Dennis Jones | Profiles RNS

Dennis Jones, PhD

Associate Professor

Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Pathology & Laboratory Medicine

PhD, Yale University School of Medicine
BS, Morehouse College

Websites

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	Jones Laboratory
	Immunology Training Program Faculty
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ORCID : 0000-0002-1401-9701

Dennis Jones, PhD is an Associate Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. Our research focuses on understanding how tumors impact the functionality of blood vessels, which are essential for immune cells, such as T cells, to infiltrate tumors. Our previous studies have found that tumors can cause the compression and dysfunction of blood vessels, which ultimately limits T cell entry into the tumor. Therefore, our lab aims to develop approaches to improve vascular function within tumors, with the goal of increasing T cell entry. In combination, we will use immunotherapy to enhance the killing ability of T cells. Currently, we are testing this combination therapy in preclinical models. Our ultimate goal is to improve outcomes for patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Our lab is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of trainees with expertise in cancer biology, immunology, and vascular biology. We employ a range of techniques, including in vitro and in vivo experiments, imaging, and molecular and cellular biology assays, to better understand the complex mechanisms underlying tumor-induced vascular dysfunction and immune suppression.

Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students)
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Member
Boston University
BU-BMC Cancer Center

BU Research

Enhancing immunity by protecting lymphatic muscle cells from MRSA-Induced dysfunction
07/02/2024 - 06/30/2029 (PI)
NIH/National Institute of Arthritis & Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases
1R01AR084505-01

Improving anti-tumor immunity in advanced breast cancer by targeting solid stress
06/01/2024 - 05/31/2029 (PI)
NIH/National Cancer Institute
1R01CA284133-01A1

Enhancing Lymphatic Function with Transplanted Muscle Cells after Bacterial Infection
03/15/2024 - 03/14/2026 (PI)
Department of Defense/Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity

Improving anti-breast cancer immunity by targeting solid stress
07/01/2022 - 06/30/2024 (Subcontract PI)
American Association for Cancer Research Breast Cancer ResFdn

Targeting breast cancer plasticity and immunosuppression in metastatic lymph nodes
07/07/2021 - 07/06/2023 (PI)
METAvivor

Understanding the mechanisms of immune suppression in lymph node metastases
09/30/2018 - 08/31/2022 (PI)
NIH/National Cancer Institute
5K22CA230315-03

Title

Yr	Title	Project-Sub Proj	Pubs

Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Faculty can login to make corrections and additions.

iCite Analysis Copy PMIDs To Clipboard

Arroyo-Ataz G, Yagüe AC, Breda JC, Mazzilli SA, Jones D. Single-Cell Transcriptomics and Lineage Tracing Unveil Parallels in Lymphatic Muscle and Venous Smooth Muscle Development, Identity, and Function. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2025 Jul; 45(7):1207-1225.View Related Profiles.

Jones, Dennis
Mazzilli, Sarah

PMID: 40371470; DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.125.322567;

Seidl M, Stoecklein NH, Jones D. Editorial: Tumor-draining lymph nodes. Front Immunol. 2024; 15:1533289. PMID: 39737167; DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1533289;

Arroyo-Ataz G, Jones D. Overview of Lymphatic Muscle Cells in Development, Physiology, and Disease. Microcirculation. 2024 Nov; 31(8):e12887. PMID: 39329178; DOI: 10.1111/micc.12887;

Lei PJ, Fraser C, Jones D, Ubellacker JM, Padera TP. Lymphatic system regulation of anti-cancer immunity and metastasis. Front Immunol. 2024; 15:1449291. PMID: 39211044; DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1449291;

Arroyo-Ataz G, Yagüe AC, Breda JC, Mazzilli SA, Jones D. Transcriptional, developmental, and functional parallels of lymphatic and venous smooth muscle. bioRxiv. 2024 Jul 22.View Related Profiles.

Jones, Dennis
Mazzilli, Sarah

PMID: 39091770; DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.18.604042;

Jana S, Li W, Lei PJ, Wang Z, Kibara S, Huang P, Jones D. Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Mammary Adenocarcinoma, MCa-P1362, with Hormone Receptor Expression, Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 Positivity, and Enrichment in Cancer and Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Am J Pathol. 2024 Jun; 194(6):1137-1153.View Related Profiles.

