CURRICULUM VITAE
John Smestad PhD, BS, MD
John Smestad PhD, BS, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Medicine
Division of Medicine Hematology Oncology
Department of Medicine
Division of Medicine Hematology Oncology
OFFICE ADDRESS: |
9200 West Wisconsin Avenue |
Milwaukee, WI 53226 |
EDUCATION: |
2007 - 2011 B.S. (Chemistry), Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL |
2013 - 2021 M.D., Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, Rochester, MN |
2013 - 2021 Ph.D. (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology), Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rochester, MN |
POSTGRADUATE TRAINING AND FELLOWSHIP APPOINTMENTS: |
07/01/2021 - 06/30/2023 Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242 |
07/01/2023 - 06/30/2026 Fellowship, Internal Medicine, Hematology, Oncology, and Bone Marrow Transplant, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242 |
FACULTY APPOINTMENTS: |
08/17/2026 - Present Clinical Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine, Hematology and Oncology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8800 W. Doyne Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53226 |
SPECIALTY BOARDS AND CERTIFICATION: |
Board Certified | Issue Date | Expiration |
Internal Medicine | 2024 | None |
AWARDS AND HONORS: |
2013 - 2021 Bonner M.D.-Ph.D. Scholar, Mayo Clinic Medical Scientist Training Program |
2017 Travel Award - StratCan Summer School on Cancer Genomics, Karolinska Institutet |
2018 Travel Award - AAP/ASCI/APSA Annual Meeting, American Physician-Scientist Association |
2025 Travel Award - ASCO Annual Meeting, Iowa Oncology Society |
RESEARCH GRANTS/AWARDS/CONTRACTS/PROJECTS: | ||||||||||||||||
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INVITED LECTURES/WORKSHOPS/PRESENTATIONS: |
International |
John Smestad, Louis J. Maher, Chromatin succinylation correlates with active gene expression and is perturbed by defective TCA cycle metabolism, Paradifference Foundation Annual Conference, Boras, Sweden, 2018 - Present |
PEER REVIEWED WORKSHOPS/PRESENTATIONS: |
National |
John Smestad, Louis J. Maher, Characterization and metabolic synthetic lethal testing in a new model of SDH-loss familial pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma, American Physician Scientist Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, 2018 - Present |
PATENTS: |
07/16/2024 US Patent No. 12037590. Short DNA Aptamers and Methods for Promoting Remyelination |
BIBLIOGRAPHY |
Refereed Journal Publications/Original Papers |
1. Nastasijevic B, Wright BR, Smestad J, Warrington AE, Rodriguez M, Maher LJ 3rd. Remyelination induced by a DNA aptamer in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. PLoS One. 2012;7(6):e39595. PMCID: PMC3384608 |
2. Smestad J, Maher LJ 3rd. Ion-dependent conformational switching by a DNA aptamer that induces remyelination in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Nucleic Acids Res. 2013 Jan;41(2):1329-42. PMCID: PMC3553947 |
3. Perschbacher K, Smestad JA, Peters JP, Standiford MM, Denic A, Wootla B, Warrington AE, Rodriguez M, Maher LJ 3rd. Quantitative PCR analysis of DNA aptamer pharmacokinetics in mice. Nucleic Acid Ther. 2015 Feb;25(1):11-9. PMCID: PMC4296750 |
4. Smestad JA, Maher LJ 3rd. Relationships between putative G-quadruplex-forming sequences, RecQ helicases, and transcription. BMC Med Genet. 2015 Oct 08;16:91. PMCID: PMC4599794 |
5. Ackerman JP, Smestad JA, Tester DJ, Qureshi MY, Crabb BA, Mendelsohn NJ, Ackerman MJ. Whole Exome Sequencing, Familial Genomic Triangulation, and Systems Biology Converge to Identify a Novel Nonsense Mutation in TAB2-encoded TGF-beta Activated Kinase 1 in a Child with Polyvalvular Syndrome. Congenit Heart Dis. 2016 Sep;11(5):452-461. |
