2013
"The CD44(high) Tumorigenic Subsets in Lung Cancer Biospecimens Are Enriched for Low miR-34a Expression"
Basak SK, Veena MS, Oh S, Lai C, Vangala S, Elashoff D, Fishbein MC, Sharma S, Rao NP, Rao D, Phan R, Srivatsan ES, Batra RK, PLos One, 1/1/2013
"Broad Protection Against Influenza by Vectored ImmunoProphylaxis"
Balasz AB, Bloom JD, Hong CM, Rao DS, Baltimore D, Nature Biotechnology, 1/1/2013
"MiR-34b promoter hypermethylation induces CREB overexpression and contributes to myeloid transformation"
Pigazzi M, Manara E, Bresolin S, Tregnago C, Beghin A, Baron E, Giarin E, Cho EC, Masetti R, Rao DS, Sakamoto KM, Basso G, Hematologica, 1/1/2013
"microRNAs in B-cell development and malignancy"
Fernando TR, Rodriguez-Malave NI, Rao DS, Journal of Hematology and Oncology, 3/8/2012
"microRNA regulation of inflammatory responses"
O'Connell RM, Rao DS, Baltimore D, Annual Reviews of Immunology, 1/1/2012
"MicroRNAs in inflammation and immune responses"
Contreras J and Rao DS, Leukemia, 1/1/2012
"Inhibitory effect of HIV-specific neutralizing IgA on mucosal transmission of HIV in humanized mice"
Hur EM, Patel SN, Shimizu S, Rao DS, Gnanapragasam PN, An DS, Yang L, Baltimore D, Blood, 1/1/2012
"Oncomir miR-125b regulates hematopoiesis by targeting the gene Lin28A"
Chaudhuri AA, So AY, Mehta A, Minisandram A, Sinha N, Jonsson VD, Rao DS, O'Connell RM, Baltimore D, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 1/1/2012
"Antibody-based protection against HIV infection by vectored immunoprophylaxis"
Balasz AB, Chen J, Hong CM, Rao DS, Yang L, Baltimore D, Nature, 1/1/2012
"miR-146a is a significant brake on autoimmunity, myeloproliferation, and cancer in mice"
Boldin MP, Taganov KD, Rao DS, Yang L, Zhao JL, Kalwani M, Garcia-Flores Y, Luong M, Devrekanli A, Xu J, Sun G, Tay J, Linsley PS, Baltimore D, J Exp Med, 1/1/2011
"MicroRNA function in myeloid Biology"
O'Connell RM, Jhao JL, Rao DS, Blood, 1/1/2011
"NF-kB activation in miR-146a deficient mice leads to myeloid malignancy"
Zhao JL, Rao DS, Boldin MP, Taganov KD, O'Connell RM, Baltimore D, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 1/1/2011
"Lentiviral Vector Delivery of Human Interleukin-7 (hIL-7) to Human Immune System (HIS) Mice Expands T Lymphocyte Populations"
O'Connell RM, Balazs AB, Rao DS, Kivork C, Yang L, Baltimore D, PLoS ONE, 1/1/2010
MicroRNA-155 promotes autoimmune inflammation by enhancing inflammatory T cell development
O'Connell RM, Kahn D, Gibson WSJ, Round JL, Scholz RL, Chaudhuri AA, Kahn ME, Rao DS, Baltimore D, Immunity, 1/1/2010
"Physiological and pathological roles for microRNAs in the immune system"
O'Connell RM, Rao DS, Chaudhuri AA, Baltimore D, Nature Reviews Immunology, 1/1/2010
MicroRNA-34a perturbs B-cell development by targeting the Forkhead transcription factor Foxp1
Rao DS, O'Connell RM, Chaudhuri AA, Garcia-Flores Y, Geiger T, Baltimore D, Immunity, 1/1/2010
"MicroRNAs enriched in hematopoietic stem cells differentially regulate long-term hematopoietic output"
O'Connell RM, Chaudhuri AA, Rao DS, Gibson WS, Balazs AB, Baltimore D, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 1/1/2010
Inositol phosphatase SHIP1 is a primary target of miR-155
O'Connell RM, Chaudhuri AA, Rao DS, Baltimore D, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 1/1/2009
Megakaryocytic blast crisis as a presenting manifestation of chronic myeloid leukemia
Pullarkat ST, Vardiman JW, Slovak ML, Rao DS, Rao NP, Bedell V, Said JW, Leukemia Research, 1/1/2008
Sustained expression of microRNA-155 in hematopoietic stem cells causes a myeloproliferative disorder
O'Connell RM, Rao DS, Chaudhuri AA, Boldin MP, Taganov KD, Nicoll J, Paquette RL, Baltimore D, J Experimental Medicine, 1/1/2008
"MicroRNAs: new regulators of immune cell development and function"
Baltimore D, Boldin MP, O'Connell RM, Rao DS, Taganov KD, Nature Immunology, 1/1/2008
"Small lymphoid proliferations in extranodal locations"
Rao DS and Said JW, Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 1/1/2007
Primary extranodal nasal-type natural killer/T-cell lymphoma of the brain: a case report
Kaluza V, Rao DS, Said JW, de Vos S, Human Pathology, 1/1/2006
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Grant Support

Protein-RNA interactions in cancerNIH/NCI2021–2026
Novel methods to inhibit cancer stem cellsCalifornia Institute of Regenerative Medicine2022–2024
Pathogenetic roles of USO1 in leukemogenesisNIH/NCI2021–2023
Pathogenetic mechanisms of RNA binding protein IGF2BP3 in leukemogenesisAmerican Society of Hematology2020–2022
Targeting RNA binding proteins in B-cell malignancyMargaret E. Early Medical Research Trust2017–2019
RNA-binding proteins in the control of B-cell developmentNIH/NIAID2017–2019
Unraveling the Function of RNA-Binding proteins in B-lymphoblastic LeukemiaNIH/NCI2016–2018
Characterizing tumor suppressive functions of microRNAs in B-cell neoplasiaNIH/NCI2013–2017
Function of non-coding RNA, MALAT1, in B-cell Development and LymphomaNIH/NCI2014–2015
Role of B-cell oncogenes and miR-34 in B-cell development and lymphomagenesisNIH/NCI2009–2014

Committees

Member, NCCN Guidelines Panel, Acute Myeloid Leukemia 2020 - Present
Regular Member, NCI-I Study Section, NIH/NCI 2019 - Present
Founding Member, Experimental Hematology Committee, Society for Hematopathology 2019 - Present
Chair, Scientific Committee on Epigenetics and Genomics 2024 - 2024
Vice Chair, Scientific Committee on Epigenetics and Genomics, American Society of Hematology 2023 - 2023
Member, Scientific Committee on Epigenetics and Genomics, American Society of Hematology 2019 - 2022