Martin McMahon

Martin McMahon, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Dermatology , Adjunct - Oncological Sciences

Academic Bio

Martin McMahon, PhD

Cumming-Presidential Chair of Cancer Biology

Senior Director for Preclinical Translation

Co-Leader of the Experimental Therapeutics Program

Dr. McMahon was awarded a PhD (1985) from King’s College University of London for studies on interferon action conducted at the ICRF in London and at Stanford University. Mentored by Mike Bishop at UC San Francisco, he received postdoctoral training (1985-91) working on oncoprotein kinases such as v-SRC v-ERBB and RAF. In 1991 he established an independent research lab at the DNAX Research Institute working on RAF protein kinases. He joined the faculty of the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center (1998) where he served as the Efim Guzik Distinguished Professor of Cancer Biology until 2015, when he joined the faculty of the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute. Dr. McMahon’s research focuses on melanoma and lung cancer driven by mutationally-activated RAS or RAF oncoproteins. Dr. McMahon has contributed to numerous philanthropic or government agencies having served as President of the Society for Melanoma Research and the Cancer Molecular Therapeutics Research Association, and Chair of the NCI Board of Scientific Counsellors. In 2017 he was awarded the American Skin Association “Leadership in Melanoma Award” and in 2022 the Society for Melanoma Research “Lifetime Achievement Award”.

Research: Dr. McMahon’s translational cancer research program focuses on the mechanisms underlying the development of metastatic melanoma and lung cancer. Although these malignancies are derived from distinct cell types, they share a striking number of common genetic alterations especially activating mutations in KRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA or CTNNB1 (Beta-catenin). In addition, many of these tumors display alterations in tumor suppressors such as CDKN2A, PTEN or TP53. To do this, Dr. McMahon’s laboratory works with cultured human cancer-derived cells, patient-derived xenograft (PDX) and with genetically engineered mouse (GEM) models of human cancer. Such model systems have demonstrated considerable value in the design and evaluation of new diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic tools to treat patients with cancer.

Teaching: Since establishing an independent research laboratory in 1991, Dr. McMahon has mentored over 50 undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral or clinical fellows in his lab, most of whom have gone on to successful careers either in academia or the private sector. Dr. McMahon is a member of two UU Bioscience graduate programs: Molecular Biology and Biological Chemistry. As a member of these graduate programs he participates in numerous qualifying exams and thesis committees and as a presenter or student mentor in Research-In-Progress, Project Proposal and Journal Club forums. Over the years, Dr. McMahon has hosted over 40 rotation students and had 12 full-time thesis students, of whom most have graduated with the award of a Ph.D. Dr. McMahon participates in graduate level courses with an emphasis on cancer biochemistry and biology. In 2025 - in partnership with Dr. Bryan Welm and Dr. Mona Foth, he serves as course organizer for a cancer-focussed elective, "Implications of Oncogene Addiction in Cancer”. This course is focused on cancer cell signaling, models of cancer, pharmacological inhibition of signaling pathways in both preclinical models and translation into human clinical trials.

Service: Dr. McMahon has served on numerous study sections including the: 1. NIH Basic Mechanisms of Cancer Therapy; 2. Basic Cancer Research (BCR)-1 of the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT); and 3. The Italian Institute for Cancer Research study section. He He has served on the editorial board of Molecular Cancer Research, Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research. He has organized numerous nternational conferences including the 2000 Oncogene Meeting (Frederick, MD), the 2015 and 2019 Annual Congress of the Society for Melanoma Research and the Cancer Molecular Therapeutics Research Association, an academic organization of which Dr. McMahon is the current President.

