Arin Aurora, Ph.D.

Arin B. Aurora earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University and went on to obtain her Ph.D. in immunology from the University of California, San Francisco. She performed postdoctoral work at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, earning an American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship. Dr. Aurora continued her postdoctoral work with Dr. Eric Olson at UT Southwestern, where she made important discoveries toward understanding molecular pathways regulating cardiovascular disease and the connections between the immune system and the capacity of the mammalian heart to regenerate. Based on the strength of her work, Dr. Aurora was awarded an American Heart Association Beginning Grant-in-Aid award.

In 2014, Dr. Aurora joined the faculty of the Children’s Medical Research Institute at UT Southwestern as an Assistant Professor investigating the molecular mechanisms melanoma cells use to drive growth and metastasis. In 2023, Dr. Aurora began her role as an Associate Professor within the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Internal Medicine, where she works as part of a cross-disciplinary team to assess novel small molecules with anti-cancer activity. Dr. Aurora’s research focuses on using relevant disease models to understand the efficacy and consequences of engaging new targets and biological pathways for cancer therapy.

Undergraduate

Cornell University (1998), Biology

Graduate School

University of California-San F (2004), Immunology

Graduate School

(2024), Biomedical Sciences

• Cancer metabolism
• Mechanisms of metastasis

Featured Publications

PHGDH heterogeneity potentiates cancer cell dissemination and metastasis.

Rossi M, Altea-Manzano P, Demicco M, Doglioni G, Bornes L, Fukano M, Vandekeere A, Cuadros AM, Fernández-García J, Riera-Domingo C, Jauset C, Planque M, Alkan HF, Nittner D, Zuo D, Broadfield LA, Parik S, Pane AA, Rizzollo F, Rinaldi G, Zhang T, Teoh ST, Aurora AB, Karras P, Vermeire I, Broekaert D, Elsen JV, Knott MML, Orth MF, Demeyer S, Eelen G, Dobrolecki LE, Bassez A, Brussel TV, Sotlar K, Lewis MT, Bartsch H, Wuhrer M, Veelen PV, Carmeliet P, Cools J, Morrison SJ, Marine JC, Lambrechts D, Mazzone M, Hannon GJ, Lunt SY, Grünewald TGP, Park M, Rheenen JV, Fendt SM, Nature 2022 May

A short isoform of spermatogenic enzyme GAPDHS functions as a metabolic switch and limits metastasis in melanoma.

Gill JG, Leef SN, Ramesh V, Martin-Sandoval MS, Rao AD, West L, Muh S, Gu W, Zhao Z, Hosler GA, Vandergriff TW, Durham AB, Mathews TP, Aurora AB, Cancer Res 2022 Feb

Loss of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase function increases oxidative stress and glutaminolysis in metastasizing melanoma cells.

Aurora AB, Khivansara V, Leach A, Gill JG, Martin-Sandoval M, Yang C, Kasitinon SY, Bezwada D, Tasdogan A, Gu W, Mathews TP, Zhao Z, DeBerardinis RJ, Morrison SJ, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022 02 119 6

TRPML1 Promotes Protein Homeostasis in Melanoma Cells by Negatively Regulating MAPK and mTORC1 Signaling.

Kasitinon SY, Eskiocak U, Martin M, Bezwada D, Khivansara V, Tasdogan A, Zhao Z, Mathews T, Aurora AB, Morrison SJ, Cell Rep 2019 Aug 28 9 2293-2305.e9

Immune Modulation of Stem Cells and Regeneration.

Aurora AB, Olson EN Cell Stem Cell 2014 Jul 15 1 14-25

Macrophages are required for neonatal heart regeneration.

Aurora AB, Porrello ER, Tan W, Mahmoud AI, Hill JA, Bassel-Duby R, Sadek HA, Olson EN J. Clin. Invest. 2014 Feb

MicroRNA-214 protects the mouse heart from ischemic injury by controlling Ca²? overload and cell death.

Aurora AB, Mahmoud AI, Luo X, Johnson BA, van Rooij E, Matsuzaki S, Humphries KM, Hill JA, Bassel-Duby R, Sadek HA, Olson EN J. Clin. Invest. 2012 Apr 122 4 1222-32

MiR-15 family regulates postnatal mitotic arrest of cardiomyocytes.

Porrello ER, Johnson BA, Aurora AB, Simpson E, Nam YJ, Matkovich SJ, Dorn GW, van Rooij E, Olson EN Circ. Res. 2011 Sep 109 6 670-9

NF-kappaB balances vascular regression and angiogenesis via chromatin remodeling and NFAT displacement.

Aurora AB, Aurora AB, Biyashev D, Mirochnik Y, Zaichuk TA, Sánchez-Martinez C, Renault MA, Losordo D, Volpert OV Blood 2010 Jul 116 3 475-84

Short pigment epithelial-derived factor-derived peptide inhibits angiogenesis and tumor growth.

Mirochnik Y, Aurora A, Schulze-Hoepfner FT, Deabes A, Shifrin V, Beckmann R, Polsky C, Volpert OV Clin. Cancer Res. 2009 Mar 15 5 1655-63

• American Heart Association Beginning Grant-in-Aid
  (2014)
• American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship
  (2006-2009)
• European School of Haematology Marie Curie Actions Scholarship
  (2005)
• Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center Katten Muchin Rosenman Scholarship
  (2005)
• American Association for Cancer Research -Takeda Scholar-in-Training Award
  (2003)

• American Association for Cancer Research (2016)
• American Heart Association (2011-2014)