Christine M. Heske, M.D.

Center for Cancer Research
National Cancer Institute

Building 10-CRC, Room 1-3816
Bethesda, MD 20892-1104
240-760-6197
christine.heske@nih.gov

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Investigator

Pediatric Oncology Branch

NIH Distinguished Scholar

Head, Translational Sarcoma Biology Group

RESEARCH SUMMARY

Dr. Heske is a physician-scientist with a laboratory and clinical research focus on novel therapeutic agents for pediatric sarcomas including rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma. Specifically, she seeks to identify and evaluate new therapeutic targets for these cancers by understanding the mechanisms behind therapeutic resistance and developing strategies to overcome such resistance through targeting tumor metabolism and DNA damage repair.

Areas of Expertise

DNA Damage and Repair

Early Phase Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials
Research
Publications
Biography
Job Vacancies
Team
News

Open - Recruiting

Vincristine and Temozolomide in Combination With PEN-866 for Adolescents and Young Adults With Relapsed or Refractory Solid Tumors

Protocol ID
000092

Investigator

Christine M. Heske, M.D.

Referral Contacts

NCI Medical Oncology Referral Office

888-624-1937

Research

Dr. Heske is a clinician and physician-scientist with an active translational and clinical research program focused on sarcoma treatments. Her goal is to improve outcomes for patients with pediatric sarcomas by understanding mechanisms of resistance and identifying and evaluating new therapeutic targets.

Major projects in her lab focus on understanding and targeting the biologic vulnerabilities in tumor metabolism and DNA repair in pediatric sarcomas such as Ewing sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma.

In addition to conducting preclinical research, Dr. Heske is invested in translating promising laboratory findings into early-phase clinical trials for young patients with sarcoma. She currently leads a phase I/II trial for patients with rhabdomyosarcoma that uses a promising combination therapy and is developing several additional trials based on work in her lab.

Publications

Enhancing standard of care chemotherapy efficacy using DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) inhibition in preclinical models of Ewing sarcoma

Collins VJ, Ludwig KR, Nelson AE, Sundara Rajan S, Yeung C, Vulikh K, Isanogle KA, Mendoza A, Difilippantonio S, Karim BO, Caplen NJ, Heske CM.

Mol Cell Ther. 2024.

Full-Text Article

[ Journal Article ]

Inhibition of NAD+-dependent metabolic processes induces cellular necrosis and tumor regression in rhabdomyosarcoma models.

McKay-Corkum GB, Collins VJ, Yeung C, Ito T, Issaq SH, Holland D, Vulikh K, Zhang Y, Lee U, Lei H, Mendoza A, Shern JF, Yohe ME, Yamamoto K, Wilson K, Ji J, Karim BO, Thomas CJ, Krishna MC, Neckers LM, Heske CM.

Clin Cancer Res. 2023.

Full-Text Article

[ Journal Article ]

Phase I trial of ganitumab plus dasatinib to cotarget the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor and Src family kinase YES in rhabdomyosarcoma

Akshintala S, Sundby RT, Bernstein D, Glod JW, Kaplan RN, Yohe ME, Gross AM, Derdak J, Lei H, Pan A, Dombi E, Palacio-Yance I, Herrera KR, Miettinen MM, Chen HX, Steinberg SM, Helman LJ, Mascarenhas L, Widemann BC, Navid F, Shern JF, Heske CM.

Clin Cancer Res. 2023.

Full-Text Article

[ Journal Article ]

Impact of race and ethnicity on presentation and outcomes of patients treated on rhabdomyosarcoma clinical trials: A report from the Children's Oncology Group.

Munnikhuysen SR, Ekpo PA, Xue W, Gao Z, Lupo PJ, Venkatramani R, Heske CM.

Cancer Med. 2023.

Full-Text Article

[ Journal Article ]

Targeting Glycolysis through Inhibition of Lactate Dehydrogenase Impairs Tumor Growth in Preclinical Models of Ewing Sarcoma

Yeung C, Gibson AE, Issaq SH, Oshima N, Baumgart JT, Edessa LD, Rai G, Urban DJ, Johnson MS, Benavides GA, Squadrito GL, Yohe ME, Lei H, Eldridge S, Hamre J 3rd, Dowdy T, Ruiz-Rodado V, Lita A, Mendoza A, Shern JF, Larion M, Helman LJ, Stott GM, Krishna MC, Hall MD, Darley-Usmar V, Neckers LM, Heske CM.

Cancer Res. 2019.

Full-Text Article

[ Journal Article ]

Biography

Investigator

Christine M. Heske, M.D.

After completing her undergraduate work at Harvard University, Dr. Heske received her M.D. from The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She completed her pediatric internship and residency at Brown University/Hasbro Children's Hospital, followed by her fellowship training at the combined National Cancer Institute-Johns Hopkins University Pediatric Hematology and Oncology program, where she served as Chief Fellow and conducted post-doctoral work in the lab of Dr. Lee Helman. In 2016, Dr. Heske began her own group as a Physician-Scientist Early Investigator in the Pediatric Oncology Branch. She was promoted to Investigator in 2021 and currently leads the Translational Sarcoma Biology Group.

She is the recipient of numerous awards including a ASCO Young Investigator Award, a Children's Cancer Foundation Research Award, and an NIH Distinguished Mentor Award. Dr. Heske holds board certifications in General Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

Job Vacancies

Interested in joining the Heske Lab?

Postdoctoral fellows (Ph.D., M.D.), postbaccalaureate fellows, and summer interns (undergraduate) have been trained in the Heske lab since it opened in 2016. Interested candidates should send a CV and statement of interest to christine.heske@nih.gov.

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