Photo of Kathryn D. Held, PhD

Kathryn D. Held, PhD

Massachusetts General Hospital

Massachusetts General Hospital
Phone: (617) 726-8161
Fax: (617) 724-8320


kheld@mgh.harvard.edu

Photo of Kathryn D. Held, PhD

Massachusetts General Hospital
Phone: (617) 726-8161
Fax: (617) 724-8320


kheld@mgh.harvard.edu

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Kathryn D. Held, PhD

Massachusetts General Hospital

EDUCATIONAL TITLES

  • Associate Professor, Radiation Oncology, Harvard Medical School
  • Associate Radiation Biologist, Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital

HCC PROGRAM AFFILIATION

Research Abstract

Our research covers a number of areas in radiation and cancer biology, with emphasis in cellular and molecular mechanisms of radiation damage, particularly with relevance to clinical use of radiation in cancer treatment and effects of space radiation. We have conducted studies on mechanisms of action of radiation modifiers, radiation chemistry, DNA damage and repair, cellular pathways and intercellular signaling by reactive oxygen species, and chemical and biological effects of charged particles. We have had federal funding since 1985, including an NCI-funded program project grant, and grants from NCI, DOE low dose program, DoD breast cancer program, NASA space radiation program, and NIAID’s radiation countermeasures program. We have conducted research on the biological effects of protons and heavier charged particles, having had NASA funding to work at the NASA Space Radiation Lab on investigations of the mechanisms of radiation effects of very low fluences of charged particles, as found in space, and an NCI grant to study charged particle biology as relevant to cancer therapy.

