Ramon Jin, MD, PhD

Education

• Hematology-Oncology Fellowship (PSTP), Washington University School of Medicine (2021)
• Internal Medicine Residency (PSTP), Barnes-Jewish Hospital (2017)
• MD/PHD: Washington University School of Medicine (2015)

Biography

I am a cancer doctor who treats gastroesophageal cancer patients in the clinic, and studies gastroesophageal cancer in the research lab. Alarmingly, the rates of gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma have been increasing in the US. Unfortunately, only one out of five patients with this disease will live longer than 5 years. There is a precursor condition called intestinal metaplasia that occurs during the development of many gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas. This precancerous condition is defined by replacement of the normal mucosa with an intestinal-like lining in response to chronic inflammation and damage (i.e., gastroesophageal reflux disease and H. pylori infection). My research strives to define why this “intestinalization” occurs and the specific steps that happen during this process. I believe that if we understand why and how these precancerous lesions develop, then we can possibly reverse this condition to prevent it from ever progressing to cancer. I am committed to not only understanding the basic science of gastroesophageal cancers, but also, and more importantly, taking new discoveries and translating them into real improvements in the way we treat gastroesophageal cancer patients.

Research Interests

Gastroesophageal Oncogenesis, Barrett’s esophagus, Gastric intestinal metaplasia, Gastric adenocarcinoma, Esophageal adenocarcinoma, Patient-derived organoids, Genetic mouse models of upper GI metaplasias/neoplasias

Related Links

Physician Profile

Jin Lab Website

Publications

Zeng Y, Lockhart AC, Jin RU. The Preclinical Discovery and Development of Zolbetuximab for the Treatment of Gastric Cancer. In Press.

Zhu H, Jin RU. The role of the fibroblast in Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2024 Jul 1;40(4):319-327. doi: 10.1097/MOG.0000000000001032. Epub 2024 Apr 15. Review. PubMed PMID: 38626060; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11155289.

Stachler MD, Jin RU. Molecular Pathology of Gastroesophageal Cancer. Clin Lab Med. 2024 Jun;44(2):239-254. doi: 10.1016/j.cll.2023.08.005. Review. PubMed PMID: 38821643.

Zeng Y, Li QK, Roy S, Mills JC, Jin RU. Shared features of metaplasia and the development of adenocarcinoma in the stomach and esophagus. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023;11:1151790. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1151790. eCollection 2023. PubMed PMID: 36994101; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10040611.

Zeng Y, Jin RU. Molecular pathogenesis, targeted therapies, and future perspectives for gastric cancer. Semin Cancer Biol. 2022 Nov;86(Pt 3):566-582. doi: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2021.12.004. Epub 2021 Dec 18. Review. PubMed PMID: 34933124.

Pang MJ, Burclaff JR, Jin R, Adkins-Threats M, Osaki LH, Han Y, Mills JC, Miao ZF, Wang ZN. Gastric Organoids: Progress and Remaining Challenges. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022;13(1):19-33. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2021.09.005. Epub 2021 Sep 20. Review. PubMed PMID: 34547535; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8600088.

Stachler MD, Jin RU. Molecular Pathology of Gastroesophageal Cancer. Surg Pathol Clin. 2021 Sep;14(3):443-453. doi: 10.1016/j.path.2021.05.008. Epub 2021 Jul 8. Review. PubMed PMID: 34373095.

Jin RU, Brown JW, Li QK, Bayguinov PO, Wang JS, Mills JC. Tropism of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 for Barrett’s Esophagus May Increase Susceptibility to Developing Coronavirus Disease 2019. Gastroenterology. 2021 May;160(6):2165-2168.e4. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2021.01.024. Epub 2021 Jan 20. PubMed PMID: 33484686; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7816599.

Spatz LB, Jin RU*, Mills JC. Cellular plasticity at the nexus of development and disease. Development. 2021 Feb 5;148(3). doi: 10.1242/dev.197392. Review. PubMed PMID: 33547203. *co-first author

Jin RU, Park H. Esophagus and Gastric Cancer. In: Morgensztern D, Govindan R, editors. DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg’s Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology Review 5 ed. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer; 2021. Chapter 8; p.71-81.

Park H, Jin RU, Wang-Gillam A, Suresh R, Rigden C, Amin M, Tan BR, Pedersen KS, Lim KH, Trikalinos NA, Acharya A, Copsey ML, Navo KA, Morton AE, Gao F, Lockhart AC. FOLFIRINOX for the Treatment of Advanced Gastroesophageal Cancers: A Phase 2 Nonrandomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2020 Aug 1;6(8):1231-1240. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2020.2020. PubMed PMID: 32469386; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7260693.

