Ralph DeBerardinis, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief, Division of Pediatric Genetics and Metabolism
Professor

Download Curriculum Vitae

Ralph DeBerardinis earned a B.S. in biology from St. Joseph’s University and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. DeBerardinis was the first trainee in the combined residency program in pediatrics and medical genetics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and received several awards for teaching and clinical care. He ultimately achieved board certification in pediatrics, medical genetics and clinical biochemical genetics.

Dr. DeBerardinis performed postdoctoral research in Craig Thompson’s laboratory in the Penn Cancer Center from 2004 to 2007. He joined the faculty of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in 2008 and joined the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) shortly after its founding in 2012. Dr. DeBerardinis serves as chief of Pediatric Genetics and Metabolism at UT Southwestern and director of the Genetic and Metabolic Disease Program in the CRI. Dr. DeBerardinis became a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator in 2018 and was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2020.  

The DeBerardinis laboratory is interested in the role of altered metabolic states in human diseases, particularly pediatric inborn errors of metabolism and cancer. This research is tightly integrated with clinical activities in medical genetics, oncology and radiology, providing seamless opportunities to examine the relevance of findings in patients.

DeBerardinis Laboratory

Medical School

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (2000)

Residency

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (2005), Pediatrics & Medical Genetics

• Cancer
• Genetic disorders in children
• Inborn errors of metabolism
• Metabolism

Featured Publications

Lactate Metabolism in Human Lung Tumors.

Faubert B, Li KY, Cai L, Hensley CT, Kim J, Zacharias LG, Yang C, Do QN, Doucette S, Burguete D, Li H, Huet G, Yuan Q, Wigal T, Butt Y, Ni M, Torrealba J, Oliver D, Lenkinski RE, Malloy CR, Wachsmann JW, Young JD, Kernstine K, DeBerardinis RJ Cell 2017 Oct 171 2 358-371.e9

CPS1 maintains pyrimidine pools and DNA synthesis in KRAS/LKB1-mutant lung cancer cells.

Kim J, Hu Z, Cai L, Li K, Choi E, Faubert B, Bezwada D, Rodriguez-Canales J, Villalobos P, Lin YF, Ni M, Huffman KE, Girard L, Byers LA, Unsal-Kacmaz K, Peña CG, Heymach JV, Wauters E, Vansteenkiste J, Castrillon DH, Chen BPC, Wistuba I, Lambrechts D, Xu J, Minna JD, DeBerardinis RJ Nature 2017 Jun 546 7656 168-172

Understanding the Intersections between Metabolism and Cancer Biology.

Vander Heiden MG, DeBerardinis RJ Cell 2017 Feb 168 4 657-669

Reductive carboxylation supports redox homeostasis during anchorage-independent growth.

Jiang L, Shestov AA, Swain P, Yang C, Parker SJ, Wang QA, Terada LS, Adams ND, McCabe MT, Pietrak B, Schmidt S, Metallo CM, Dranka BP, Schwartz B, DeBerardinis RJ Nature 2016 Apr 532 7598 255-8

Metabolic Heterogeneity in Human Lung Tumors.

Hensley CT, Faubert B, Yuan Q, Lev-Cohain N, Jin E, Kim J, Jiang L, Ko B, Skelton R, Loudat L, Wodzak M, Klimko C, McMillan E, Butt Y, Ni M, Oliver D, Torrealba J, Malloy CR, Kernstine K, Lenkinski RE, DeBerardinis RJ Cell 2016 Feb 164 4 681-94

Glutamine oxidation maintains the TCA cycle and cell survival during impaired mitochondrial pyruvate transport.

Yang C, Ko B, Hensley CT, Jiang L, Wasti AT, Kim J, Sudderth J, Calvaruso MA, Lumata L, Mitsche M, Rutter J, Merritt ME, DeBerardinis RJ Mol. Cell 2014 Nov 56 3 414-24

Analysis of tumor metabolism reveals mitochondrial glucose oxidation in genetically diverse human glioblastomas in the mouse brain in vivo.

Marin-Valencia I, Yang C, Mashimo T, Cho S, Baek H, Yang XL, Rajagopalan KN, Maddie M, Vemireddy V, Zhao Z, Cai L, Good L, Tu BP, Hatanpaa KJ, Mickey BE, Matés JM, Pascual JM, Maher EA, Malloy CR, Deberardinis RJ, Bachoo RM Cell Metab. 2012 Jun 15 6 827-37

Mechanisms and Implications of Metabolic Heterogeneity in Cancer.

Kim J, DeBerardinis RJ, Cell Metab. 2019 Sep 30 3 434-446

Functional Assessment of Lipoyltransferase-1 Deficiency in Cells, Mice, and Humans.

Ni M, Solmonson A, Pan C, Yang C, Li D, Notzon A, Cai L, Guevara G, Zacharias LG, Faubert B, Vu HS, Jiang L, Ko B, Morales NM, Pei J, Vale G, Rakheja D, Grishin NV, McDonald JG, Gotway GK, McNutt MC, Pascual JM, DeBerardinis RJ, Cell Rep 2019 Apr 27 5 1376-1386.e6

Isotope Tracing of Human Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinomas Demonstrates Suppressed Glucose Oxidation In Vivo.

Courtney KD, Bezwada D, Mashimo T, Pichumani K, Vemireddy V, Funk AM, Wimberly J, McNeil SS, Kapur P, Lotan Y, Margulis V, Cadeddu JA, Pedrosa I, DeBerardinis RJ, Malloy CR, Bachoo RM, Maher EA Cell Metab. 2018 Aug

• National Academy of Medicine
  (2020)
• Best Pediatric Specialists/Doctors in Dallas
  D Magazine (2016) (2018)
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
  (2018)
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute Faculty Scholar
  (2017)
• NCI Outstanding Investigator
  (2017)
• Robert L. Moody, Sr. Faculty Scholar
  (2017)
• Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation Clinical Investigator Award
  (2011)
• President’s Research Council Distinguished Young Researcher Award
  (2008)
• Soc. for Inherited Metabolic Disorders Neil Buist Award
  (2008)
• Sowell Family Scholar in Medical Research
  (2008)
• William K. Bowes, Jr. Award in Medical Genetics
  (2008)
• CHOP Pediatric Scholars Program & Faculty Honor Roll
  (2007)
• American Society for Clinical Investigation
  

• Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2018)
• American Society for Clinical Investigation (2013)
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American Association for Cancer Research
• American Society of Human Genetics
• Society for Inherited Metabolic Disorders
• Society for Pediatrics Research