Education History

Postdoctoral Fellowship G.W. Hooper Research Foundation, University of California,
 Postdoctoral Fellow
Doctoral Training King's College, London - Ian M. Kerr, PhD (Research done at Stanford University and ICRF)
 PhD
Undergraduate University of Glasgow - Roy H. Burdon PhD
 BSc (Hons)

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Wang J, Wee Y, Jacob T, Rogers A, Sorensen LK, Brooks DM, Gupta P, Tay JKH, Wilson EC, Liu T, Smith EA, Gopal YNV, Davies MA, McMahon M, Holmen SL, Judson-Torres RL, Wolff RK, Grossmann AH (2026). Rapid activation of ARF6 after RAF inhibition augments BRAF(V600E) and promotes therapy resistance. Oncogene, 45(23), 2286-2298.
  2. Foth M, Kim W, OToole K, Murphy B, Justo-Garrido M, Boggaram S, Ghazi P, Brennan E, Wright MI, Shepherd T, Cortes-Sanchez E, Wang Y, Roth JA, Rees MG, Ronan MM, Jiang J, Wasko UN, Jiang A, Becker C, Deacon DC, Holmen SL, VanBrocklin MW, Hu-Lieskovan S, Kinsey CG, Russell JS, Hegde A, Garrido-Laguna I, Holderfield M, Singh M, McMahon M (2026). Genetic Drivers of Sensitivity or Resistance to RAS(ON) Multi-Selective Inhibitors in NRAS-Mutated Melanoma. Cancer Res.
  3. OToole KT, Martinez A, Murphy B, Fort G, Al-Sudani F, Prokofyeva A, Boggaram S, Smith EA, Paine EL, Baral D, Lum D, Zhang W, Egal E, Parkman GL, Snyder EL, Judson-Torres R, Andersen JL, McMahon M (2026). Identification and characterization of BRAF⇔TP53 interactions in melanoma. Cell Rep, 45(4), 117078.
  4. Dacheux MA, Wu MJ, Scherzer MT, Nillson M, Murphy B, Schuman S, Ju Z, Bivona T, Lito P, Gumbleton M, Puri S, Akerley W, Wang J, Wang K, Heymach J, Kinsey CG, Negrao M, McMahon M, Vaishnavi A (2025). BRAF(V600E)-Driven Lung Tumorigenesis Requires Ligand-Mediated Activation of ERBB Receptor Signaling. bioRxiv.
  5. Phaedra C Ghazi, Kayla T OToole, Sanjana Srinivas Boggaram, Michael T Scherzer, Mark R Silvis, Yun Zhang, Madhumita Bogdan, Bryan D Smith, Guillermina Lozano, Daniel L Flynn, Eric L Snyder, Conan G Kinsey, Martin McMahon (2024). Inhibition of ULK1/2 and KRAS G12C controls tumor growth in preclinical models of lung cancer. Elife.
  6. Parkman L, Turapov T, Kircher DA, Burnett WJ, Stehn CS, OToole K, Culver KM, Flaherty R, Chadwick AT, Elmer RC, Stanley KA, Foth M, Lum DH, Judson-Torres RL, Friend JE, VanBrocklin MWMcMahon M Holmen SL Holmen McMahon are co-senior authors (2024). Genetic silencing of AKT induces melanoma cell death via mTOR suppression. . Mol Cancer Ther.
  7. Richards JR, Shin D, Pryor R, Sorensen LK, Sun Z, So WM, Park GWolff R, Truong AMcMahon MGrossmann AH, Harbour JW, ZhuW, Odelberg SJ, Yoo JH (2023). Activation of NFAT by HGF and IGF-1 via ARF6 and its effector ASAP1 promotes uveal melanoma metastasis. . Oncogene.
  8. Silvis MR, Silva D, Rohweder R, Schuman S, Gudipaty S, Truong AYap J, Affolter KMcMahon M Kinsey CKinsey McMahon are co-senior authors (2023). MYC-Mediated resistance to trametinib and HCQ in PDAC is overcome by CDK4/6 and lyosomal inhibition. . J Exp Clin Med (Samsun).
  9. Yu Y, Dai M, Huang L, Chen W, Yu E, Mendoza A, Michael H, KhannaC, Bosenberg MMcMahon MMerlino G (2023). PTEN phosphatase inhibits metastasis by negatively regulating the Entpd5/IGF1R pathway through ATF6. iScience.
  10. Vaishnavi A, Kinsey CGMcMahon M (2023). Preclinical Modeling of Pathway-Targeted Therapy of Human Lung Cancer in the Mouse. . Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med.