Jones, Dennis
Jana, Samir

PMID: 38749609; DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2024.02.013;

Barnard ME, Wang X, Petrick JL, Zirpoli GR, Jones D, Johnson WE, Palmer JR. Psychosocial stressors and breast cancer gene expression in the Black Women's Health Study. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2024 Apr; 204(2):327-340.View Related Profiles.

Jones, Dennis
Zirpoli, Gary
Petrick, Jessica
Palmer, Julie
Barnard, Mollie
Johnson, William

PMID: 38127176; DOI: 10.1007/s10549-023-07182-w;

Lei PJ, Ruscic KJ, Roh K, Rajotte JJ, O'Melia MJ, Bouta EM, Marquez M, Pereira ER, Kumar AS, Arroyo-Ataz G, Razavi MS, Zhou H, Menzel L, Kumra H, Duquette M, Huang P, Baish JW, Munn LL, Ubellacker JM, Jones D, Padera TP. Lymphatic muscle cells are unique cells that undergo aging induced changes. bioRxiv. 2023 Nov 19. PMID: 38014141; DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.18.567621;

Delclaux I, Ventre KS, Jones D, Lund AW. The tumor-draining lymph node as a reservoir for systemic immune surveillance. Trends Cancer. 2024 Jan; 10(1):28-37. PMID: 37863720; DOI: 10.1016/j.trecan.2023.09.006;

Lei PJ, Pereira ER, Andersson P, Amoozgar Z, Van Wijnbergen JW, O'Melia MJ, Zhou H, Chatterjee S, Ho WW, Posada JM, Kumar AS, Morita S, Menzel L, Chung C, Ergin I, Jones D, Huang P, Beyaz S, Padera TP. Cancer cell plasticity and MHC-II-mediated immune tolerance promote breast cancer metastasis to lymph nodes. J Exp Med. 2023 Sep 04; 220(9). PMID: 37341991; DOI: 10.1084/jem.20221847;

Showing 10 of 38 results. Show More

Jana S, Li W, Lei PJ, Wang Z, Huang P, Jones D. "Isolation and characterization of a novel hormone receptor positive mammary adenocarcinoma MCa-P1362 with stromal drivers of tumor growth, metastasis, and drug resistance". bioRxiv. 2023 Jun 06.View Related Profiles.

Jones, Dennis
Jana, Samir

PMID: 37333242; DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.02.543434;

Arroyo-Ataz G, Jones D. Dissection of murine collecting lymphatic vessels for imaging, single-cell analysis, and tissue culture of lymphatic muscle cells. STAR Protoc. 2022 Dec 16; 3(4):101800.View Related Profiles.

Jones, Dennis
Arroyo Ataz, Guillermo

PMID: 36353362; DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2022.101800;

Jones D, Wang Z, Chen IX, Zhang S, Banerji R, Lei PJ, Zhou H, Xiao V, Kwong C, van Wijnbergen JWM, Pereira ER, Vakoc BJ, Huang P, Nia HT, Padera TP. Solid stress impairs lymphocyte infiltration into lymph-node metastases. Nat Biomed Eng. 2021 12; 5(12):1426-1436.View Related Profiles.

Jones, Dennis
Nia, Hadi

PMID: 34282290; DOI: 10.1038/s41551-021-00766-1;

Jana S, Muscarella RA, Jones D. The Multifaceted Effects of Breast Cancer on Tumor-Draining Lymph Nodes. Am J Pathol. 2021 08; 191(8):1353-1363.View Related Profiles.

Jones, Dennis
Jana, Samir

PMID: 34043978; DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2021.05.006;

Saeboe AM, Nikiforov AY, Toufanian R, Kays JC, Chern M, Casas JP, Han K, Piryatinski A, Jones D, Dennis AM. Extending the Near-Infrared Emission Range of Indium Phosphide Quantum Dots for Multiplexed In Vivo Imaging. Nano Lett. 2021 04 14; 21(7):3271-3279.View Related Profiles.

