Melissa Johnson, MD
Enriched profileProgram Director of Lung Cancer Research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute · UC San Diego Health System
Melissa Johnson is Program Director of Lung Cancer Research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute at UC San Diego Health System. OpenAlex indexes 61 publications with 179 citations (h-index 7); ClinicalTrials.gov lists 19 registered studies with this person as an investigator.
Data verified 17 Oct 2026
Overview
Updated 18 Oct 2026
Melissa Johnson, MD, is Program Director of Lung Cancer Research at Sarah Cannon Research Institute at UC San Diego Health System. The public record shows 61 publications with 179 citations (h-index 7), centered on Lung Cancer Treatments and Mutations, Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment, Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers. It also documents an investigator role on 19 registered clinical trials, industry payments reported by 51 companies.
- Most recent indexed publication: 2026 · Science (New York, N.Y.)
- Top research focus: Lung Cancer Treatments and Mutations
- 19 registered trials on ClinicalTrials.gov
- Open Payments reporting from 51 companies
Generated from the cited public record · current as of 18 Oct 2026. Every fact links its source below.
Indications focus
from trials led + research topicsResearch focus
OpenAlex concept fingerprintDrugs & molecules
across trials, industry payments and publicationsWorks with
trial sponsors and companies reporting paymentsScholarship
indexed output and impact (OpenAlex)Distinct works indexed by OpenAlex, matched via ORCID; 5 in PubMed.
Total citations across indexed works.
Hirsch index (OpenAlex). i10-index 2.
Clinical & industry
trials, payments and federal fundingFederally funded research awards.
Contact
The practice address and phone this provider lists in the federal NPPES (CMS) registry.
Practice address
Telephone
Practice address and telephone from the federal NPPES registry.
Sign in to view contact details →Clinical trials
Updated 18 Oct 2026
Listed as an investigator on 19 registered studies on ClinicalTrials.gov. The most recent:
- A Phase 1/2 Study of TRI-611 in ALK-Positive NSCLC
Sponsor: TRIANA Biomedicines, Inc.
- A Phase 1/2 Study of VS-7375 in Patients With KRAS G12D-Mutated Solid Tumors
Sponsor: Verastem, Inc.
Industry payments
Updated 18 Oct 2026
51 companies reported payments to CMS in program years 2021–2025. These are public disclosures, not judgments. The latest:
- Merck Sharp & Dohme LLCProgram year202522 payments$25,657openpaymentsdata.cms.gov ↗
- PFIZER INC.Program year20257 payments
- Janssen Global Services, LLCProgram year20252 payments
Medicare prescribing footprint (2024)
The drugs this prescriber writes for Medicare patients, grouped by drug class and therapeutic area. Every percentage is a share of their total prescribing, so you can see what they prescribe most. These are proportions, not patient counts or dollar amounts. No condition is inferred: the claims record what was prescribed, never why.
Cancer & immunology
75.9%PD-1 inhibitor75.9%Pembrolizumab100%Part B, office-administered≥16 patientsMusculoskeletal
12.6%RANK Ligand Inhibitor12.6%Denosumab100%Part B, office-administered≥16 patientsSensory organs
7.3%Corticosteroid7.3%Dexamethasone sodium phosphate98%Dexamethasone2%Part D + Part B<11 patients
Drug classes come from the WHO ATC and U.S. National Library of Medicine (RxClass) classifications; prescribing counts come from the CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers file. Each drug is counted once, under its primary class. Medicare fee-for-service only, so no Medicare Advantage, commercial, or pediatric prescribing is included. CMS publishes this data about 17 months after the fact.
NIH funding
We didn't find any NIH-funded research awards for this person in NIH RePORTER. Why? →
Congress activity
Updated 18 Oct 2026
1 congress contribution (2026) across AACR per OpenAlex. The most recent:
- Abstract CT215: RASolve 301: A Phase 3 study of daraxonrasib (RMC-6236) vs. docetaxel in patients with previously treated RAS-mutant NSCLC
AACR Annual Meeting
AACR2026Co-author
Published abstracts are attributed via the same ORCID-disambiguated authorship as publications, so each is DOI-verified. Podium roles (invited talks, session chairs) and oral/poster type are added as program data is confirmed.
Publications
Updated 18 Oct 2026
Their five most recent publications, matched to their ORCID record and linked to PubMed.
- Chronic type II interferon promotes tumor growth through mitochondrial RNA-induced type I interferon and prostaglandin synthesis.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Article2026 - Mitochondrial superoxide-induced mitohormesis is mediated by citrate and cardioprotective.
Science advances
Article2026 - FAM43A coordinates mtDNA replication and mitochondrial biogenesis in response to mtDNA depletion.
The Journal of cell biology
Article2025 - Bile acid synthesis impedes tumor-specific T cell responses during liver cancer.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Article2025 - Manipulating mitochondrial electron flow enhances tumor immunogenicity.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
Article2023
Most-cited works
by citation count (OpenAlex)- 01PL02.11 Normalized Membrane Ratio of TROP2 by Quantitative Continuous Scoring is Predictive of Clinical Outcomes in TROPION-Lung 01Conference abstract90 citations2024
- 02Bisphenol-A in breast adipose tissue of breast cancer cases and controlsArticle32 citations2018
- 03
- 04
- 05
Network
Updated 18 Oct 2026
The people this person publishes with most, by number of co-authored papers. Names link to their own profile when we have one.
Background & recognition
Updated 18 Oct 2026
Credentials, appointments and honors, newest first, each linked to the public source it came from.
Education
degrees and training on record- MD
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →cancergrace.org ↗ - Residency in Internal Medicine
NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →cancergrace.org ↗ - Fellowship in Medical Oncology and Hematology
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, with Chief Fellow designation
provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →cancergrace.org ↗
Editorial & leadership roles
journal and society appointments- Scientific Committee Program Chair
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →ascopost.com ↗ - Member
Scientific Committee, American Society of Clinical Oncology
provisionalFound in a cited public source but not yet independently corroborated. Published as a labeled candidate and queued for verification.How we verify →ascopost.com ↗
Awards & honors
honors on the public record- verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →cancergrace.org ↗
Secondary affiliations
appointments beyond the home institution- Program Director of Lung Cancer Research
Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, TN
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →onclive.com ↗ - Patient care partner
Tennessee Oncology, PLLC
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →onclive.com ↗ - Chair of Cancer Committee
TriStar Centennial Medical Center, Nashville
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →onclive.com ↗ - GRACE Faculty
Global Resource for Advancing Cancer Education
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →cancergrace.org ↗
Media & interviews
press, podcasts and appearances- Novel Agents and Strategies in Lung Cancer
Research To Practice Podcast Episode 273
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →oncologytoday.researchtopractice.com ↗ - Promising Therapeutic Strategies for Patients with Progressive Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Research To Practice Podcast Episode 233
verifiedCorroborated by findmyKOL. We matched this record across two or more independent public sources (or a verified ORCID / NPI identifier bridge) before attributing it to this person.How we verify →oncologytoday.researchtopractice.com ↗
Every item links to where we found it. verified means we've confirmed it in more than one place; provisional means we found it and are still confirming.
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