Scholars@Duke

• Background
• 

  Education, Training, & Certifications

  • Hematology-Oncology Fellowship, Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine 2015 - 2018
  • Internal Medicine Internship and Residency, Tufts University School of Medicine 2012 - 2015
  • M.D., University of South Florida, College of Medicine 2012
• Research
• 

  Selected Grants

  • Expanded access use of MRTX849 for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors with a KRAS G12C mutation awarded by Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. 2022 - 2027
  • Overcoming Anti-PD-1 Resistance in Melanoma by Targeting Immunologic Mediators of the Gli2 Pathway awarded by The Melanoma Research Foundation 2022 - 2024
  • Investigating the Role of EMT-mediated Dendritic Cell Tolerization in Checkpoint Inhibitor Resistance awarded by Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation 2018 - 2022
  • Investigating Oncogenic Signaling Pathways that Drive Wnt Ligand-mediated Immune Tolerance in Melanoma awarded by Conquer Cancer Foundation 2017 - 2018
• 

  External Relationships

  • Society for immunotherapy of cancer
• Publications & Artistic Works
• 

  Selected Publications

  • Academic Articles

    • Theivanthiran, Balamayooran, Nagendra Yarla, Tarek Haykal, Y-Van Nguyen, Linda Cao, Michelle Ferreira, Alisha Holtzhausen, et al. “Tumor-intrinsic NLRP3-HSP70-TLR4 axis drives premetastatic niche development and hyperprogression during anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.” Sci Transl Med 14, no. 672 (November 23, 2022): eabq7019. https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.abq7019.
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    • Oswalt, Cameron J., Rami N. Al-Rohil, Bala Theivanthiran, Tarek Haykal, April K. S. Salama, Nicholas C. DeVito, Alisha Holtzhausen, Dennis C. Ko, and Brent A. Hanks. “Identification of a Germline Pyrin Variant in a Metastatic Melanoma Patient With Multiple Spontaneous Regressions and Immune-related Adverse Events.” J Immunother 45, no. 6 (July 2022): 284–90. https://doi.org/10.1097/CJI.0000000000000425.
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    • Proudman, David, Nicholas C. DeVito, Suzanne Belinson, Mina Alsaraf Allo, Eric D. Morris, James Signorovitch, and Anuj K. Patel. “Comprehensive genomic profiling in advanced/metastatic colorectal cancer: number needed to test and budget impact of expanded first line use.” J Med Econ 25, no. 1 (2022): 817–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/13696998.2022.2080463.
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    • Theivanthiran, Balamayooran, Tarek Haykal, Linda Cao, Alisha Holtzhausen, Michael Plebanek, Nicholas C. DeVito, and Brent A. Hanks. “Overcoming Immunotherapy Resistance by Targeting the Tumor-Intrinsic NLRP3-HSP70 Signaling Axis.” Cancers (Basel) 13, no. 19 (September 23, 2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13194753.
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    • DeVito, Nicholas C., Michael Sturdivant, Balamayooran Thievanthiran, Christine Xiao, Michael P. Plebanek, April K. S. Salama, Georgia M. Beasley, et al. “Pharmacological Wnt ligand inhibition overcomes key tumor-mediated resistance pathways to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.” Cell Rep 35, no. 5 (May 4, 2021): 109071. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109071.
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    • DeVito, Nicholas C., Colm Kelleher, Kyle C. Strickland, James Abbruzzese, Carey Anders, Brent A. Hanks, Jingquan Jia, et al. “A case report of microsatellite instability (MSI)-high, HER2 amplified pancreatic adenocarcinoma with central nervous system metastasis.” Ame Case Rep 5 (2021): 14. https://doi.org/10.21037/acr-20-154.
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    • Plebanek, Michael P., Michael Sturdivant, Nicholas C. DeVito, and Brent A. Hanks. “Role of dendritic cell metabolic reprogramming in tumor immune evasion.” Int Immunol 32, no. 7 (June 26, 2020): 485–91. https://doi.org/10.1093/intimm/dxaa036.