6. Hayashi Y, Toyomasu Y, Saravanaperumal SA, Bardsley MR, Smestad JA, Lorincz A, Eisenman ST, Cipriani G, Nelson Holte MH, Al Khazal FJ, Syed SA, Gajdos GB, Choi KM, Stoltz GJ, Miller KE, Kendrick ML, Rubin BP, Gibbons SJ, Bharucha AE, Linden DR, Maher LJ 3rd, Farrugia G, Ordog T. Hyperglycemia Increases Interstitial Cells of Cajal via MAPK1 and MAPK3 Signaling to ETV1 and KIT, Leading to Rapid Gastric Emptying. Gastroenterology. 2017 Aug;153(2):521-535.e20. PMCID: PMC5526732 |
7. Hamidi O, Young WF Jr, Gruber L, Smestad J, Yan Q, Ponce OJ, Prokop L, Murad MH, Bancos I. Outcomes of patients with metastatic phaeochromocytoma and paraganglioma: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2017 Nov;87(5):440-450. PMCID: PMC5854189 |
8. Perwein MK, Smestad JA, Warrington AE, Heider RM, Kaczor MW, Maher LJ 3rd, Wootla B, Kunbaz A, Rodriguez M. A comparison of human natural monoclonal antibodies and aptamer conjugates for promotion of CNS remyelination: where are we now and what comes next? Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2018 May;18(5):545-560. |
9. Smestad J, Hamidi O, Wang L, Holte MN, Khazal FA, Erber L, Chen Y, Maher LJ 3rd. Characterization and metabolic synthetic lethal testing in a new model of SDH-loss familial pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma. Oncotarget. 2018 Jan 19;9(5):6109-6127. PMCID: PMC5814199 |
10. Heider RM, Smestad JA, Lemus HN, Wilbanks B, Warrington AE, Peters JP, Rodriguez M, Maher LJ 3rd. An Assay that Predicts <i>In Vivo</i> Efficacy for DNA Aptamers that Stimulate Remyelination in a Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis. Mol Ther Methods Clin Dev. 2018 Jun 15;9:270-277. PMCID: PMC5918178 |
11. Smestad J, Erber L, Chen Y, Maher LJ 3rd. Chromatin Succinylation Correlates with Active Gene Expression and Is Perturbed by Defective TCA Cycle Metabolism. iScience. 2018 Apr 27;2:63-75. PMCID: PMC5993049 |
12. Wilbanks B, Smestad J, Heider RM, Warrington AE, Rodriguez M, Maher LJ 3rd. Optimization of a 40-mer Antimyelin DNA Aptamer Identifies a 20-mer with Enhanced Properties for Potential Multiple Sclerosis Therapy. Nucleic Acid Ther. 2019 Jun;29(3):126-135. PMCID: PMC6555174 |
13. Smestad JA, Maher LJ 3rd. Master regulator analysis of paragangliomas carrying SDHx, VHL, or MAML3 genetic alterations. BMC Cancer. 2019 Jun 24;19(1):619. PMCID: PMC6591808 |
14. Smestad J, Wilbanks B, Maher LJ 3rd. An in Vitro Selection Strategy Identifying Naked DNA That Localizes to Cell Nuclei. J Am Chem Soc. 2019 Nov 20;141(46):18375-18379. PMCID: PMC7047663 |
15. Smestad J, Rieth J, Laux D, Milhem M. The Evolution, Current Landscape, and Future Prospects of Oncolytic Virotherapy in Melanoma: Talimogene Laherparepvec and Beyond. Cells. 2025 Oct 17;14(20). PMCID: PMC12563648 |
16. Zakharia Y, Kim D, Freesmeier M, Frees M, Mott S, Monga V, Laux D, Javed A, Rieth J, Smestad J, Milhem M. A phase 1b/2 study of cabozantinib in combination with pembrolizumab in advanced cutaneous melanoma. Cancer. 2026 Feb 15;132(4):e70326. PMCID: PMC12912253 |
17. Varun Monga, John Rieth, Benjamin Miller, Hisakazu Hoshi, Carlos Chan, Bryan Allen, Carryn Anderson, Kristen Plichta, Munir Tanas, Jonathan Davick, Steven Varga, Laura Stephens, Sarah L. Mott, John Smestad, Gustavo Fernandes Godoy Almeida, Mohammed Milhem. Phase Ib/II Trial of Pharmacologic Ascorbate With Concurrent Preoperative Radiation in Patients With Locally Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma of the Trunk and Extremities JCO Oncology Advances. Phase Ib/II Trial of Pharmacologic Ascorbate With Concurrent Preoperative Radiation in Patients With Locally Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma of the Trunk and Extremities Varun Monga, . |