  11. Vaishnavi A, Juan J, Scherzer MT, VanVeen JE, Stehn C, Hackett CS, Dupuy A, Chmura S, van der Weyden L, Newberg JY, Mann KM, Liu A, Rust AG, Weiss WA, Adams DJ, Grossman A, Mann MB, and McMahon M (In Press). Transposon Mutagenesis Reveals RBMS3 as a Promoter of Malignant Progression of BRAFV600E-Driven Lung Tumorigenesis. Cancer Res.
  12. Silvis, M, Silva, D, Rohweder, R, Schuman, S, Gudipaty, G, Truong, A, Yap, J Affolter, K, Kinsey, C, McMahon, M (In Press). CDK4/6 Inhibition Overcomes c-MYC Mediated Resistance to Trametinib Plus Hydroxychloroquine Therapy in Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Discov.
  13. Parkman GL, Foth M, Kircher DA, Holmen SL, McMahon M (2022). Role of the PI3’-kinase signaling pathway in melanoma. Exp Dermatol.
  14. Foth M, McMahon M (2021). Autophagy Inhibition in BRAF-Driven Cancers. Cancers (Basel), 13(14).
  15. Parkman GL, Kircher DA, Stehn CM, McMahon M, Holmen SL (2021). Model-dependent outcomes: Sex as a biological variable in preclinical mouse models of melanoma. 34(3), 655-658.
  16. Patton EE, Mueller KL, Adams DJ, Anandasabapathy N, Aplin AE, Bertolotto C, Bosenberg M, Ceol CJ, Burd CE, Chi P, Herlyn M, Holmen SL, Karreth FA, Kaufman CK, Khan S, Kobold S, Leucci E, Levy C, Lombard DB, Lund AW, Marie KL, Marine JC, Marais R, McMahon M, Robles-Espinoza CD, Ronai ZA, Samuels Y, Soengas MS, Villanueva J, Weeraratna AT, White RM, Yeh I, Zhu J, Zon LI, Hurlbert MS, Merlino G (2021). Melanoma models for the next generation of therapies. Cancer Cell, 39(5), 610-631.
  17. Truong A, Yoo JH, Scherzer MT, Sanchez JMS, Dale KJ, Kinsey CG, Richards JR, Shin D, Ghazi PC, Onken MD, Blumer KJ, Odelberg SJ, McMahon M (2020). Chloroquine Sensitizes GNAQ/11-mutated Melanoma to MEK1/2 Inhibition. Clin Cancer Res, 26(23), 6374-6386.
  18. Foth M, Parkman G, Battistone B, McMahon M (2020). RAC1mutation is not a predictive biomarker for PI3'-kinase-β-selective pathway-targeted therapy. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res, 33(5), 719-730.
  19. Vaishnavi A, Scherzer MT, Kinsey CG, Parkman GL, Truong A, Ghazi P, Schuman S, Battistone B, Garrido-Laguna I, McMahon M (2019). Inhibition of MEK1/2 Forestalls the Onset of Acquired Resistance to Entrectinib in Multiple Models of NTRK1-Driven Cancer. Cell Rep, 32(5), 107994.
  20. Zhou CJ, Ji Y, Reynolds K, McMahon M, Garland MA, Zhang S, Sun B, Gu R, Islam M, Liu Y, Zhao T, Hsu G, Iwasa J (2020). Non-neural surface ectodermal rosette formation and F-actin dynamics drive mammalian neural tube closure. Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 526(3), 647-653.
  21. Kircher DA, Trombetti KA, Silvis MR, Parkman GL, Fischer GM, Angel SN, Stehn CM, Strain SC, Grossmann AH, Duffy KL, Boucher KM, McMahon M, Davies MA, Mendoza MC, VanBrocklin MW, Holmen SL (2019). AKT1E17K Activates Focal Adhesion Kinase and Promotes Melanoma Brain Metastasis. Mol Cancer Res, 17(9), 1787-1800.
  22. van Veen JE, Scherzer M, Boshuizen J, Chu M, Liu A, Landman A, Green S, Trejo C, McMahon M (2019). Mutationally-activated PI3'-kinase-α promotes de-differentiation of lung tumors initiated by the BRAFV600E oncoprotein kinase. Elife, 8.
  23. Kinsey CG, Camolotto SA, Boespflug AM, Guillen KP, Foth M, Truong A, Schuman SS, Shea JE, Seipp MT, Yap JT, Burrell LD, Lum DH, Whisenant JR, Gilcrease GW 3rd, Cavalieri CC, Rehbein KM, Cutler SL, Affolter KE, Welm AL, Welm BE, Scaife CL, Snyder EL, McMahon M (2019). Protective autophagy elicited by RAF→MEK→ERK inhibition suggests a treatment strategy for RAS-driven cancers. Nat Med, 25(4), 620-627.