Publications from Harvard Catalyst Profiles

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  • Held KD, McNamara AL, Daartz J, Bhagwat MS, Rothwell B, Schuemann J. Dose Rate Effects from the 1950s through to the Era of FLASH. Radiat Res 2024. PubMed
  • Luong NC, Kawamura H, Ikeda H, Roppongi RT, Shibata A, Hu J, Jiang JG, Yu DS, Held KD. ATR signaling controls the bystander responses of human chondrosarcoma cells by promoting RAD51-dependent DNA repair. Int J Radiat Biol 2024. PubMed
  • Hermann AL, Fell GL, Kemény LV, Fung CY, Held KD, Biggs PJ, Rivera PD, Bilbo SD, Igras V, Willers H, Kung J, Gheorghiu L, Hideghéty K, Mao J, Woolf CJ, Fisher DE. β-Endorphin mediates radiation therapy fatigue. Sci Adv 2022; 8:eabn6025. PubMed
  • Boice JD, Quinn B, Al-Nabulsi I, Ansari A, Blake PK, Blattnig SR, Caffrey EA, Cohen SS, Golden AP, Held KD, Jokisch DW, Leggett RW, Mumma MT, Samuels C, Till JE, Tolmachev SY, Yoder RC, Zhou JY, Dauer LT. A million persons, a million dreams: a vision for a national center of radiation epidemiology and biology. Int J Radiat Biol 2021. PubMed
  • Zhu H, McNamara AL, McMahon SJ, Ramos-Mendez J, Henthorn NT, Faddegon B, Held KD, Perl J, Li J, Paganetti H, Schuemann J. Cellular Response to Proton Irradiation: A Simulation Study with TOPAS-nBio. Radiat Res 2020. PubMed
  • Zhu H, McNamara AL, Ramos-Mendez J, McMahon SJ, Henthorn NT, Faddegon B, Held KD, Perl J, Li J, Paganetti H, Schuemann J. A parameter sensitivity study for simulating DNA damage after proton irradiation using TOPAS-nBio. Phys Med Biol 2020; 65:085015. PubMed
  • Müller M, Espinoza S, Jüstel T, Held KD, Anderson RR, Purschke M. UVC-Emitting LuPO:Pr Nanoparticles Decrease Radiation Resistance of Hypoxic Cancer Cells. Radiat Res 2019. PubMed
  • Kakoti S, Yamauchi M, Gu W, Kato R, Yasuhara T, Hagiwara Y, Laskar S, Oike T, Sato H, Held KD, Nakano T, Shibata A. p53 deficiency augments nucleolar instability after ionizing irradiation. Oncol Rep 2019. PubMed
  • Paganetti H, Blakely E, Carabe-Fernandez A, Carlson DJ, Das IJ, Dong L, Grosshans D, Held KD, Mohan R, Moiseenko V, Niemierko A, Stewart RD, Willers H. Report of the AAPM TG-256 on the relative biological effectiveness of proton beams in radiation therapy. Med Phys 2019; 46:e53-e78. PubMed
  • Permata TBM, Hagiwara Y, Sato H, Yasuhara T, Oike T, Gondhowiardjo S, Held KD, Nakano T, Shibata A. Base excision repair regulates PD-L1 expression in cancer cells. Oncogene 2019. PubMed
  • Hagiwara Y, Oike T, Niimi A, Yamauchi M, Sato H, Limsirichaikul S, Held KD, Nakano T, Shibata A. Clustered DNA double-strand break formation and the repair pathway following heavy-ion irradiation. J. Radiat. Res. 2018. PubMed
  • Hagiwara Y, Niimi A, Isono M, Yamauchi M, Yasuhara T, Limsirichaikul S, Oike T, Sato H, Held KD, Nakano T, Shibata A. 3D-structured illumination microscopy reveals clustered DNA double-strand break formation in widespread γH2AX foci after high LET heavy-ion particle radiation. 2017; 8:109370-109381. PubMed
  • Sato H, Niimi A, Yasuhara T, Permata TBM, Hagiwara Y, Isono M, Nuryadi E, Sekine R, Oike T, Kakoti S, Yoshimoto Y, Held KD, Suzuki Y, Kono K, Miyagawa K, Nakano T, Shibata A. DNA double-strand break repair pathway regulates PD-L1 expression in cancer cells. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1751. PubMed
  • Held KD, Blakely EA, Story MD, Lowenstein DI. Use of the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory to Conduct Charged Particle Radiobiology Studies Relevant to Ion Therapy. Radiat Res 2016; 185:563-7. PubMed
  • Liu Q, Underwood TS, Kung J, Wang M, Lu HM, Paganetti H, Held KD, Hong TS, Efstathiou JA, Willers H. Disruption of SLX4-MUS81 Function Increases the Relative Biological Effectiveness of Proton Radiation. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2016; 95:78-85. PubMed
  • Niimi A, Yamauchi M, Limsirichaikul S, Sekine R, Oike T, Sato H, Suzuki K, Held KD, Nakano T, Shibata A. Identification of DNA Double Strand Breaks at Chromosome Boundaries Along the Track of Particle Irradiation. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 2016. PubMed
  • Held KD, Woloschak GE. NCRP Program Area Committee 1: Basic Criteria, Epidemiology, Radiobiology and Risk. Health Phys 2016; 110:98-100. PubMed
  • Held KD, Kawamura H, Kaminuma T, Paz AE, Yoshida Y, Liu Q, Willers H, Takahashi A. Effects of Charged Particles on Human Tumor Cells. 2016; 6:23. PubMed
  • Dynlacht JR, Zeman EM, Held KD, Deye J, Vikram B, Joiner MC. Education and Training Needs in the Radiation Sciences: Problems and Potential Solutions. Radiat Res 2015; 184:449-55. PubMed
  • Liu Q, Wang M, Kern AM, Khaled S, Han J, Yeap BY, Hong TS, Settleman J, Benes CH, Held KD, Efstathiou JA, Willers H. Adapting a drug screening platform to discover associations of molecular targeted radiosensitizers with genomic biomarkers. Mol Cancer Res 2015. PubMed
