University at Buffalo (UB)
Ajay Gupta
Ajay Gupta
Clinical Assistant Professor
Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Specialty/Research Focus
Clinical Research; Developmental Therapeutics; Global Health; Health Disparities Research; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors; Integrative Medicine; Pediatric Hematology-Oncology; Team Science; Translational Pharmacology; Translational Research; Tumor Microenvironment
Professional Summary:
My name is Dr. Ajay Gupta, and I’m a pediatric oncologist with Roswell Park Oishei Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Program. I specialize in sarcomas in children, adolescents, and young adults (AYA), with a specific interest in Ewing sarcoma. I am both an active clinician and dedicated researcher.
I recently received a grant through Hyundai Hope on Wheels in collaboration with Dr. Joyce Ohm, also at Roswell Park, to study a potential weakness in Ewing sarcoma cancer cells known as replication stress. We hope to combine a drug targeting this weakness with standard drugs known to work in Ewing sarcoma in a future early phase clinical trial here at Roswell.
I am a part of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Localized Ewing Sarcoma Task Force, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Solid Tumors Policy Review Work Group, and the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) Young SIOP Network. I regularly attend the National Ewing Sarcoma Tumor Board and the Rare Tumors Tele Tumor Board.
I earned my medical degree from Albany Medical College in Albany, NY. I completed my residency in pediatrics at Miami Children's Hospital in Miami, FL, and completed fellowships in pediatric hematology/oncology and pediatric sarcoma at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland, OH and Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, OH, respectively. I also earned a Masters in Translational Pharmacology from the Ohio State University.
I am board certified in both general pediatrics and pediatric hematology/oncology by the American Board of Pediatrics. I’m also a member of the American Society of Hematology, the Children’s Oncology Group, the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, the American Association of Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the International Society of Paediatric Oncology, and the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics.
In addition to providing ongoing care to my pediatric sarcoma and solid tumor patients, I am also available for second opinions.
Education and Training:
- Fellowship, Pediatric Sarcoma, Nationwide Children's Hospital (2020)
- MS, Translational Pharmacology, The Ohio State University (2020)
- Fellowship, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital (2019)
- Residency, Pediatrics, Miami Children's Hospital (2016)
- MD, Medicine, Albany Medical College (2013)
- BA, Biology and English, University of Pennsylvania (2006)
Employment:
- Assistant Professor, Pediatric Oncology, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center / Oishei Children's Hospital / University at Buffalo (2020-present)
Awards and Honors:
- Department of Pediatrics Advanced Degree Funding Program Award (2019)
- Annual Science Day – Best Basic Science Award (2019)
- Department of Medicine Research Day – First Place in Fellow Category (2018)
- Abstract Achievement Award (2017)
UB 2020 Strategic Strengths:
- Health and Wellness Across the Lifespan
Grants and Sponsored Research:
- July 2023–July 2024
Therapeutic synergy between polarized dendritic cells, irradiation and PD-1 blockade in pediatric patients and adolescents and young adults with solid tumors
Wildermuth Foundation
Role: Principal Investigator
$30,000 - July 2022–June 2024