Jin RU, Mills JC. Tumor organoids to study gastroesophageal cancer: a primer. J Mol Cell Biol. 2020 Aug 1;12(8):593-606. doi: 10.1093/jmcb/mjaa035. PubMed PMID: 32652008; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7683018.

Jacobs MT, Olson M, Ferreira BP, Jin R, Hachem R, Byers D, Witt C, Ghobadi A, DiPersio JF, Pusic I. The use of ruxolitinib for acute graft-versus-host disease developing after solid organ transplantation. Am J Transplant. 2020 Feb;20(2):589-592. doi: 10.1111/ajt.15579. Epub 2019 Sep 11. PubMed PMID: 31446673.

Jin RU, Navo KA, Park H. Esophageal and Gastric Cancer. In: The Washington Manual of Oncology. 4 ed. Morgensztern D, Govindan R, editors. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2020. Chapter 15; p.270-282.

Jin RU, Mills JC. The cyclical hit model: how paligenosis might establish the mutational landscape in Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2019 Jul;35(4):363-370. doi: 10.1097/MOG.0000000000000540. PubMed PMID: 31021922.

Jin RU, Mills JC. Are Gastric and Esophageal Metaplasia Relatives? The Case for Barrett’s Stemming from SPEM. Dig Dis Sci. 2018 Aug;63(8):2028-2041. doi: 10.1007/s10620-018-5150-0. Review. PubMed PMID: 29948563.

Lo HG, Jin RU, Sibbel G, Liu D, Karki A, Joens MS, Madison BB, Zhang B, Blanc V, Fitzpatrick JA, Davidson NO, Konieczny SF, Mills JC. A single transcription factor is sufficient to induce and maintain secretory cell architecture. Genes Dev. 2017 Jan 15;31(2):154-171. doi: 10.1101/gad.285684.116. Epub 2017 Feb 7. PubMed PMID: 28174210; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5322730.

Moore BD, Jin RU, Lo H, Jung M, Wang H, Battle MA, Wollheim CB, Urano F, Mills JC. Transcriptional Regulation of X-Box-binding Protein One (XBP1) by Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 4α (HNF4Α) Is Vital to Beta-cell Function. J Biol Chem. 2016 Mar 18;291(12):6146-57. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M115.685750. Epub 2016 Jan 20. PubMed PMID: 26792861; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4813565.

Moore BD, Jin RU, Osaki L, Romero-Gallo J, Noto J, Peek RM Jr, Mills JC. Identification of alanyl aminopeptidase (CD13) as a surface marker for isolation of mature gastric zymogenic chief cells. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2015 Dec 15;309(12):G955-64. doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00261.2015. Epub 2015 Oct 29. PubMed PMID: 26514774; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4683299.

Jin RU, Mills JC. RAB26 coordinates lysosome traffic and mitochondrial localization. J Cell Sci. 2014 Mar 1;127(Pt 5):1018-32. doi: 10.1242/jcs.138776. Epub 2014 Jan 10. PubMed PMID: 24413166; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3937772.

Jin RU, Mills JC. Congenital and Acquired Diseases of the Stomach. In: Translational Gastroenterology: Organogenesis to Disease. Gumucio DL, Spence JR, Samuelson C, editors. New York, NY: Wiley; 2014. Chapter 5; p.57-71.

Capoccia BJ, Jin RU, Kong YY, Peek RM Jr, Fassan M, Rugge M, Mills JC. The ubiquitin ligase Mindbomb 1 coordinates gastrointestinal secretory cell maturation. J Clin Invest. 2013 Apr;123(4):1475-91. doi: 10.1172/JCI65703. Epub 2013 Mar 8. PubMed PMID: 23478405; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3613919.

Yin Y, Lin C, Kim ST, Roig I, Chen H, Liu L, Veith GM, Jin RU, Keeney S, Jasin M, Moley K, Zhou P, Ma L. The E3 ubiquitin ligase Cullin 4A regulates meiotic progression in mouse spermatogenesis. Dev Biol. 2011 Aug 1;356(1):51-62. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2011.05.661. Epub 2011 May 23. PubMed PMID: 21624359; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3130830.

Tian X*, Jin RU*, Bredemeyer AJ, Oates EJ, Błazewska KM, McKenna CE, Mills JC. RAB26 and RAB3D are direct transcriptional targets of MIST1 that regulate exocrine granule maturation. Mol Cell Biol. 2010 Mar;30(5):1269-84. doi: 10.1128/MCB.01328-09. Epub 2009 Dec 28. PubMed PMID: 20038531; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2820885. *co-first author

Jin R, Hodges CA, Drumm ML, Palmert MR. The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (Cftr) modulates the timing of puberty in mice. J Med Genet. 2006 Jun;43(6):e29. doi: 10.1136/jmg.2005.032839. PubMed PMID: 16740913; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2564546.