Andrew Michael Waters , PhD

KRAS is the most frequently mutated oncogene in human cancer and is mutated with near universal frequency in pancreatic cancer. Using cutting-edge techniques and first-in-class KRAS inhibitors that target KRAS mutations frequently found in PDAC, the Waters lab focuses on identifying the undiscovered molecular mechanisms by which KRAS-mutant pancreatic cancer cells adapt to KRAS inhibitor treatment. A major goal of the lab is to identify therapeutic vulnerabilities and KRAS inhibitor combination strategies that will extend the effectiveness of KRAS inhibitors for patients with pancreatic cancer.

PhD: The Catholic University of America Washington, DC, (Cellular and Microbial Biology)

MS: Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD, (Biotechnology)

BS: James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA, (Integrated Science and Technology: Biotechnology)

KRAS-mutant cancers
MYC
Pancreatic Cancer
Lung Cancer
Colorectal Cancer

- Research Associate, RAS Initiative, NCI Frederick National Lab for Cancer Reseach, Frederick, MD

Investigators:Andrew Waters 2018 -2021 American Cancer Society Defining the Molecular Basis of KRAS Addiction in Pancreatic Cancer Role:PI 163,500 Completed Type:Fellowship

Grant: #K22CA276632 Investigators:Waters, Andrew 01-01-2023 -12-31-2025 National Cancer Institute Identification of resistance mechanisms to direct KRAS inhibition in pancreatic cancer Role:PI 191864.29 Hold Level:Federal

Grant: #Steven Goldman Memorial Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund Investigators:Andrew Waters 11-15-2023 -11-14-2024 University of Cincinnati Cancer Center Evaluation of molecular consequences and resistance mechanisms to KRAS Q61H in PDAC Role:PI 50,000 Active Type:Grant

Grant: #R01CA296821 07-01-2025 -06-30-2030 National Cancer Institute Determining the role of WT RAS isoforms in mediating resistance to KRAS inhibitors in PDAC Role:PI 0.00 Hold Level:Federal

Grant: #R01CA296821 07-01-2025 -06-30-2030 National Cancer Institute Determining the role of WT RAS isoforms in mediating resistance to KRAS inhibitors in PDAC Role:PI 0.00 Hold Level:Federal

Peer Reviewed Publications

Huynh, Minh V; Hobbs, G Aaron; Schaefer, Antje; Pierobon, Mariaelena; Carey, Leiah M; Diehl, J Nathaniel; DeLiberty, Jonathan M; Thurman, Ryan D; Cooke, Adelaide R; Goodwin, Craig M; Cook, Joshua H; Lin, Lin; Waters, Andrew M; Rashid, Naim U; Petricoin, Emanuel F; Campbell, Sharon L; Haigis, Kevin M; Simeone, Diane M; Lyssiotis, Costas A; Cox, Adrienne D; Der, Channing J (2022. ) Functional and biological heterogeneity of KRASQ61 mutations.Science signaling, , 15 (746 ) ,eabn2694 More Information

Javaid, Sehrish; Schaefer, Antje; Goodwin, Craig M; Nguyen, Victoria V; Massey, Frances L; Pierobon, Mariaelena; Gambrell-Sanders, Da'Jhnae; Waters, Andrew M; Lambert, Kathryn N; Diehl, J Nathaniel; Hobbs, G Aaron; Wood, Kris C; Petricoin, Emanuel F; Der, Channing J; Cox, Adrienne D (2022. ) Concurrent Inhibition of ERK and Farnesyltransferase Suppresses the Growth of HRAS Mutant Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.Molecular cancer therapeutics, , 21 (5 ) ,762-774 More Information

Cook, Danielle R; Kang, Melissa; Martin, Timothy D; Galanko, Joseph A; Loeza, Gabriela H; Trembath, Dimitri G; Justilien, Verline; Pickering, Karen A; Vincent, David F; Jarosch, Armin; Jurmeister, Philipp; Waters, Andrew M; Hibshman, Priya S; Campbell, Andrew D; Ford, Catriona A; Keku, Temitope O; Yeh, Jen Jen; Lee, Michael S; Cox, Adrienne D; Fields, Alan P; Sandler, Robert S; Sansom, Owen J; Sers, Christine; Schaefer, Antje; Der, Channing J (2022. ) Aberrant Expression and Subcellular Localization of ECT2 Drives Colorectal Cancer Progression and Growth.Cancer research, , 82 (1 ) ,90-104 More Information

