Suzanne Conzen, M.D. Professor & Division Chief Endowed Title Andrea L. Simmons Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research School Medical School Department Internal Medicine Graduate Programs Cancer Biology You have reached the Academic Profile. For more information on the doctor and patient care, please visit the clinical profile. Biography Suzanne D. Conzen, M.D., is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and Chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Originally from New York City, Dr. Conzen holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she graduated magna cum laude. She earned her medical degree at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and completed internal medicine residency training at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in New York City. She then received advanced training in hematology and medical oncology through a clinical fellowship at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and in molecular oncology through a research fellowship at Dartmouth Medical School in Bedford, New Hampshire. She also holds a master’s degree from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in medical oncology, Dr. Conzen joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2019. Dr. Conzen is on several committees at UT Southwestern, including the Clinical Pathways Committee at the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Strategic Operations Committee for the Division of Hematology and Oncology, the Internal Promotions and Tenure Committee for the Department of Internal Medicine, and more. An established physician-scientist with multiple National Cancer Institute grants, Dr. Conzen focuses her lab’s research on the role of the glucocorticoid receptor in prostate, breast, and ovarian cancers. Her previous research at the University of Chicago led to the recognition of a role for glucocorticoid receptor signaling in breast cancer biology and, more recently, in cancer progression and therapy resistance in prostate and ovarian cancer. She also receives peer-reviewed funding from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. She has published countless academic articles, contributed chapters to several books, and delivered scores of presentations. Dr. Conzen has served as senior editor of Cancer Research and as Chair of the National Institutes of Health’s Cancer Etiology Study Section. In 2006, Dr. Conzen was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation. She was elected to the Association of American Physicians in 2020. She is also a member of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and the Endocrine Society. Education Medical School Yale University School of Medicine (1987) Residency New York Presbyterian Hospital, Cornell Campus (1990), Internal Medicine Fellowship Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (1995), Hematology Oncology Fellowship The University of Chicago (1998), Molecular Oncology Publications Featured Publications Investigation of selective glucocorticoid receptor modulation in high-grade serous ovarian cancer PDX models. Taya M, Hou X, Veneris JT, Kazi N, Larson MC, Maurer MJ, Heinzen EP, Chen H, Lastra R, Oberg AL, Weroha SJ, Fleming GF, Conzen SD, J Gynecol Oncol 2024 Jun Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activation is associated with increased cAMP/PKA signaling in castrate-resistant prostate cancer. Bennett L, Jaiswal PK, Harkless RV, Long TM, Gao N, Vandenburg B, Selman P, Durdana I, Lastra RR, Vander Griend D, Adelaiye-Ogala R, Szmulewitz RZ, Conzen SD, Mol Cancer Ther 2023 Nov Glucocorticoid Receptor Activation in Lobular Breast Cancer Is Associated with Reduced Cell Proliferation and Promotion of Metastases. Porter BA, Frerich C, Lainé M, Clark AB, Durdana I, Lee J, Taya M, Sahoo S, Greene GL, Bennett L, Conzen SD, Cancers (Basel) 2023 Sep 15 19 Glucocorticoid receptor modulation decreases ER-positive breast cancer cell proliferation and suppresses wild-type and mutant ER chromatin association. Tonsing-Carter E, Hernandez KM, Kim CR, Harkless RV, Oh A, Bowie KR, West-Szymanski DC, Betancourt-Ponce MA, Green BD, Lastra RR, Fleming GF, Chandarlapaty S, Conzen SD, Breast Cancer Res. 2019 07 21 1 82 Magnetic Resonance Angiography Shows Increased Arterial Blood Supply Associated with Murine Mammary Cancer. Mustafi D, Leinroth A, Fan X, Markiewicz E, Zamora M, Mueller J, Conzen SD, Karczmar GS, Int J Biomed Imaging 2019 2019 5987425 Discovery of a Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR) Activity Signature Using Selective GR Antagonism in ER-Negative Breast Cancer. West DC, Kocherginsky M, Tonsing-Carter EY, Dolcen DN, Hosfield DJ, Lastra RR, Sinnwell JP, Thompson KJ, Bowie KR, Harkless RV, Skor MN, Pierce CF, Styke SC, Kim CR, de Wet L, Greene GL, Boughey JC, Goetz MP, Kalari KR, Wang L, Fleming GF, Györffy B, Conzen SD, Clin. Cancer Res. 2018 Jul 24 14 3433-3446 Psychosocial Stress Exposure Disrupts Mammary Gland Development. Johnson MB, Hoffmann JN, You HM, Lastra RR, Fernandez S, Strober JW, Allaw AB, Brady MJ, Conzen SD, McClintock MK, J Mammary Gland Biol Neoplasia 2018 06 23 1-2 59-73 Magnetic resonance spectroscopy detects differential lipid composition in mammary glands on low fat, high animal fat versus high fructose diets. He D, Mustafi D, Fan X, Fernandez S, Markiewicz E, Zamora M, Mueller J, Sachleben JR, Brady MJ, Conzen SD, Karczmar GS, PLoS ONE 2018 13 1 e0190929 MRI reveals increased tumorigenesis following high fat feeding in a mouse model of triple-negative breast cancer. Mustafi D, Fernandez S, Markiewicz E, Fan X, Zamora M, Mueller J, Brady MJ, Conzen SD, Karczmar GS, NMR Biomed 2017 Oct 30 10 Selective Glucocorticoid Receptor Modulators (SGRMs) Delay Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer Growth. Kach J, Long TM, Selman P, Tonsing-Carter EY, Bacalao MA, Lastra RR, de Wet L, Comiskey S, Gillard M, VanOpstall C, West DC, Chan WC, Griend DV, Conzen SD, Szmulewitz RZ, Mol. Cancer Ther. 2017 08 16 8 1680-1692 Results 1-10 of 21 1 2 3 Next Last Honors & Awards Elected Member, American Association of Physicians (2020) Elected Member, American Society of Clinical Investigation (2006) Professional Associations/Affiliations American Association for Cancer Research (1998) American Association for the Advancement of Science (1998) American Society for Clinical Oncology (1998) American Society for Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (1998) The Endocrine Society (1998)