Therapeutic synergy between polarized dendritic cells, irradiation and PD-1 blockade in pediatric patients and adolescents and young adults with solid tumors
CTSI K Scholar Program
Role: Principal Investigator - January 2022–December 2023
Exploiting Replication Stress in Ewing Sarcoma
Hyundai Hope on Wheels
Role: Principal Investigator
Journal Articles:
- Turco GM, Gupta A, Monteleone P, Kelly KM, Klein RD, Wiltsie L, Barth M. (2023) An institutional review of genomic sequencing in pediatric solid tumors. Pediatr Blood Cancer (Jun), 6(70) doi:10.1002/pbc.30324
- Koo SC, Schieffer KM, Lee K, Gupta A, Pfau RB, Avenarius MR, Stonerock E, LaHaye S, Fitch J, Setty BA, Roberts R, Ranalli M, Conces MR, Bu F, Mardis ER, Cottrell CE. (2023) EGFR internal tandem duplications in fusion-negative congenital and neonatal spindle cell tumors. Genes Chromosomes Cancer (Jan), 1(62): 17-26. doi:10.1002/gcc.23087
- Hensel J, Metts J, Gupta A, Ladle BH, Pilon-Thomas S, Mullinax J. (2022) Adoptive Cellular Therapy for Pediatric Solid Tumors: Beyond Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cell Therapy. Cancer J (Jul), 4(28): 322-327. doi:10.1097/PPO.0000000000000603
- Martin JC, Sims JR, Gupta A, Bakin AV, Ohm JE. (2022) WEE1 inhibition augments CDC7 (DDK) inhibitor-induced cell death in Ewing sarcoma by forcing premature mitotic entry and mitotic catastrophe. Cancer Res Commun (Jun), 6(2): 471-482. doi:10.1158/2767-9764.crc-22-0130
- Baliga S, Matsui J, Klamer B, Cetnar A, Ewing A, Cadieux C, Gupta A, Setty BA, Roberts RD, Olshefski RS, Cripe TP, Scharschmidt TJ, Aldrink J, Mardis E, Yeager ND, Palmer JD. (2022) Clinical outcomes and efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy in children, adolescents, and young adults with metastatic solid tumors. The British journal of radiology (May), 95(1133): 20211088.
- Martin JC, Sims JR, Gupta A, Hagoel TJ, Gao L, Lynch ML, Woloszynska A, Melendy T, Kane JF, Kuechle J, Ohm JE. (2022) CDC7 kinase (DDK) inhibition disrupts DNA replication leading to mitotic catastrophe in Ewing sarcoma. Cell death discovery (Feb), 8(1): 85. doi:10.1038/s41420-022-00877-x
- Hagoel TJ, Cortes Gomez E, Gupta A, Twist CJ, Kozielski R, Martin JC, Gao L, Kuechle J, Singh PK, Lynch M, Wei L, Liu S, Wang J, Ohm JE. (2022) Clinicopathologic and molecular analysis of a BCOR-CCNB3 undifferentiated sarcoma of the kidney reveals significant epigenetic alterations. Cold Spring Harbor molecular case studies (Jan), 8(1). doi:10.1101/mcs.a005942
- Gupta A, Cripe TP. (2022) Immunotherapies for Pediatric Solid Tumors: A Targeted Update. Paediatric drugs (Jan), 24(1): 1-12. doi:10.1007/s40272-021-00482-y
- LaHaye S, Fitch JR, Voytovich KJ, Herman AC, Kelly BJ, Lammi GE, Arbesfeld JA, Wijeratne S, Franklin SJ, Schieffer KM, Bir N, McGrath SD, Miller AR, Wetzel A, Miller KE, Bedrosian TA, Leraas K, Varga EA, Lee K, Gupta A, Setty B, Boué DR, Leonard JR, Finlay JL, Abdelbaki MS, Osorio DS, Koo SC, Koboldt DC, Wagner AH, Eisfeld AK, Mrózek K, Magrini V, Cottrell CE, Mardis ER, Wilson RK, White P. (2021) Discovery of clinically relevant fusions in pediatric cancer. BMC genomics (Dec), 22(1): 872. doi:10.1186/s12864-021-08094-z
- Gupta A, Damania RC, Talati R, O'Riordan MA, Matloub YH, Ahuja SP. (2021) Increased Toxicity Among Adolescents and Young Adults Compared with Children Hospitalized with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at Children's Hospitals in the United States. Journal of adolescent and young adult oncology (Dec), 10(6): 645-653.
- Gupta A, Liu H, Schieffer KM, Koo SC, Cottrell CE, Mardis ER, Roberts RD, Yeager ND. (2021) Targeted Therapy in a Young Adult With a Novel Epithelioid Tumor Driven by a PRRC2B-ALK Fusion. Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN (Oct), 19(10): 1116-1121.