Klomp, Jennifer E; Lee, Ye S; Goodwin, Craig M; Papke, Björn; Klomp, Jeff A; Waters, Andrew M; Stalnecker, Clint A; DeLiberty, Jonathan M; Drizyte-Miller, Kristina; Yang, Runying; Diehl, J Nathaniel; Yin, Hongwei H; Pierobon, Mariaelena; Baldelli, Elisa; Ryan, Meagan B; Li, Siqi; Peterson, Jackson; Smith, Amber R; Neal, James T; McCormick, Aaron K; Kuo, Calvin J; Counter, Christopher M; Petricoin, Emanuel F; Cox, Adrienne D; Bryant, Kirsten L; Der, Channing J (2021. ) CHK1 protects oncogenic KRAS-expressing cells from DNA damage and is a target for pancreatic cancer treatment.Cell reports, , 37 (9 ) ,110060 More Information

Waters, Andrew M; Khatib, Tala O; Papke, Bjoern; Goodwin, Craig M; Hobbs, G Aaron; Diehl, J Nathaniel; Yang, Runying; Edwards, A Cole; Walsh, Katherine H; Sulahian, Rita; McFarland, James M; Kapner, Kevin S; Gilbert, Thomas S K; Stalnecker, Clint A; Javaid, Sehrish; Barkovskaya, Anna; Grover, Kajal R; Hibshman, Priya S; Blake, Devon R; Schaefer, Antje; Nowak, Katherine M; Klomp, Jennifer E; Hayes, Tikvah K; Kassner, Michelle; Tang, Nanyun; Tanaseichuk, Olga; Chen, Kaisheng; Zhou, Yingyao; Kalkat, Manpreet; Herring, Laura E; Graves, Lee M; Penn, Linda Z; Yin, Hongwei H; Aguirre, Andrew J; Hahn, William C; Cox, Adrienne D; Der, Channing J (2021. ) Targeting p130Cas- and microtubule-dependent MYC regulation sensitizes pancreatic cancer to ERK MAPK inhibition.Cell reports, , 35 (13 ) ,109291 More Information

Waters, Andrew M; Der, Channing J (2021. ) Validation of Isoform- and Mutation-Specific RAS Antibodies.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.), , 2262 ,91-103 More Information

Ozkan-Dagliyan, Irem; Diehl, J Nathaniel; George, Samuel D; Schaefer, Antje; Papke, Bjoern; Klotz-Noack, Kathleen; Waters, Andrew M; Goodwin, Craig M; Gautam, Prson; Pierobon, Mariaelena; Peng, Sen; Gilbert, Thomas S K; Lin, Kevin H; Dagliyan, Onur; Wennerberg, Krister; Petricoin, Emanuel F; Tran, Nhan L; Bhagwat, Shripad V; Tiu, Ramon V; Peng, Sheng-Bin; Herring, Laura E; Graves, Lee M; Sers, Christine; Wood, Kris C; Cox, Adrienne D; Der, Channing J (2020. ) Low-Dose Vertical Inhibition of the RAF-MEK-ERK Cascade Causes Apoptotic Death of KRAS Mutant Cancers.Cell reports, , 31 (11 ) ,107764 More Information

Hobbs, G Aaron; Baker, Nicole M; Miermont, Anne M; Thurman, Ryan D; Pierobon, Mariaelena; Tran, Timothy H; Anderson, Andrew O; Waters, Andrew M; Diehl, J Nathaniel; Papke, Bjoern; Hodge, Richard G; Klomp, Jennifer E; Goodwin, Craig M; DeLiberty, Jonathan M; Wang, Junning; Ng, Raymond W S; Gautam, Prson; Bryant, Kirsten L; Esposito, Dominic; Campbell, Sharon L; Petricoin, Emanuel F; Simanshu, Dhirendra K; Aguirre, Andrew J; Wolpin, Brian M; Wennerberg, Krister; Rudloff, Udo; Cox, Adrienne D; Der, Channing J (2020. ) Atypical KRASG12R Mutant Is Impaired in PI3K Signaling and Macropinocytosis in Pancreatic Cancer.Cancer discovery, , 10 (1 ) ,104-123 More Information