Dennis, Allison
Jones, Dennis

PMID: 33755481; DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.1c00600;

Gustine JN, Jones D. Immunopathology of Hyperinflammation in COVID-19. Am J Pathol. 2021 01; 191(1):4-17. PMID: 32919977; DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2020.08.009;

Jones D. Parallels of Resistance between Angiogenesis and Lymphangiogenesis Inhibition in Cancer Therapy. Cells. 2020 03 20; 9(3). PMID: 32244922; DOI: 10.3390/cells9030762;

Liu T, Li Y, Su H, Zhang H, Jones D, Zhou HJ, Ji W, Min W. Nuclear localization of the tyrosine kinase BMX mediates VEGFR2 expression. J Cell Mol Med. 2020 01; 24(1):126-138. PMID: 31642192; DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.14663;

Zhao Y, Cao J, Melamed A, Worley M, Gockley A, Jones D, Nia HT, Zhang Y, Stylianopoulos T, Kumar AS, Mpekris F, Datta M, Sun Y, Wu L, Gao X, Yeku O, Del Carmen MG, Spriggs DR, Jain RK, Xu L. Losartan treatment enhances chemotherapy efficacy and reduces ascites in ovarian cancer models by normalizing the tumor stroma. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 02 05; 116(6):2210-2219.View Related Profiles.

Jones, Dennis
Nia, Hadi

PMID: 30659155; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1818357116;

Liao S, Bouta EM, Morris LM, Jones D, Jain RK, Padera TP. Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase and CD11b+Gr1+ Cells Impair Lymphatic Contraction of Tumor-Draining Lymphatic Vessels. Lymphat Res Biol. 2019 06; 17(3):294-300. PMID: 30358484; DOI: 10.1089/lrb.2018.0013;

Pereira ER, Kedrin D, Seano G, Gautier O, Meijer EFJ, Jones D, Chin SM, Kitahara S, Bouta EM, Chang J, Beech E, Jeong HS, Carroll MC, Taghian AG, Padera TP. Lymph node metastases can invade local blood vessels, exit the node, and colonize distant organs in mice. Science. 2018 03 23; 359(6382):1403-1407. PMID: 29567713; DOI: 10.1126/science.aal3622;

Jones D, Pereira ER, Padera TP. Growth and Immune Evasion of Lymph Node Metastasis. Front Oncol. 2018; 8:36. PMID: 29527513; DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2018.00036;

Jones D, Meijer EFJ, Blatter C, Liao S, Pereira ER, Bouta EM, Jung K, Chin SM, Huang P, Munn LL, Vakoc BJ, Otto M, Padera TP. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus causes sustained collecting lymphatic vessel dysfunction. Sci Transl Med. 2018 01 17; 10(424). PMID: 29343625; DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aam7964;

Meijer EFJ, Blatter C, Chen IX, Bouta E, Jones D, Pereira ER, Jung K, Vakoc BJ, Baish JW, Padera TP. Lymph node effective vascular permeability and chemotherapy uptake. Microcirculation. 2017 08; 24(6). PMID: 28510992; DOI: 10.1111/micc.12381;

Nia HT, Liu H, Seano G, Datta M, Jones D, Rahbari N, Incio J, Chauhan VP, Jung K, Martin JD, Askoxylakis V, Padera TP, Fukumura D, Boucher Y, Hornicek FJ, Grodzinsky AJ, Baish JW, Munn LL, Jain RK. Solid stress and elastic energy as measures of tumour mechanopathology. Nat Biomed Eng. 2016; 1.View Related Profiles.