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    • Theivanthiran, Balamayoora, Kathy S. Evans, Nicholas C. DeVito, Michael Plebanek, Michael Sturdivant, Luke P. Wachsmuth, April Ks Salama, et al. “A tumor-intrinsic PD-L1/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway drives resistance to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.” J Clin Invest 130, no. 5 (May 1, 2020): 2570–86. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI133055.
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    • DeVito, Nicholas C., Michael P. Plebanek, Bala Theivanthiran, and Brent A. Hanks. “Role of Tumor-Mediated Dendritic Cell Tolerization in Immune Evasion.” Front Immunol 10 (2019): 2876. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.02876.
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    • Grant, Michael J., Nicholas DeVito, and April K. S. Salama. “Checkpoint inhibitor use in two heart transplant patients with metastatic melanoma and review of high-risk populations.” Melanoma Manag 5, no. 4 (December 2018): MMT10. https://doi.org/10.2217/mmt-2018-0004.
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    • Zhao, Fei, Kathy Evans, Christine Xiao, Nicholas DeVito, Balamayooran Theivanthiran, Alisha Holtzhausen, Peter J. Siska, Gerard C. Blobe, and Brent A. Hanks. “Stromal Fibroblasts Mediate Anti-PD-1 Resistance via MMP-9 and Dictate TGFβ Inhibitor Sequencing in Melanoma.” Cancer Immunol Res 6, no. 12 (December 2018): 1459–71. https://doi.org/10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-18-0086.
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    • Zhao, Fei, Christine Xiao, Kathy S. Evans, Tbalamayooran Theivanthiran, Nicholas DeVito, Alisha Holtzhausen, Juan Liu, et al. “Paracrine Wnt5a-β-Catenin Signaling Triggers a Metabolic Program that Drives Dendritic Cell Tolerization.” Immunity 48, no. 1 (January 16, 2018): 147-160.e7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2017.12.004.
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    • Kinsey, E. N., N. DeVito, W. Barrow, S. A. Myers, and A. K. S. Salama. “Paraneoplastic Production of Granulocyte-macrophage Colony-stimulating Factor and Granulocyte Colony-stimulating Factor in a Case of Rapidly Progressing Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma.” Clinical Skin Cancer 1, no. 1 (January 1, 2016): 20–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsc.2016.11.004.
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    • DeVito, Nicholas, Evita Henderson, Gang Han, Damon Reed, Marilyn M. Bui, Robert Lavey, Lary Robinson, et al. “Clinical Characteristics and Outcomes for Solitary Fibrous Tumor (SFT): A Single Center Experience.” Plos One 10, no. 10 (2015): e0140362. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0140362.
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    • DeVito, Nicholas, Kit Mui, Yasir Jassam, Lynne Taylor, Monika Pilichowska, and Furha Cossor. “Small lymphocytic lymphoma presenting as a paraneoplastic syndrome with acute central nervous system demyelination.” Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk 14, no. 4 (August 2014): e131–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clml.2014.02.006.
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    • DeVito, Nicholas C., and Muhammad Wasif Saif. “Advances in immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer: 2013.” Jop 14, no. 4 (July 10, 2013): 347–53. https://doi.org/10.6092/1590-8577/1646.
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    • Devito, Nicholas, Michael Yu, Ren Chen, and Edward Pan. “Retrospective study of patients with brain metastases from melanoma receiving concurrent whole-brain radiation and temozolomide.” Anticancer Res 31, no. 12 (December 2011): 4537–43.
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    • Assudani, Deepak, Hyun-Il Cho, Nicholas DeVito, Norma Bradley, and Esteban Celis. “In vivo expansion, persistence, and function of peptide vaccine-induced CD8 T cells occur independently of CD4 T cells.” Cancer Res 68, no. 23 (December 1, 2008): 9892–99. https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-3134.
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  • Book Sections

    • DeVito, N., M. A. Morse, B. Hanks, and J. M. Clarke. “Immune Checkpoint Combinations with Inflammatory Pathway Modulators.” In Current Cancer Research, 219–41, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63757-0_8.
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  • Conference Papers