  • Liu Q, Ghosh P, Magpayo N, Testa M, Tang S, Gheorghiu L, Biggs P, Paganetti H, Efstathiou JA, Lu HM, Held KD, Willers H. Lung cancer cell line screen links fanconi anemia/BRCA pathway defects to increased relative biological effectiveness of proton radiation. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2015; 91:1081-9. PubMed
  • Kesler CT, Kuo AH, Wong HK, Masuck DJ, Shah JL, Kozak KR, Held KD, Padera TP. Vascular endothelial growth factor-C enhances radiosensitivity of lymphatic endothelial cells. Angiogenesis 2014; 17:419-27. PubMed
  • Durante M, Reppingen N, Held KD. Immunologically augmented cancer treatment using modern radiotherapy. Trends Mol Med 2013; 19:565-82. PubMed
  • Liu Q, Xu C, Kirubakaran S, Zhang X, Hur W, Liu Y, Kwiatkowski NP, Wang J, Westover KD, Gao P, Ercan D, Niepel M, Thoreen CC, Kang SA, Patricelli MP, Wang Y, Tupper T, Altabef A, Kawamura H, Held KD, Chou DM, Elledge SJ, Janne PA, Wong KK, Sabatini DM, Gray NS. Characterization of Torin2, an ATP-competitive inhibitor of mTOR, ATM, and ATR. Cancer Res 2013; 73:2574-86. PubMed
  • Held KD. Summary: achievements, critical issues, and thoughts on the future. Health Phys 2012; 103:681-4. PubMed
  • Butterworth KT, McGarry CK, Clasie B, Carabe-Fernandez A, Schuemann J, Depauw N, Tang S, McMahon SJ, Schettino G, O'Sullivan JM, Lu HM, Kooy H, Paganetti H, Hounsell AR, Held KD, Prise KM. Relative biological effectiveness (RBE) and out-of-field cell survival responses to passive scattering and pencil beam scanning proton beam deliveries. Phys Med Biol 2012; 57:6671-80. PubMed
  • Wakatsuki M, Magpayo N, Kawamura H, Held KD. Differential bystander signaling between radioresistant chondrosarcoma cells and fibroblasts after x-ray, proton, iron ion and carbon ion exposures. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2012; 84:e103-8. PubMed
  • Yang H, Magpayo N, Held KD. Targeted and non-targeted effects from combinations of low doses of energetic protons and iron ions in human fibroblasts. Int J Radiat Biol 2011; 87:311-9. PubMed
  • Purschke M, Rubio N, Held KD, Redmond RW. Phototoxicity of Hoechst 33342 in time-lapse fluorescence microscopy. Photochem Photobiol Sci 2010; 9:1634-9. PubMed
  • Zhang Y, Zhou J, Baldwin J, Held KD, Prise KM, Redmond RW, Liber HL. Ionizing radiation-induced bystander mutagenesis and adaptation: quantitative and temporal aspects. Mutat Res 2009; 671:20-5. PubMed
  • Rosenstein BS, Held KD, Rockwell S, Williams JP, Zeman EM. American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) survey of radiation biology educators in U.S. and Canadian radiation oncology residency programs. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2009; 75:896-905. PubMed
  • Rubio N,Rajadurai A,Held KD,Prise KM,Liber HL,Redmond RW. Real-time imaging of novel spatial and temporal responses to photodynamic stress. Free Radic Biol Med 2009; 47:283-90. PubMed
  • Chakraborty A, Held KD, Prise KM, Liber HL, Redmond RW. Bystander effects induced by diffusing mediators after photodynamic stress. Radiat Res 2009; 172:74-81. PubMed
  • Kuhnert VM,Kachnic LA,Li L,Purschke M,Gheorghiu L,Lee R,Held KD,Willers H. FANCD2-deficient human fibroblasts are hypersensitive to ionising radiation at oxygen concentrations of 0% and 3% but not under normoxic conditions. Int J Radiat Biol 2009; 85:523-31. PubMed
  • Held KD. Effects of low fluences of radiations found in space on cellular systems. Int J Radiat Biol 2009; 85:379-90. PubMed
  • Zhang Y, Zhou J, Held KD, Redmond RW, Prise KM, Liber HL. Deficiencies of double-strand break repair factors and effects on mutagenesis in directly gamma-irradiated and medium-mediated bystander human lymphoblastoid cells. Radiat Res 2008; 169:197-206. PubMed
  • Shao C,Folkard M,Held KD,Prise KM. Estrogen enhanced cell-cell signalling in breast cancer cells exposed to targeted irradiation. BMC Cancer 2008; 8:184. PubMed
  • Willers H, Kachnic LA, Luo CM, Li L, Purschke M, Borgmann K, Held KD, Powell SN. Biomarkers and mechanisms of FANCD2 function. J Biomed Biotechnol 2008; 2008:821529. PubMed
  • Lawenda BD, Smith DE, Xu L, Niemierko A, Silverstein JR, Boucher Y, Kashiwagi S, Held KD, Jain RK, Loeffler JS, Eisenberg DM, Blumberg JB. Do the dietary supplements epigallocatechin gallate or vitamin e cause a radiomodifying response on tumors in vivo? A pilot study with murine breast carcinoma. J Soc Integr Oncol 2007; 5:11-7. PubMed
  • Yang H, Anzenberg V, Held KD. The time dependence of bystander responses induced by iron-ion radiation in normal human skin fibroblasts. Radiat Res 2007; 168:292-8. PubMed
  • Willers H, Held KD. Introduction to clinical radiation biology. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am 2006; 20:1-24. PubMed
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