Jones, Dennis
Nia, Hadi

PMID: 28966873; DOI: 10.1038/s41551-016-0004;

Blatter C, Meijer EF, Nam AS, Jones D, Bouma BE, Padera TP, Vakoc BJ. In vivo label-free measurement of lymph flow velocity and volumetric flow rates using Doppler optical coherence tomography. Sci Rep. 2016 07 05; 6:29035. PMID: 27377852; DOI: 10.1038/srep29035;

Jeong HS, Jones D, Liao S, Wattson DA, Cui CH, Duda DG, Willett CG, Jain RK, Padera TP. Investigation of the Lack of Angiogenesis in the Formation of Lymph Node Metastases. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015 Sep; 107(9). PMID: 26063793; DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djv155;

Pereira ER, Jones D, Jung K, Padera TP. The lymph node microenvironment and its role in the progression of metastatic cancer. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2015 Feb; 38:98-105. PMID: 25620792; DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2015.01.008;

Liao S, Jones D, Cheng G, Padera TP. Method for the quantitative measurement of collecting lymphatic vessel contraction in mice. J Biol Methods. 2014; 1(2). PMID: 25512945; DOI: 10.14440/jbm.2014.26;

Holopainen T, López-Alpuche V, Zheng W, Heljasvaara R, Jones D, He Y, Tvorogov D, D'Amico G, Wiener Z, Andersson LC, Pihlajaniemi T, Min W, Alitalo K. Deletion of the endothelial Bmx tyrosine kinase decreases tumor angiogenesis and growth. Cancer Res. 2012 Jul 15; 72(14):3512-21. PMID: 22593188; DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-11-1070;

Truman LA, Bentley KL, Smith EC, Massaro SA, Gonzalez DG, Haberman AM, Hill M, Jones D, Min W, Krause DS, Ruddle NH. ProxTom lymphatic vessel reporter mice reveal Prox1 expression in the adrenal medulla, megakaryocytes, and platelets. Am J Pathol. 2012 Apr; 180(4):1715-25. PMID: 22310467; DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2011.12.026;

Jones D, Li Y, He Y, Xu Z, Chen H, Min W. Mirtron microRNA-1236 inhibits VEGFR-3 signaling during inflammatory lymphangiogenesis. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2012 Mar; 32(3):633-42. PMID: 22223733; DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.111.243576;

Jones D, Min W. An overview of lymphatic vessels and their emerging role in cardiovascular disease. J Cardiovasc Dis Res. 2011 Jul; 2(3):141-52. PMID: 22022141; DOI: 10.4103/0975-3583.85260;

Jones D. Genetic engineering of a mouse: Dr. Frank Ruddle and somatic cell genetics. Yale J Biol Med. 2011 Jun; 84(2):117-24. PMID: 21698043

Jones D, Xu Z, Zhang H, He Y, Kluger MS, Chen H, Min W. Functional analyses of the bone marrow kinase in the X chromosome in vascular endothelial growth factor-induced lymphangiogenesis. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2010 Dec; 30(12):2553-61. PMID: 20864667; DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.110.214999;

Luo Y, Xu Z, Wan T, He Y, Jones D, Zhang H, Min W. Endothelial-specific transgenesis of TNFR2 promotes adaptive arteriogenesis and angiogenesis. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2010 Jul; 30(7):1307-14. PMID: 20395596; DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.110.204222;

Dai S, He Y, Zhang H, Yu L, Wan T, Xu Z, Jones D, Chen H, Min W. Endothelial-specific expression of mitochondrial thioredoxin promotes ischemia-mediated arteriogenesis and angiogenesis. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2009 Apr; 29(4):495-502. PMID: 19150880; DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.108.180349;

Zhang H, He Y, Dai S, Xu Z, Luo Y, Wan T, Luo D, Jones D, Tang S, Chen H, Sessa WC, Min W. AIP1 functions as an endogenous inhibitor of VEGFR2-mediated signaling and inflammatory angiogenesis in mice. J Clin Invest. 2008 Dec; 118(12):3904-16. PMID: 19033661; DOI: 10.1172/JCI36168;

This graph shows the total number of publications by year, by first, middle/unknown, or last author.

Bar chart showing 38 publications over 17 distinct years, with a maximum of 5 publications in 2023 and 2024

Bar chart showing 38 publications over 17 distinct years, with a maximum of 5 publications in 2023 and 2024

Year	Publications
2008	1
2009	1
2010	2
2011	2
2012	3
2014	1
2015	2
2016	2
2017	1
2018	4
2019	2
2020	2
2021	3
2022	1
2023	5
2024	5
2025	1

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