    • George, D. J., E. Moore, G. C. Blobe, N. DeVito, B. A. Hanks, M. R. Harrison, C. J. Hoimes, et al. “923P Molecular classification of cancers of unknown primary expands and refines treatment options.” In Annals of Oncology, 33:S968–69. Elsevier BV, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annonc.2022.07.1048.
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    • DeVito, Nicholas, Michael Sturdivant, Balamayooran Theivanthiran, Y-Van Nguyen, Michael Plebanek, and Brent Hanks. “923 Hedgehog signaling drives epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, immune evasion, and anti-PD-1 resistance through coordinated upregulation of Wnt ligands and PGE2 synthesis.” In Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, 9:A968–A968. BMJ, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2021-sitc2021.923.
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    • Plebanek, Michael, Nicholas DeVito, Fang Liu, Balamayooran Theivanthiran, Georgia Beasley, and Brent Hanks. “657 Characterization and therapeutic targeting of a tumor-associated tolerogenic DC subpopulation driven by SREBP2 and the mevalonate metabolic pathway.” In Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, 9:A685–A685. BMJ, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2021-sitc2021.657.
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    • Theivanthiran, Balamayooran, Fang Liu, Nicholas DeVito, Michael Plebanek, and Brent Hanks. “319 The tumor-intrinsic NLRP3 inflammasome establishes a pulmonary metastatic niche via type II epithelial HSP70/TLR4 signaling and facilitates disease hyperprogression in response to immunotherapy.” In Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, 9:A343–A343. BMJ, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2021-sitc2021.319.
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    • Sammons, Sarah, Andrew Elliott, Jeremy Meyer Force, Nicholas C. DeVito, Paul Kelly Marcom, Sandra M. Swain, Antoinette R. Tan, et al. “Genomic evaluation of tumor mutational burden-high (TMB-H) versus TMB-low (TMB-L) metastatic breast cancer to reveal unique mutational features.” In Journal of Clinical Oncology, 39:1091–1091. American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), 2021. https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.1091.
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    • DeVito, Nicholas, Michael Sturdivant, Luke Wachsmuth, John Strickler, Georgia Beasley, Rami Al-Rohil, April Salama, and Brent Hanks. “425 Investigation of Wnt ligand signaling regulators as a predictor of Anti-PD-1 response in metastatic melanoma.” In Regular and Young Investigator Award Abstracts. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1136/jitc-2020-sitc2020.0425.
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    • Theivanthiran, Balamayooran, Kathy Evans, Nicholas DeVito, Michael Plebanek, Michael Sturdivant, Alisha Holtzhausen, Luke Wachsmuth, et al. “A tumor PD-L1-NLRP3 inflammasome signaling axis drives adaptive resistance to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy.” In Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, Vol. 7. BMC, 2019.
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    • DeVito, Nicholas C., Christine Xiao, Fei Zhao, Kathy S. Evans, Bala Theivanthiran, John Lewicki, Tim Hoey, Herbert Hurwitz, John H. Strickler, and Brent Allen Hanks. “Paracrine wnt-β-catenin signaling inhibition as a strategy to enhance the efficacy of anti-PD-1 antibody (Ab) therapy in a transgenic model of melanoma.” In Journal of Clinical Oncology, 35:3053–3053. American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), 2017. https://doi.org/10.1200/jco.2017.35.15_suppl.3053.
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    • DeVito, Nicholas. “LITTLE KNOWN LYMPHOMA: SMALL LYMPHOCYTIC LYMPHOMA PRESENTING AS A PARANEOPLASTIC SYNDROME WITH ACUTE CNS DEMYELINATION.” In Journal of General Internal Medicine, 29:S384–S384. SPRINGER, 2014.
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    • Hanks, B. A. “A HSP-TLR-Wnt5a Paracrine Signaling Axis Drives CXCR2 Ligand Recruitment of Myeloid-derived Suppressor Cells and Represents a Novel Adaptive Resistance Mechanism to Anti-PD-1 Antibody Therapy.” In Https://Jitc.Biomedcentral.Com/Track/Pdf/10.1186/S40425 017 0288 4?Site=Jitc.Biomedcentral.Com, n.d.
    • Thievanthiran, Bala, Nicholas DeVito, Kathy Evans, and B. A. Hanks. “Inflammasome-Wnt Ligand Signaling Axis Promotes Immune Escape During Anti-PD-1 Antibody Immunotherapy.” In Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer. BioMed Central, n.d.
• Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
• 

  Presentations & Appearances

  • Updates in the Management of Resected Pancreatic Cancer. Duke Cancer Review. Duke Cancer Network. July 2019  2019
  • The Role of Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Advanced Gastroesophageal Cancers. Duke Cancer Network. February 2019  2019
• 

  Academic & Administrative Activities

  • In addition to my research and clinical duties, I conduct fellowship interviews, teach residents and fellows during clinic and while on the 9300 inpatient medical oncology service, and give educational talks to fellows in both oncology and palliative care. I also participate in a directed mentoring program for aspiring laboratory and translational-based hematology/oncology fellows.
• 

  Clinical Activities

  • I have a weekly clinic in medical oncology focused on gastrointestinal malignancies. I also attend the 9300 inpatient medical oncology service.

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