Education & Training
- Visiting Fellow and Sarcoma Subgroup Leader, Rockefeller University - 2017-2022
- Medical Oncology Fellowship, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - 2016-2019
- Internal Medicine Residency, Johns Hopkins Hospital - 2013-2016
- MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine - 2004-2013
- PhD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine - 2013
- BA, Biology, University of Chicago - 2000-2004
Research Interest Summary
Research Categories
Research Interests
Chromatin, the complex of DNA and associated proteins, is essential for maintaining homeostasis regulating gene expression and other DNA-templated processes such as DNA-damage repair. Loss of this control though cancer-associated genetic alterations in chromatin regulators promotes cancer phenotypes including aberrant gene expression programs and altered differentiation states.
There are myriad recurrent genetic alterations in chromatin regulators in sarcomas, with recurrent alterations in specific sarcoma subtypes. These include translocations resulting in fusions (e.g. BCOR::CCNB3) as well as loss of function (e.g. ATRX and SUZ12). Our goal is to model and study these events to understand how and through what mechanisms chromatin is dysregulated and to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities.
Representative Publications
Nacev BA#*, Bradic M*, Woo J, Richards AL, Kelly CM, Dickson MA, Gounder MM, Keohan ML, Chi P, Movva S, Maki R, Slotkin EK, Rosenbaum E, Avutu V, Chan JE, Banks L, Adamson T, Singer S, Antonescu CR, Tap WD, Donoghue MTA, D’Angelo DP. Immune checkpoint inhibitor response in sarcomas associates with immune infiltrates and increased expression of transposable elements and viral response pathways. 2024. medRxiv [Preprint]. #Corresponding author
Fang Y, Barrows D, Dabas Y, Carroll TS, Tap WD, Nacev BA. ATRX guards against aberrant differentiation in mesenchymal progenitor cells. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 PMID: 37609273;
Nacev BA*, Sanchez-Vega F*, Smith SA, Antonescu CR, Rosenbaum E, Shi H, Tang C, Socci ND, Rana S, Gularte-Mérida R, Zehir A, Gounder MM, Bowler TG, Luthra A, Jadeja B, Okada A, Strong JA, Stoller J, Chan JE, Chi P, D’Angelo SP, Dickson MA, Kelly CM, Keohan ML, Movva S, Thornton K, Meyers PA, Wexler LH, Slotkin EK, Glade Bender JL, Shukla NN, Hensley ML, Healey JH, La Quaglia MP, Alektiar KM, Crago AM, Yoon SS, Untch BR, Chiang S, Agaram NP, Hameed MR, Berger MF, Solit DB, Schultz N, Ladanyi M, Singer S, Tap WD. Clinical sequencing of soft tissue and bone sarcomas delineates diverse genomic landscapes and potential therapeutic targets. Nat Commun. 2022; PMID: 35705560
Nacev BA, Jones KB, Intlekofer AM, Yu JSE, Allis CD, Tap WD, Ladanyi M, Nielsen TO. The epigenomics of sarcoma. Nat Rev Cancer. 2020 PMID: 32782366.
Nacev BA, Feng L, Bagert JD, Lemiesz AE, Gao J, Soshnev AA, Kundra R, Schultz N, Muir TW, Allis CD. The expanding landscape of 'oncohistone' mutations in human cancers. Nature. 2019 Mar 20. 2019 Mar;567(7749):473-478.