Frank M. Mason, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

frank.mason@vanderbilt.edu
Faculty Appointments
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Education
Ph.D., Cell and Molecular Biology, Duke University, Durham, North CarolinaB.S., Biochemistry and Cell and Molecular Biol, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
Office Address
612B Preston Research Building
Nashville, TN 37232
Research Description
Research in the Frank Mason Lab focuses on the causes and consequences of genomic instability in cancer, with a particular emphasis on errors in cell division, chromosomal integrity, and epigenetic dysfunction.

To investigate these problems, we utilize cell biological, biochemical, genetic and genomic approaches in kidney cancer and leukemia cells, as well as mouse and human tumors.
Research Keywords
Chromosome instability, renal cell carcinoma, mitosis, genetics, epigenetics, centromeres, DNA replication
Publications
Rawat V, DeLear P, Prashanth P, Ozgurses ME, Tebeje A, Burns PA, Conger KO, Solís C, Hasnain Y, Novikova A, Endress JE, González-Sánchez P, Dong W, Stephanopoulos G, DeNicola GM, Harris IS, Sept D, Mason FM, Coloff JL. Drug screening in human physiologic medium identifies uric acid as an inhibitor of rigosertib efficacy. JCI Insight. 2024 May 5/30/2024; 9(13): PMID: 38815134, PII: 174329, DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.174329, ISSN: 2379-3708.

Howard GC, Wang J, Rose KL, Jones C, Patel P, Tsui T, Florian AC, Vlach L, Lorey SL, Grieb BC, Smith BN, Slota MJ, Reynolds EM, Goswami S, Savona MR, Mason FM, Lee T, Fesik S, Liu Q, Tansey WP. Ribosome subunit attrition and activation of the p53-MDM4 axis dominate the response of MLL-rearranged cancer cells to WDR5 WIN site inhibition. Elife. 2024 Apr 4/29/2024; 12: PMID: 38682900, PMCID: PMC11057873, PII: 90683, DOI: 10.7554/eLife.90683, ISSN: 2050-084X.

Stevens MG, Mason FM, Bullock TNJ. The mitochondrial fission protein DRP1 influences memory CD8+ T cell formation and function. J Leukoc Biol. 2024 Mar 3/29/2024; 115(4): 679-94. PMID: 38057151, PMCID: PMC10980353, PII: 7459824, DOI: 10.1093/jleuko/qiad155, ISSN: 1938-3673.

Mason FM, Kounlavong ES, Tebeje AT, Dahiya R, Guess T, Khan A, Vlach L, Norris SR, Lovejoy CA, Dere R, Strahl BD, Ohi R, Ly P, Walker CL, Rathmell WK. SETD2 safeguards the genome against isochromosome formation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A [print-electronic]. 2023 Sep 9/26/2023; 120(39): e2303752120. PMID: 37722039, PMCID: PMC10523680, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2303752120, ISSN: 1091-6490.

Hanna A, Nixon MJ, Estrada MV, Sanchez V, Sheng Q, Opalenik SR, Toren AL, Bauer J, Owens P, Mason FM, Cook RS, Sanders ME, Arteaga CL, Balko JM. Combined Dusp4 and p53 loss with Dbf4 amplification drives tumorigenesis via cell cycle restriction and replication stress escape in breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res. 2022 Jul 7/18/2022; 24(1): 51. PMID: 35850776, PMCID: PMC9290202, PII: 10.1186/s13058-022-01542-y, DOI: 10.1186/s13058-022-01542-y, ISSN: 1465-542X.

Kearns S, Mason FM, Rathmell WK, Park IY, Walker C, Verhey KJ, Cianfrocco MA. Molecular determinants for a-tubulin methylation by SETD2. J Biol Chem [print-electronic]. 2021 Jul; 297(1): 100898. PMID: 34157286, PMCID: PMC8294582, PII: S0021-9258(21)00698-0, DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100898, ISSN: 1083-351X.

Reinfeld BI, Madden MZ, Wolf MM, Chytil A, Bader JE, Patterson AR, Sugiura A, Cohen AS, Ali A, Do BT, Muir A, Lewis CA, Hongo RA, Young KL, Brown RE, Todd VM, Huffstater T, Abraham A, O'Neil RT, Wilson MH, Xin F, Tantawy MN, Merryman WD, Johnson RW, Williams CS, Mason EF, Mason FM, Beckermann KE, Vander Heiden MG, Manning HC, Rathmell JC, Rathmell WK. Cell-programmed nutrient partitioning in the tumour microenvironment. Nature [print-electronic]. 2021 May; 593(7858): 282-8. PMID: 33828302, PMCID: PMC8122068, PII: 10.1038/s41586-021-03442-1, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03442-1, ISSN: 1476-4687.

Imran Alsous J, Romeo N, Jackson JA, Mason FM, Dunkel J, Martin AC. Dynamics of hydraulic and contractile wave-mediated fluid transport during Drosophila oogenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Mar 3/9/2021; 118(10): PMID: 33658367, PMCID: PMC7958293, PII: 2019749118, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2019749118, ISSN: 1091-6490.

Seervai RNH, Jangid RK, Karki M, Tripathi DN, Jung SY, Kearns SE, Verhey KJ, Cianfrocco MA, Millis BA, Tyska MJ, Mason FM, Rathmell WK, Park IY, Dere R, Walker CL. The Huntingtin-interacting protein SETD2/HYPB is an actin lysine methyltransferase. Sci Adv [electronic-print]. 2020 Oct; 6(40): PMID: 33008892, PMCID: PMC7852384, PII: 6/40/eabb7854, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb7854, ISSN: 2375-2548.

Beckermann KE, Hongo R, Ye X, Young K, Carbonell K, Healey DCC, Siska PJ, Barone S, Roe CE, Smith CC, Vincent BG, Mason FM, Irish JM, Rathmell WK, Rathmell JC. CD28 costimulation drives tumor-infiltrating T cell glycolysis to promote inflammation. JCI Insight. 2020 Aug 8/20/2020; 5(16): PMID: 32814710, PMCID: PMC7455120, PII: 138729, DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.138729, ISSN: 2379-3708.

Chiang YC, Park IY, Terzo EA, Tripathi DN, Mason FM, Fahey CC, Karki M, Shuster CB, Sohn BH, Chowdhury P, Powell RT, Ohi R, Tsai YS, de Cubas AA, Khan A, Davis IJ, Strahl BD, Parker JS, Dere R, Walker CL, Rathmell WK. SETD2 Haploinsufficiency for Microtubule Methylation Is an Early Driver of Genomic Instability in Renal Cell Carcinoma. Cancer Res [print-electronic]. 2018 Jun 6/15/2018; 78(12): 3135-46. PMID: 29724720, PMCID: PMC6004258, PII: 0008-5472.CAN-17-3460, DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-17-3460, ISSN: 1538-7445.

Siska PJ, Beckermann KE, Mason FM, Andrejeva G, Greenplate AR, Sendor AB, Chiang YJ, Corona AL, Gemta LF, Vincent BG, Wang RC, Kim B, Hong J, Chen CL, Bullock TN, Irish JM, Rathmell WK, Rathmell JC. Mitochondrial dysregulation and glycolytic insufficiency functionally impair CD8 T cells infiltrating human renal cell carcinoma. JCI Insight. 2017 Jun 6/15/2017; 2(12): PMID: 28614802, PMCID: PMC5470888, PII: 93411, DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.93411, ISSN: 2379-3708.