Bryant, Kirsten L; Stalnecker, Clint A; Zeitouni, Daniel; Klomp, Jennifer E; Peng, Sen; Tikunov, Andrey P; Gunda, Venugopal; Pierobon, Mariaelena; Waters, Andrew M; George, Samuel D; Tomar, Garima; Papke, Björn; Hobbs, G Aaron; Yan, Liang; Hayes, Tikvah K; Diehl, J Nathaniel; Goode, Gennifer D; Chaika, Nina V; Wang, Yingxue; Zhang, Guo-Fang; Witkiewicz, Agnieszka K; Knudsen, Erik S; Petricoin, Emanuel F; Singh, Pankaj K; Macdonald, Jeffrey M; Tran, Nhan L; Lyssiotis, Costas A; Ying, Haoqiang; Kimmelman, Alec C; Cox, Adrienne D; Der, Channing J (2019. ) Combination of ERK and autophagy inhibition as a treatment approach for pancreatic cancer.Nature medicine, , 25 (4 ) ,628-640 More Information

Waters, Andrew M; Der, Channing J (2018. ) KRAS: The Critical Driver and Therapeutic Target for Pancreatic Cancer.Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in medicine, , 8 (9 ) , More Information

Yuan, Tina L; Amzallag, Arnaud; Bagni, Rachel; Yi, Ming; Afghani, Shervin; Burgan, William; Fer, Nicole; Strathern, Leslie A; Powell, Katie; Smith, Brian; Waters, Andrew M; Drubin, David; Thomson, Ty; Liao, Rosy; Greninger, Patricia; Stein, Giovanna T; Murchie, Ellen; Cortez, Eliane; Egan, Regina K; Procter, Lauren; Bess, Matthew; Cheng, Kwong Tai; Lee, Chih-Shia; Lee, Liam Changwoo; Fellmann, Christof; Stephens, Robert; Luo, Ji; Lowe, Scott W; Benes, Cyril H; McCormick, Frank (2018. ) Differential Effector Engagement by Oncogenic KRAS.Cell reports, , 22 (7 ) ,1889-1902 More Information

Waters, Andrew M; Ozkan-Dagliyan, Irem; Vaseva, Angelina V; Fer, Nicole; Strathern, Leslie A; Hobbs, G Aaron; Tessier-Cloutier, Basile; Gillette, William K; Bagni, Rachel; Whiteley, Gordon R; Hartley, James L; McCormick, Frank; Cox, Adrienne D; Houghton, Peter J; Huntsman, David G; Philips, Mark R; Der, Channing J (2017. ) Evaluation of the selectivity and sensitivity of isoform- and mutation-specific RAS antibodies.Science signaling, , 10 (498 ) , More Information

Ye, Xiaoying; Chan, King C; Waters, Andrew M; Bess, Matthew; Harned, Adam; Wei, Bih-Rong; Loncarek, Jadranka; Luke, Brian T; Orsburn, Benjamin C; Hollinger, Bradley D; Stephens, Robert M; Bagni, Rachel; Martinko, Alex; Wells, James A; Nissley, Dwight V; McCormick, Frank; Whiteley, Gordon; Blonder, Josip (2016. ) Comparative proteomics of a model MCF10A-KRasG12V cell line reveals a distinct molecular signature of the KRasG12V cell surface.Oncotarget, , 7 (52 ) ,86948-86971 More Information

Waters, Andrew M; Bagni, Rachel; Portugal, Franklin; Hartley, James L Single Synonymous Mutations in KRAS Cause Transformed Phenotypes in NIH3T3 Cells.PloS one, , 11 (9 ) ,e0163272 More Information