  24. Mulcahy Levy JM, McMahon M (2018). Linking brain tumors and epileptic seizures. Nat Med, 24(11), 1638-1639.
  25. Gardner LJ, Ward M, Andtbacka RHI, Boucher KM, Bowen GM, Bowles TL, Cohen AL, Grossmann K, Hitchcock YJ, Holmen SL, Hyngstrom J, Khong H, McMahon M, Monroe MM, Ross CB, Suneja G, Wada D, Grossman D (10/01/2017). Risk factors for development of melanoma brain metastasis and disease progression: a single-center retrospective analysis. Melanoma Res, 5, 477-484.
  26. Gardner LJ, Ward M, Andtbacka RHI, Boucher KM, Bowen GM, Bowles TL, Cohen AL, Grossmann K, Hitchcock YJ, Holmen SL, Hyngstrom J, Khong H, McMahon M, Monroe MM, Ross CB, Suneja G, Wada D, Grossman D (2017). Risk factors for development of melanoma brain metastasis and disease progression: a single-center retrospective analysis. Melanoma Res, 27(5), 477-484.
  27. Silva JM, Deuker MM, Baguley BC, McMahon M (2017). PIK3CA-mutated melanoma cells rely on cooperative signaling through mTORC1/2 for sustained proliferation. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res, 30(3), 353-367.
  28. Sakamoto N, Feng Y, Stolfi C, Kurosu Y, Green M, Lin J, Green ME, Sentani K, Yasui W, McMahon M, Hardiman KM, Spence JR, Horita N, Greenson JK, Kuick R, Cho KR, Fearon ER (2017). BRAF(V600E) cooperates with CDX2 inactivation to promote serrated colorectal tumorigenesis.LID - 10.7554/eLife.20331 [doi]LID - e20331 [pii]. Elife, 6.
  29. Grossauer S, Koeck K, Murphy NE, Meyers ID, Daynac M, Truffaux N, Truong AY, Nicolaides TP, McMahon M, Berger MS, Phillips JJ, James CD, Petritsch CK (2016). Concurrent MEK targeted therapy prevents MAPK pathway reactivation during BRAFV600E targeted inhibition in a novel syngeneic murine glioma model. Oncotarget, 7(46), 75839-75853.
  30. Merlino G, Herlyn M, Fisher DE, Bastian BC, Flaherty KT, Davies MA, Wargo JA, Curiel-Lewandrowski C, Weber MJ, Leachman SA, Soengas MS, McMahon M, Harbour JW, Swetter SM, Aplin AE, Atkins MB, Bosenberg MW, Dummer R, Gershenwald JE, Halpern AC, Herlyn D, Karakousis GC, Kirkwood JM, Krauthammer M, Lo RS, Long GV, McArthur G, Ribas A, Schuchter L, Sosman JA, Smalley KS, Steeg P, Thomas NE, Tsao H, Tueting T, Weeraratna A, Xu G, Lomax R, Martin A, Silverstein S, Turnham T, Ronai ZA (2016). The state of melanoma: challenges and opportunities. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res, 29(4), 404-16.
  31. van Veen JE, Pringle DR, McMahon M (2016). P2A-Fluorophore Tagging of BRAF Tightly Links Expression to Fluorescence In Vivo. PLoS One, 11(6), e0157661.
  32. Green S, Trejo CL, McMahon M (2015). PIK3CA(H1047R) promotes the growth of lung tumors initiated by oncogenic KRAS(G12D). Cancer Res, 75(24), 5378-91.
  33. Green S, Trejo CL, McMahon M (2015). PIK3CA(H1047R) Accelerates and Enhances KRAS(G12D)-Driven Lung Tumorigenesis. Cancer Res, 75(24), 5378-91.
  34. Cho JH, Robinson JP, Arave RA, Burnett WJ, Kircher DA, Chen G, Davies MA, Grossmann AH, VanBrocklin MW, McMahon M, Holmen SL (2015). AKT1 Activation Promotes Development of Melanoma Metastases. Cell Rep, 13(5), 898-905.
  35. Shai A, Dankort D, Juan J, Green S, McMahon M (2015). TP53 Silencing Bypasses Growth Arrest of BRAFV600E-Induced Lung Tumor Cells in a Two-Switch Model of Lung Tumorigenesis. Cancer Res, 75(15), 3167-80.
  36. Shai A, Dankort D, Juan J, Green S, McMahon M (05/22/15). TP53 silencing bypasses growth arrest of BRAFV600E-induced lung tumor cells in a two-switch model of lung tumorigenesis. Cancer Res, 75(15), 3167-3180.