- Gupta A, Belsky JA, Schieffer KM, Leraas K, Varga E, McGrath SD, Koo SC, Magrini V, Wilson RK, White P, Mardis ER, Jatana KR, Cottrell CE, Setty BA. (2020) Infantile fibrosarcoma-like tumor driven by novel RBPMS-MET fusion consolidated with cabozantinib. Cold Spring Harbor molecular case studies (Oct), 6(5). doi:10.1101/mcs.a005645
- Yonkof JR, Gupta A, Rueda CM, Mangray S, Prince BT, Rangarajan HG, Alshahrani M, Varga E, Cripe TP, Abraham RS. (2020) A Novel Pathogenic Variant in CARMIL2 (RLTPR) Causing CARMIL2 Deficiency and EBV-Associated Smooth Muscle Tumors. Frontiers in immunology (Jan), 11: 884. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.00884
- Gupta A, Taslim C, Tullius BP, Cripe TP. (2020) Therapeutic modulation of the CD47-SIRPa axis in the pediatric tumor microenvironment: working up an appetite. Cancer drug resistance (Alhambra, Calif.) (Jan), 3(3): 550-562. doi:10.20517/cdr.2020.12
- Gupta A, Schulze TG, Nagarajan V, Akula N, Corona W, Jiang XY, Hunter N, McMahon FJ, Detera-Wadleigh SD. (2012) Interaction networks of lithium and valproate molecular targets reveal a striking enrichment of apoptosis functional clusters and neurotrophin signaling. The pharmacogenomics journal (Aug), 12(4): 328-41. doi:10.1038/tpj.2011.9
- Ferraro TN, Smith GG, Ballard D, Zhao H, Schwebel CL, Gupta A, Rappaport EF, Ruiz SE, Lohoff FW, Doyle GA, Berrettini WH, Buono RJ. (2011) Quantitative trait loci for electrical seizure threshold mapped in C57BLKS/J and C57BL/10SnJ mice. Genes, brain, and behavior (Apr), 10(3): 309-15.
- Schulze TG, Detera-Wadleigh SD, Akula N, Gupta A, Kassem L, Steele J, Pearl J, Strohmaier J, Breuer R, Schwarz M, Propping P, Nöthen MM, Cichon S, Schumacher J, , Rietschel M, McMahon FJ. (2009) Two variants in Ankyrin 3 (ANK3) are independent genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder. Molecular psychiatry (May), 14(5): 487-91. doi:10.1038/mp.2008.134
Professional Memberships:
- American Academy of Pediatrics; Member
- American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology; Member
- American Association of Cancer Research; Member
- American Society of Clinical Oncology; Member
- International Society of Paediatric Oncology; Member
- Connective Tissue Oncology Society; Member
- American Society for Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics; Member
Service Activities:
- FeedMore WNY; Delivering meals (2023–present)
- Generation of content for JV website, Twitter; Social Media management (2022–present)
- Roswell Park Community Outreach and Engagement Alliance Foundation grant proposal reviewer; Grant proposal reviewer (2022–present)
- Pediatric Cancer Data Commons Scientific Advisory Committee, Early Cancer Investigator Member; Member (2022–present)
- Children’s Oncology Group Localized Ewing Sarcoma Task Force; Member, Contributor, Project lead (2021–present)
- Roswell Park Community Impact Committee CCSG, Developmental Therapeutics representative; Representative (2021–present)
- Roswell Park Oishei Children's Hospital Cancer and Blood Disorders Program Strategic Growth; member (2020–present)
- Roswell Park Developmental Therapeutics Research Program Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) member; member (2020–present)
- Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) Young Investigator Social Media Committee Member; Content contributor (2020–present)
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Hematology Oncology (SOHO) Solid Tumors Policy Review Work Group Member; Review and edit official policies and chapters (2020–present)
- Ad hoc reviewer for Journal of Clinical Investigation, Clinical Cancer Research, Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplant, Cancers, Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, Cold Spring Harbor Molecular Case Studies; Reviewer (2020–present)