Goodwin, Craig M; Waters, Andrew M; Klomp, Jennifer E; Javaid, Sehrish; Bryant, Kirsten L; Stalnecker, Clint A; Drizyte-Miller, Kristina; Papke, Bjoern; Yang, Runying; Amparo, Amber M; Ozkan-Dagliyan, Irem; Baldelli, Elisa; Calvert, Valerie; Pierobon, Mariaelena; Sorrentino, Jessica A; Beelen, Andrew P; Bublitz, Natalie; Lüthen, Mareen; Wood, Kris C; Petricoin, Emanuel F; Sers, Christine; McRee, Autumn J; Cox, Adrienne D; Der, Channing J (2023. ) Combination Therapies with CDK4/6 Inhibitors to Treat KRAS-Mutant Pancreatic Cancer.Cancer research, , 83 (1 ) ,141-157 More Information

Edwards, A Cole; Stalnecker, Clint A; Jean Morales, Alexis; Taylor, Khalilah E; Klomp, Jennifer E; Klomp, Jeffrey A; Waters, Andrew M; Sudhakar, Niranjan; Hallin, Jill; Tang, Tracy T; Olson, Peter; Post, Leonard; Christensen, James G; Cox, Adrienne D; Der, Channing J (2023. ) TEAD Inhibition Overcomes YAP1/TAZ-driven Primary and Acquired Resistance to KRASG12C Inhibitors.Cancer research, , More Information

Bryant, Kirsten L; Stalnecker, Clint A; Zeitouni, Daniel; Klomp, Jennifer E; Peng, Sen; Tikunov, Andrey P; Gunda, Venugopal; Pierobon, Mariaelena; Waters, Andrew M; George, Samuel D; Tomar, Garima; Papke, Björn; Hobbs, G Aaron; Yan, Liang; Hayes, Tikvah K; Diehl, J Nathaniel; Goode, Gennifer D; Chaika, Nina V; Wang, Yingxue; Zhang, Guo-Fang; Witkiewicz, Agnieszka K; Knudsen, Erik S; Petricoin, Emanuel F; Singh, Pankaj K; Macdonald, Jeffrey M; Tran, Nhan L; Lyssiotis, Costas A; Ying, Haoqiang; Kimmelman, Alec C; Cox, Adrienne D; Der, Channing J (2020. ) Author Correction: Combination of ERK and autophagy inhibition as a treatment approach for pancreatic cancer.Nature medicine, , 26 (6 ) ,982 More Information

Long, Szu-Aun; Amparo, Amber M; Goodhart, Grace; Ahmad, Syed A; Waters, Andrew M (2024. ) Evaluation of KRAS inhibitor-directed therapies for pancreatic cancer treatment.Frontiers in oncology, , 14 ,1402128 More Information

Nussbaum, Daniel P; Martz, Colin A; Waters, Andrew M; Barrera, Alejandro; Liu, Annie; Rutter, Justine C; Cerda-Smith, Christian G; Stewart, Amy E; Wu, Chao; Cakir, Merve; Levandowski, Cecilia B; Kantrowitz, David E; McCall, Shannon J; Pierobon, Mariaelena; Petricoin, Emanuel F; Joshua Smith, J; Reddy, Timothy E; Der, Channing J; Taatjes, Dylan J; Wood, Kris C (2024. ) Mediator kinase inhibition impedes transcriptional plasticity and prevents resistance to ERK/MAPK-targeted therapy in KRAS-mutant cancers.NPJ precision oncology, , 8 (1 ) ,124 More Information

