Adjunct faculty typically have an academic or research appointment at another institution and contribute or collaborate with one or more School of Medicine faculty members or programs.
Adjunct rank detailsJoseph N. Contessa, MD, PhD
Professor Adjunct of Therapeutic RadiologyAbout
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Titles
Professor Adjunct of Therapeutic Radiology
Biography
Joseph N. Contessa, MD, PhD, a radiation oncologist, is the director of Yale Medicine’s Central Nervous System Radiotherapy Program. He specializes in treating patients with primary tumors of the brain, head and neck, and at the base of the skull.
“Due to Yale's large referral base, I frequently see relatively rare tumors,” he says, including low-grade and malignant gliomas, ependymomas, high-grade meningiomas, hemangiopericytomas, paragangliomas, and schwannomas. His expertise in treating uncommon cancers benefits patients diagnosed with these tumor types. “I look forward to helping patients have the best possible outcome when they are faced with a challenging diagnosis,” he says.
Dr. Contessa is a Professor of therapeutic radiology and of pharmacology at Yale School of Medicine where he is part of a team of physicians and scientists who are actively researching the cellular mechanisms that tumors use to evade or “outsmart” standard cancer therapies in hopes of identifying new approaches that improve treatment.
“We are all working together to increase our knowledge, improve our care and beat cancer,” Dr. Contessa says.
Appointments
Therapeutic Radiology
Professor AdjunctPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Resident
- The University of Michigan (2009)
- Intern
- The University of Michigan (2005)
- PhD
- Medical College of Virginia Commonwealth Universit (2004)
- MD
- Medical College of Virginia Commonwealth Universit (2004)
Research
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Overview
Therapeutic approaches for the treatment of EGFR and FGFR addicted lung cancer
Radiosensitization of malignant gliomas
Novel small molecule inhibitors of N-linked glycosylation
Molecular Imaging of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor
Drug Discovery and High Throughput Screening
Targeted therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Medical Research Interests
ORCID
0000-0001-9408-1865
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Marta Baro
Former YSMVeronica Chiang, MD, FAANS
Barbara Burtness, MD
Thomas Hayman, MD, PhD
Kimberly L. Johung, MD, PhD
Scott Gettinger, MD
Publications
2026
Loss of JAK1 Function Causes G2/M Cell Cycle Defects Vulnerable to KIF18A Inhibition
Kelley V, Baro M, Gasperi W, Ader N, Lea H, Lee H, Phoomak C, Kabeche L, King M, Contessa J. Loss of JAK1 Function Causes G2/M Cell Cycle Defects Vulnerable to KIF18A Inhibition. Cancer Research 2026, 86: 2301-2317. PMID: 41591363, PMCID: PMC13107398, DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-25-1423.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricSTING predicts patterns of failure in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
MacNeil T, Hayman T, Li S, Moutafi M, Martinez-Morilla S, Vathiotis I, Hu R, Harari P, Burtness B, Liu H, Kimple R, Rimm D, Contessa J. STING predicts patterns of failure in locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. JNCI Cancer Spectrum 2026, 10: pkaf126. PMID: 41569294, PMCID: PMC12972654, DOI: 10.1093/jncics/pkaf126.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords
2025
High glucose enhances lung cancer cell aggressiveness: the impacts of GLUT1, UAP1, UGP2, and N-linked glycosylation
Phoomak C, Saengboonmee C, Baro M, Piriyapairoje K, Ittiudomrak T, Contessa J, Wongkham S. High glucose enhances lung cancer cell aggressiveness: the impacts of GLUT1, UAP1, UGP2, and N-linked glycosylation. Glycobiology 2025, 36: cwaf089. PMID: 41452006, DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cwaf089.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricAsparagine-linked glycosylation protein 1 (ALG1) promotes aggressive phenotypes of lung adenocarcinoma cells, A549, via modulating N-linked glycosylation and ER-Stress
Piriyapairoje K, Baro M, Katoch A, De Muth B, Villanti L, Saengboonmee C, Wongkham S, Contessa J, Phoomak C. Asparagine-linked glycosylation protein 1 (ALG1) promotes aggressive phenotypes of lung adenocarcinoma cells, A549, via modulating N-linked glycosylation and ER-Stress. Glycoconjugate Journal 2025, 42: 267-281. PMID: 41066033, DOI: 10.1007/s10719-025-10198-7.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricRedundancy of the OST catalytic subunit facilitates therapeutic targeting of N-glycosylation
Baro M, Lee H, Kelley V, Lou R, Phoomak C, Politi K, Zeiss C, Van Zandt M, Contessa J. Redundancy of the OST catalytic subunit facilitates therapeutic targeting of N-glycosylation. Cell Chemical Biology 2025, 32: 839-853.e6. PMID: 40494352, PMCID: PMC13107401, DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2025.05.005.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricPLK4 inhibition as a strategy to enhance non-small cell lung cancer radiosensitivity
Dominguez-Vigil I, Banik K, Baro M, Contessa J, Hayman T. PLK4 inhibition as a strategy to enhance non-small cell lung cancer radiosensitivity. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 2025, 24: 1350-1361. PMID: 40296663, PMCID: PMC12353405, DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-24-0978.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
2024
Absence of the dolichol synthesis gene DHRSX leads to N-glycosylation defects in Lec5 and Lec9 Chinese hamster ovary cells
Kentache T, Althoff C, Caligiore F, Souche E, Schulz C, Graff J, Pieters E, Stanley P, Contessa J, Van Schaftingen E, Matthijs G, Foulquier F, Bommer G, Wilson M. Absence of the dolichol synthesis gene DHRSX leads to N-glycosylation defects in Lec5 and Lec9 Chinese hamster ovary cells. Journal Of Biological Chemistry 2024, 300: 107875. PMID: 39395802, PMCID: PMC11607601, DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107875.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricPositive selection CRISPR screens reveal a druggable pocket in an oligosaccharyltransferase required for inflammatory signaling to NF-κB
Lampson B, Ramίrez A, Baro M, He L, Hegde M, Koduri V, Pfaff J, Hanna R, Kowal J, Shirole N, He Y, Doench J, Contessa J, Locher K, Kaelin W. Positive selection CRISPR screens reveal a druggable pocket in an oligosaccharyltransferase required for inflammatory signaling to NF-κB. Cell 2024, 187: 2209-2223.e16. PMID: 38670073, PMCID: PMC11149550, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.03.022.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
2023
In Vivo Verification of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Biodosimetry Using Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy Treatment
Draeger E, Roberts K, Decker R, Bahar N, Wilson L, Contessa J, Husain Z, Williams B, Flood A, Swartz H, Carlson D. In Vivo Verification of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Biodosimetry Using Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy Treatment. International Journal Of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics 2023, 119: 292-301. PMID: 38072322, PMCID: PMC12958423, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2023.11.029.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsER chaperones use a protein folding and quality control glyco-code
Guay K, Ke H, Canniff N, George G, Eyles S, Mariappan M, Contessa J, Gershenson A, Gierasch L, Hebert D. ER chaperones use a protein folding and quality control glyco-code. Molecular Cell 2023, 83: 4524-4537.e5. PMID: 38052210, PMCID: PMC10790639, DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2023.11.006.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetric
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