  37. Deuker MM, McMahon M (2016). Rational targeting of BRAF and PI3-Kinase signaling for melanoma therapy. Mol Cell Oncol, 3(3), e1033095.
  38. Mann MB, Black MA, Jones DJ, Ward JM, Yew CC, Newberg JY, Dupuy AJ, Rust AG, Bosenberg MW, McMahon M, Print CG, Copeland NG, Jenkins NA (2015). Transposon mutagenesis identifies genetic drivers of Braf(V600E) melanoma. Nat Genet, 47(5), 486-95.
  39. Lin L, Sabnis AJ, Chan E, Olivas V, Cade L, Pazarentzos E, Asthana S, Neel D, Yan JJ, Lu X, Pham L, Wang MM, Karachaliou N, Cao MG, Manzano JL, Ramirez JL, Torres JM, Buttitta F, Rudin CM, Collisson EA, Algazi A, Robinson E, Osman I, Muoz-Couselo E, Cortes J, Frederick DT, Cooper ZA, McMahon M, Marchetti A, Rosell R, Flaherty KT, Wargo JA, Bivona TG (2015). The Hippo effector YAP promotes resistance to RAF- and MEK-targeted cancer therapies. Nat Genet, 47(3), 250-6.
  40. Deuker MM, Marsh Durban V, Phillips WA, McMahon M (2015). PI3'-kinase inhibition forestalls the onset of MEK1/2 inhibitor resistance in BRAF-mutated melanoma. Cancer Discov, 5(2), 143-53.
  41. Damsky W, Micevic G, Meeth K, Muthusamy V, Curley DP, Santhanakrishnan M, Erdelyi I, Platt JT, Huang L, Theodosakis N, Zaidi MR, Tighe S, Davies MA, Dankort D, McMahon M, Merlino G, Bardeesy N, Bosenberg M (2015). mTORC1 activation blocks BrafV600E-induced growth arrest but is insufficient for melanoma formation. Cancer Cell, 27(1), 41-56.
  42. Holderfield M, Deuker MM, McCormick F, McMahon M (2014). Targeting RAF kinases for cancer therapy: BRAF-mutated melanoma and beyond. Nat Rev Cancer, 14(7), 455-67.
  43. Charles RP, Silva J, Iezza G, Phillips WA, McMahon M (2014). Activating BRAF and PIK3CA mutations cooperate to promote anaplastic thyroid carcinogenesis. Mol Cancer Res, 12(7), 979-86.
  44. Juan J, Muraguchi T, Iezza G, Sears RC, McMahon M (2014). Diminished WNT -> beta-catenin -> c-MYC signaling is a barrier for malignant progression of BRAFV600E-induced lung tumors. Genes Dev, 28(6), 561-75.
  45. Silva JM, Bulman C, McMahon M (2014). BRAFV600E cooperates with PI3K signaling, independent of AKT, to regulate melanoma cell proliferation. Mol Cancer Res, 12(3), 447-63.
  46. Marsh Durban V, Deuker MM, Bosenberg MW, Phillips W, McMahon M (2013). Differential AKT dependency displayed by mouse models of BRAFV600E-initiated melanoma. J Clin Invest, 123(12), 5104-18.
  47. Trejo CL, Green S, Marsh V, Collisson EA, Iezza G, Phillips WA, McMahon M (2013). Mutationally activated PIK3CA(H1047R) cooperates with BRAF(V600E) to promote lung cancer progression. Cancer Res, 73(21), 6448-61.
  48. Das Thakur M, Salangsang F, Landman AS, Sellers WR, Pryer NK, Levesque MP, Dummer R, McMahon M, Stuart DD (2013). Modelling vemurafenib resistance in melanoma reveals a strategy to forestall drug resistance. Nature, 494(7436), 251-5.
  49. Collisson EA, Trejo CL, Silva JM, Gu S, Korkola JE, Heiser LM, Charles RP, Rabinovich BA, Hann B, Dankort D, Spellman PT, Phillips WA, Gray JW, McMahon M (2012). A central role for RAF-->MEK-->ERK signaling in the genesis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Cancer Discov, 2(8), 685-93.
  50. Dankort D, Curley DP, Cartlidge RA, Nelson B, Karnezis AN, Damsky WE Jr, You MJ, DePinho RA, McMahon M, Bosenberg M (2009). Braf(V600E) cooperates with Pten loss to induce metastatic melanoma. Nat Genet, 41(5), 544-52.
  51. Dankort D, Filenova E, Collado M, Serrano M, Jones K, McMahon M (2007). A new mouse model to explore the initiation, progression, and therapy of BRAFV600E-induced lung tumors. Genes Dev, 21(4), 379-84.

