Physician-scientist | GU oncologist @DanaFarber @Harvardmed. Cancer genomics, functional genetics, RNA | Prostate Cancer; translocation RCC. Opinions my own.
Boston, Massachusetts
Joined December 2010
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Our paper on how X chromosome alterations drive sex differences in translocation renal cell carcinoma is now out in print @CellCellPress! Link to explainer thread if you missed it 👉: teapawt.net/srviswanathan/status/1…
The new issue is out 👉cell.com/cell/current
Featuring how X chromosome genetics constrains somatic alterations and underlies cancer sex differences, the functional mapping of RAD51C variants in cancer and single-cell genomics identifying markers of neuronal vulnerability and glial states in neurodegenerative disorders.
The cover image shows a stylized representation of a rearrangement of the inactive X chromosome that causes activation of X-linked oncogenes (colored region).
📷credit: Hans Haag Studios.
Congratulations @VincentWenxinXu - a well-deserved honor to a most brilliant, humble, and thoughtful oncologist!
🌟 Congratulations @VincentWenxinXu who will receive the KCA's Christopher G. Wood Rising Star Award at #IKCSNA26 in November! This award recognizes talented and promising #kidneycancer experts. Read more: kidneycancer.org/2026-ikcsna…
Srinivas Viswanathan retweeted
NEW content online! The long return on discovery science in cancer therapeutics dlvr.it/TVCjdd
New from our lab, out today in @NatureComms: single-cell profiling of translocation RCC, a rare fusion-driven kidney cancer. With @DrChoueiri and led by @labratprats, this is a multi-omic dissection of a small but precious cohort (see thread below 👇) #translocationRCC
Update: Now published in @NatureComms, please check out our work, "Fusion-driven oncogenic programs shape the immune landscape in translocation renal cell carcinoma" w @srviswanathan @DrChoueiri @LabSignoretti @VanAllenLab @Cary_Weiss @DanaFarber_GU
🔗 lnkd.in/exzvuJeS
Srinivas Viswanathan retweeted
11/ Finally, the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recognized my collaborator, colleague and friend @danafarber @HMS: William G. Kaelin Jr. (@kaelin lab) + Sir Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza for defining how cells sense oxygen, including the VHL-HIF pathway that is central to clear cell kidney cancer biology. Kaelin’s work helped establish that loss of VHL leads to pathologic HIF activation, particularly HIF-2α, providing the biological rationale for HIF-2 inhibitors such as Belzutifan and Casdatifan and paved the way for the next-generation agents in RCC. Here, a Figure from the 2020 @NatureMedicine review with Bill and a new 2026 clinical counterpart, in @NatRevClinOncol
Gratitude to all investigators+their regulatory /research/nursing teams, @arcusbio (Richard, Juan, Terry, Emily, Paul, JJ + many others) who really worked closely with all of us on this work to define the biology while conducting the study in real-time from the start. We dedicate this work to all our cancer patients (like @CJSTRAV3) and their families as well as the GU Cancers community.
#onward
Congratulations! 🥳
Honored to receive a 2026 @ConquerCancerFd YIA. Grateful for the support of research aimed at improving outcomes for children and young adults with kidney cancer, and for the investment in early-career investigators working to turn research into better care for patients.
Srinivas Viswanathan retweeted
Great example of bench science to clinical trial!
In 2019, Bradley Bernstein & @DrSarcoma identified that SDH1 deficient GISTs harbor loss of an "insulator" that leads to FGF4 oncogene expression.
nature.com/articles/s41586-0…
Today, the FGFR1 inhibitor trial:
nature.com/articles/s41591-0…
Srinivas Viswanathan retweeted
Excited about our new @NatRevClinOncol
"The clinical landscape of HIF2α inhibitors in #oncology".
Stay tuned for @MarcMachaalani @eddy_saad tweetorial.
nature.com/articles/s41571-0…
Congratulations to super✨ @Cary_Weiss on receiving a Damon Runyon-St. Jude Pediatric Cancer Research Fellowship for his research on #translocationRCC! Proud of you and well-deserved!
Grateful to receive this fellowship from Damon Runyon-St. Jude! Excited to push forward with the @srviswanathan lab on translocation RCC and towards new therapeutic opportunities for patients and families!
Srinivas Viswanathan retweeted
📢 New paper alert 🚨 We found that β cells are bona fide drivers of #obesity-associated #PancreaticCancer progression → targeting the #endocrine pancreas might prevent #exocrine cancer. 🔑 #CancerBiology. @YaleCancer @YaleGenetics @CancerYale 🧵 👇🏾 nature.com/articles/s41467-0…
Srinivas Viswanathan retweeted
Adding to the outstanding @CharlesSwanton illustration: our example from metastatic #kidneycancer #RCC (Top 10 Cancer): Metastatic RCC didn’t change overnight—each era reshaped the curve.