Holderfield, Matthew; Lee, Bianca J; Jiang, Jingjing; Tomlinson, Aidan; Seamon, Kyle J; Mira, Alessia; Patrucco, Enrico; Goodhart, Grace; Dilly, Julien; Gindin, Yevgeniy; Dinglasan, Nuntana; Wang, Yingyun; Lai, Lick Pui; Cai, Shurui; Jiang, Lingyan; Nasholm, Nicole; Shifrin, Nataliya; Blaj, Cristina; Shah, Harshit; Evans, James W; Montazer, Nilufar; Lai, Oliver; Shi, Jade; Ahler, Ethan; Quintana, Elsa; Chang, Stephanie; Salvador, Anthony; Marquez, Abby; Cregg, Jim; Liu, Yang; Milin, Anthony; Chen, Anqi; Ziv, Tamar Bar; Parsons, Dylan; Knox, John E; Klomp, Jennifer E; Roth, Jennifer; Rees, Matthew; Ronan, Melissa; Cuevas-Navarro, Antonio; Hu, Feng; Lito, Piro; Santamaria, David; Aguirre, Andrew J; Waters, Andrew M; Der, Channing J; Ambrogio, Chiara; Wang, Zhengping; Gill, Adrian L; Koltun, Elena S; Smith, Jacqueline A M; Wildes, David; Singh, Mallika (2024. ) Concurrent inhibition of oncogenic and wild-type RAS-GTP for cancer therapy.Nature, , More Information

Loveless, Ian M; Kemp, Samantha B; Hartway, Kailee M; Mitchell, Jacob T; Wu, Yuesong; Zwernik, Samuel D; Salas-Escabillas, Daniel James; Brender, Sydney; George, Madison; Makinwa, Yetunde; Stockdale, Thais; Gartrelle, Kendyll; Reddy, Rohit G; Long, Daniel W; Wombwell, Allison; Clark, Julie M; Levin, Albert M; Kwon, David; Huang, Ling; Francescone, Ralph; Vendramini-Costa, Debora B; Stanger, Ben; Alessio, Adam; Waters, Andrew M; Cui, Yuehua; Fertig, Elana J; Kagohara, Luciane T; Theisen, Brian; Crawford, Howard C; Steele, Nina G (2025. ) Human pancreatic cancer single cell atlas reveals association of CXCL10+ fibroblasts and basal subtype tumor cells.Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, , More Information

Alharbi, Sara; Merkle, Svatava; Hammill, Adrienne M; Waters, Andrew M; Le Cras, Timothy D (2025. ) RAS Pathway Mutations and Therapeutics in Vascular Anomalies.Pediatric blood & cancer, , 72 (5 ) ,e31605 More Information

Alharbi, Sara; Merkle, Svatava; Hammill, Adrienne M; Waters, Andrew M; Le Cras, Timothy D (2025. ) RAS Pathway Mutations and Therapeutics in Vascular Anomalies.Pediatric blood & cancer, , 72 (5 ) ,e31605 More Information

Hibshman, Priya S; Stalnecker, Clint A; Klomp, Jeffrey A; Drizyte-Miller, Kristina; Klomp, Jennifer E; Edwards, A Cole; Pita, Lily M; Hodge, Richard G; Diehl, J Nathaniel; Mouery, Ryan D; Mouery, Brandon L; Snare, Kayla R; Waters, Andrew M; Peng, Sen; Barker, Natalie K; Pierobon, Mariaelena; Rashid, Naim U; Tran, Nhan L; Herring, Laura A; Graves, Lee M; Petricoin, Emanuel F; Bryant, Kirsten L; Cox, Adrienne D; Der, Channing J (2025. ) Defining the MYC-regulated transcriptome and kinome that support KRAS- and ERK-dependent growth of pancreatic cancer.Science signaling, , 18 (906 ) ,eadu7145 More Information

Long S-A, Todd H, Goodhart G, Chang W-H, Amparo AM, Bridgens R, Dilly J, Park S-J, Beal RM, Shehadeh SM, Satyadi MA, Trivedi VK, Ackermann SE, Mukherjee R, Goodwin CM, Edwards AC, Stalnecker CA, Greis KD, Aguirre AJ, Hobbs GA, Bryant KL, Ahmad SA, Cox AD, Der CJ, Waters AM (2025. ) CRISPR-Cas9 Screening Identifies Resistance Mechanisms to KRAS Inhibition in Pancreatic Cancer.Cancer Research, , More Information

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Laboratory of Channing Der, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, , Chapel Hill NC

Academic - Vontz Center
Rm. 2124
Cincinnati  Ohio, 45267-0521
andrew.waters@uc.edu