Letter

  1. Martin McMahon, Dekker C Deacon (2024). Spatial sequencing reveals transcriptional variation between amelanotic and pigmented acral melanoma [Letter to the editor]. Br J Dermatol.
  2. Parkman GL, Kircher DA, Stehn CM, McMahon M, Holmen SL (2020). Model-dependent outcomes: Sex as a biological variable in preclinical mouse models of melanoma. [Letter to the editor]. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res, 34(3), 655-658.

Other

  1. Rauen KA, Schoyer L, Schill L, Stronach B, Albeck J, Andresen BS, Cav H, Ellis M, Fruchtman SM, Gelb BD, Gibson CC, Gripp K, Hefner E, Huang WYC, Itkin M, Kerr B, Linardic CM, McMahon M, Oberlander B, Perlstein E, Ratner N, Rogers L, Schenck A, Shankar S, Shvartsman S, Stevenson DA, Stites EC, Stork PJS, Sun C, Therrien M, Ullian EM, Widemann BC, Yeh E, Zampino G, Zenker M, Timmer W, McCormick F (2018). Proceedings of the fifth international RASopathies symposium: When development and cancer intersect. Am J Med Genet A (176(12), pp. 2924-2929). United States.
  2. McMahon M (2015). Intermittent dosing in melanoma. Clin Adv Hematol Oncol (13(6), pp. 348-50). United States.

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