From IL-2/cytokines (OS 1 yr) --> VEGF --> IO --> IO-combos (OS 4.5 yrs): depth improved, and for the first time, a durable tail emerges!
Srinivas Viswanathan retweeted
People often ask how breakthroughs occur in cancer biology-often the story is more complex - the survival plot for myeloma outcomes is extraordinary - improvements come about in incremental steps - in my lifetime treatment of Myeloma has almost transformed into a curable disease
Thank you for the invitation - It was a great pleasure to present at the 2026 TRDG Retreat and hear about the exciting translational science being done at #LegorettaCancerCenter @BrownUniversity @SenduraiMani
Outstanding Plenary by Srinivas Viswanathan at @DanaFarber who spoke about molecular insights into a rare kidney cancer (translocation RCC) and other lessons learned at #LegorretaCancerCenter 2026 TRDG Retreat at @BrownUniversity. @SenduraiMani
Srinivas Viswanathan retweeted
Thrilled to share this collaboration with #MattFreedman and @DrChoueiri led by @sarahaboulaiwi @adib_elio, and @WinstonCheung5. Cancer epigenomes from patients have a lot to teach us about how cancer develops, from germline risk to metastasis. #TranslationalEpigenomics
Very excited our paper is online! @adib_elio @WinstonCheung5 @SylvanBacaLab @DrChoueiri #MattFreedman. sciencedirect.com/science/ar… We profile chromatin and transcription across normal kidney →primary ccRCC→metastasis to define what changes (and what persists) during progression 1/
Please check out our team's recent study on plasma epigenomic profiling in #translocationRCC 👇 now out in @jclinicalinvest . Grateful to the incredible team of collaborators on this project @SylvanBacaLab @DrChoueiri #FreedmanLab
Might this strategy diagnose other mutationally quiet cancers?
Srinivas R. Viswanathan @srviswanathan & team @danafarber detect TFE3 translocation renal cell carcinoma (#tRCC) via epigenomic profiling in plasma with high accuracy, enabling non-invasive diagnosis and monitoring of this fusion-driven #kidney #cancer: doi.org/10.1172/JCI195725
The figure shows longitudinal tracking of the tRCC integrated epigenomic score (TIES) and ctDNA fraction in a patient with tRCC. SD, stable disease; PR, partial response; PD, progressive disease.
Srinivas Viswanathan retweeted
1) We are proud to report in @jclinicalinvest our latest work co-authored with @KarlSemaan and led by @srviswanathan , @SylvanBacaLab , @DrChoueiri and Matt Freedman.
👉 jci.org/articles/view/195725
Srinivas Viswanathan retweeted
🚨Check out our latest piece, just in
@jclinicalinvest - we used #cfDNA epigenomic profiling to dx & monitor #tRCC
A true pleasure working with🌟@SimonGarinet and incredible mentors @DrChoueiri #MattFreedman @SylvanBacaLab @srviswanathan
Tweetorial + paper link below:
1) We are proud to report in @jclinicalinvest our latest work co-authored with @KarlSemaan and led by @srviswanathan , @SylvanBacaLab , @DrChoueiri and Matt Freedman.
👉 jci.org/articles/view/195725
Our latest paper is now out in @jclinicalinvest!
🎉Huge congrats to superstars🌟 @simongarinet & @karlsemaan on this study with @sylvanbacalab #FreedmanLab @drchoueiri. [1]
We applied plasma epigenomic profiling (pioneered across many prior #FreedmanLab studies) to #translocationRCC, a genomically quiet and often challenging-to-diagnose kidney cancer where mutation‑based cfDNA assays have variable performance. [2]
By detecting a distinctive TFE3‑driven epigenomic signature in plasma, we could distinguish tRCC from ccRCC and non‑cancer samples even at low tumor fraction.
Link 👇
jci.org/articles/view/195725 [3]
Srinivas Viswanathan retweeted
1/Proud to present this rewarding @GustaveRoussy + @DanaFarber collaboration in @NatureMedicine
We identify sMAdCAM-1 as a powerful prognostic biomarker in metastatic renal cell carcinoma, linking gut microbiota, immune resistance, and survival outcomes
@CarolinaAlvesC5 @oncoclinicas +@MarcMachaalani @ReneeSaliby @DanaFarber_GU @YaleIMed (co-1st)
#LaurenceZitvogel @AlbigesL (my co-seniors) – at Boston, MA
