Christopher Hourigan, DM, DPhil, FRCP
“Our ability to improve outcomes for those suffering from cancer is limited by the quality of information available to make clinical decisions. Improved diagnostic technology could help personalize the plan for each individual by selection of the right treatment, at the right time."
Precision Medicine to Select Therapy and to Reduce Deaths from Cancer
Can we predict, and prevent, cancer recurrence?
Over two million new cases of cancer are diagnosed annually in the United States. While treatment is effective in many, for too many patients apparently successful initial treatment will be followed by clinical recurrence of the cancer, also known as relapse. Christopher Hourigan DM, DPhil, FRCP, is an oncologist and physician-scientist who focuses on research in translational medicine and precision oncology to reduce relapse and improve the survival of patients with a rare, high-risk, blood cancer called Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).
The primary research goal of the Hourigan laboratory is to improve the ability to predict which patients with AML are at risk of relapse and who may benefit from additional therapy. This “measurable residual disease” (MRD) concept is the foundation for a personalized medicine approach to AML and is now being tested in a clinical protocol throughout the U.S.
hourigan@vt.edu
(540) 526-2193
Room 6222
Cancer Research Center – D.C.
7144 13th Pl. NW
Washington, D.C., 20012
- Director, Cancer Research Center – D.C.
- Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
National Institutes of Health
- Tenured Senior Investigator, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
- Co-director, Trans-NIH Myeloid Malignancies Program
- Chief, Laboratory of Myeloid Malignancies
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
- Part-time Associate Professor of Oncology
- Member, Acute Leukemia Service
Fellowships
- Medical Oncology (Clinical), Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Cancer Immunology (Research) Johns Hopkins Hospital
- Hematology (Clinical), National Institutes of Health
Residency
- Johns Hopkins/Bayview Medical Center
- Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospital
Doctor of Medicine, University of Oxford
DPhil, Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). “The highest honor bestowed by the United States Government to outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent research careers and who show exceptional promise for leadership in science and technology” (July 2019)
- The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) Young Physician-Scientist Award (2020).
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Orloff Award. “For work demonstrating that intervention for Acute Myeloid Leukemia patients in remission but with genomic evidence of residual disease can improve survival” (Jan 2020)
- Alpha Omega Alpha, Johns Hopkins Medical School Chapter.
- Fellowship, Royal College of Physicians (London). Elected to honorary fellowship May 2018
- National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research Group Special Act Award (2022)
- National Institute of Health Director’s Challenge Innovation Award (2020)
Dillon LW, Gui G, Page KM, Ravindra N, Wong ZC, Andrew G, Mukherjee D, Zeger SL, El Chaer F, Spellman S, Howard A, Chen K, Auletta J, Devine SM, Jimenez Jimenez AM, De Lima MJG, Litzow MR, Kebriaei P, Saber W, Weisdorf DJ, Hourigan CS. DNA Sequencing to Detect Residual Disease in Adults With Acute Myeloid Leukemia Prior to Hematopoietic Cell Transplant. JAMA. 2023 Mar 7;329(9):745-755. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.1363. PMID: 36881031; PMCID: PMC9993183.
Goswami M, Gui G, Dillon LW, Lindblad KE, Thompson J, Valdez J, Kim DY, Ghannam JY, Oetjen KA, Destefano CB, Smith DM, Tekleab H, Li Y, Dagur P, Hughes T, Marté JL, Del Rivero J, Klubo-Gwiezdzinksa J, Gulley JL, Calvo KR, Lai C, Hourigan CS. Pembrolizumab and decitabine for refractory or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia. J Immunother Cancer. 2022 Jan;10(1):e003392. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2021-003392. PMID: 35017151; PMCID: PMC8753450.
Hourigan CS, Dillon LW, Gui G, Logan BR, Fei M, Ghannam J, Li Y, Licon A, Alyea EP, Bashey A, Deeg HJ, Devine SM, Fernandez HF, Giralt S, Hamadani M, Howard A, Maziarz RT, Porter DL, Scott BL, Warlick ED, Pasquini MC, Horwitz ME. Impact of Conditioning Intensity of Allogeneic Transplantation for Acute Myeloid Leukemia With Genomic Evidence of Residual Disease. J Clin Oncol. 2020 Apr 20;38(12):1273-1283. doi: 10.1200/JCO.19.03011. Epub 2019 Dec 20. PMID: 31860405; PMCID: PMC7164487.
-
Article Item
Seeing brain tumors through a neuroscience lens , article Date: Feb 19, 2026 - -
Article Item
Researcher advances new approach to blood cancer treatment , article Date: Sep 30, 2025 - -
Article Item
-
Article ItemGraduate students share work at inaugural research showcase at Academic Building One , article
Graduate students from programs across the greater Washington, D.C,. metro area shared their work at the Graduate Education Week Research Showcase in Alexandria.
Date: Apr 03, 2025 - -
Article ItemNew Virginia Tech cancer researcher seeks to understand and predict deadly tumor metastasis , article
Shenglin Mei, the newest principal investigator of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Cancer Research Center in Washington, D.C., applies computational biology, genetics, and immunology to study cancer’s spread away from the primary tumor.
Date: Dec 17, 2024 - -
Article ItemVirginia Tech, Children’s National Hospital, and industry experts explore the impact of AI on health care , article
While exploring the potential of artificial intelligence, old fashioned networking and human relationships held the floor.
Date: Sep 24, 2024 - -
Article ItemFederal leaders take center stage at Engineering Cancer Solutions mini-symposium , article
Three federal leaders – one each from the White House, the National Cancer Institute, and the Food and Drug Administration – mixed with Virginia Tech students, early career researchers, and leadership at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Cancer Research Center in Washington, D.C.
Date: Jul 12, 2024 - -
Article ItemTesting for residual cancer cells before blood cell transplant therapy is important and practical, new study finds , article
Patients in remission after battling blood cancer are likely to have better outcomes if no trace of the cancer is detectable before the patients receive donor blood cells. The finding in JAMA Oncology emphasizes the importance of testing for lingering cancer cells in the body after people receive apparently successful chemotherapy treatment.
Date: May 02, 2024 - -
Article ItemVirginia Tech professor to be inducted into prestigious American Society for Clinical Investigation , article
Christopher Hourigan, director of the Cancer Research Center – D.C., has been inducted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation, a historic membership for a faculty member of Virginia Tech.
Date: Apr 04, 2024 - -
Article ItemEminent cancer physician-scientist joins Virginia Tech to lead research in Washington, D.C. , article
A National Institutes of Health senior investigator who studies and treats blood cancer, Christopher Hourigan is joining Virginia Tech to lead cancer research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Washington, D.C.
Date: Apr 01, 2024 -
Recent Media Coverage
-
Redirect Item
-
Redirect Item
-
Redirect Item
-
Redirect Item
-
Redirect Item
-
Redirect Item
-
Redirect Item
-
Redirect Item
-
Redirect Item
Page 1 of 4 | 38 Results