Donita Brady

Donita C. Brady is a cancer biologist and the Presidential Associate Professor of Cancer Biology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research examines how cells communicate through kinases and nutrient homeostasis, and in particular, the central role of copper and other metals in these interactions. Brady studied chemistry at Radford University where she graduated magna cum laude.

Career Brady completed a PhD in pharmacology in 2008 at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in the laboratory of Adrienne D. Cox. As a graduate student, Brady studied how cancer cells exploit normal cellular functions to alter their shape. In 2019, Brady was awarded a grant through the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund to continue her work in PDAC (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma) research.

Research interests Brady research focuses on how cells communicate through kinases and nutrient homeostasis, She discovered that kinases require copper for their ability to function. JBC/Herb Tabor Young Investigator Award (2016) William Guy Forbeck Research Foundation Scholar (2017) Linda Pechenik Montague Investigator Award (2018) ASBMB Ruth Kirschstein Award for Maximizing Access in Science (2026)

Selected publications Brady, Donita C., et al. "Copper is required for oncogenic BRAF signalling and tumorigenesis." Nature 509.7501 (2014): 492–496. Brady, Donita C., et al. "Copper chelation inhibits BRAFV600E-driven melanomagenesis and counters resistance to BRAFV600E and MEK1/2 inhibitors." Cancer research 77.22 (2017): 6240–6252. Sadeghi, Rochelle Shirin. "Wnt5a Signaling Induced Phosphorylation Increases Acyl Protein Thioesterase Activity And Promotes Melanoma Metastatic Behavior." (2018). Kim, Ye-Jin, et al. "Copper chaperone ATOX1 is required for MAPK signaling and growth in BRAF mutation-positive melanoma." Metallomics 11.8 (2019): 1430–1440. Kim, Ye-Jin, et al. "Inhibition of BCL2 family members increases the efficacy of copper chelation in BRAFV600E-driven melanoma." Cancer Research 80.7 (2020): 1387–1400. Tsang, Tiffany, et al. "Copper is an essential regulator of the autophagic kinases ULK1/2 to drive lung adenocarcinoma." Nature Cell Biology 22.4 (2020): 412–424.

Personal life At Radford University, Brady played Division I softball.