Joshua Deppas, MS, is a PhD Candidate in the Clinical Pharmaceutical Scientist track under the mentorship of Dr. Jan Beumer and Dr. Raman Venkataramanan. The overarching mission of Joshua’s research is to examine exposure-response relationships of anticancer drugs and contribute to the pre-clinical and clinical drug development process. Joshua’s long-term goal is to incorporate his research into the clinic, with the eventual aim of enhancing the quality of care in cancer patients. Joshua earned his Master of Science degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in 2020. Joshua later received a Master-Level Certificate in Clinical and Translational Research from the Institute for Clinical Research (ICRE) within the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Joshua is also a recipient of the NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) TL1 Pre-Doctoral Fellowship award within the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and has been awarded the Teaching Assisstance (TA) Excellence award in recognition for his mentorship within the School of Pharmacy’s PharmD program.
Education & Training
Master of Science
Pandya P, Zhang Y, Newcomb E, Deng Y, Vendetti FP, Toptan T, Kim S, MacDonald KM, Harding SM, Deppas JJ, Beumer JH, Buj R, Aird KM, Du M, Hammons A, Pathak S, Vykuntam K, Gibson GA, St Croix, CM, Watkins SC, Opresko PL, Myler LR, Zhou M, Conrads TP, Chang Y, Moore PS, Chen ZJ, Freudenthal BD, Bakkenist CJ. “Uracil destabilizes DNA to prevent cGAS-mediated immune detection.” Science. 2025. (under peer review). Villaruz LC, Jin J, Wang H, Lee JJ, Luke JJ, Rhee JC, Waqar SN, Shapiro GI, Cleary J, Davar D, Burns TF, Verma R, Amin M, Appleman L, Ciombor KK, Davis EJ, Riess JW, Dees EC, Kim EJ, Cardin D, Guo J, Christner SM, Deppas JJ, Parise AM, Schmitz JC, Guerrouahen BS, Suchko M, Contreras A, Li L, Ferry-Galow KV, Chang TC, Jiwani S, Bakkenist CJ, Chu E, Gore SD, Beumer JH. “Phase 1 clinical trial of the ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related inhibitor berzosertib with irinotecan in patients with advanced solid tumors (ETCTN 9938).” Cancer. 2025 November 1. O’Sullivan Coyne G, Kummar S, Rubinstein LV, Wilsker D, Moore N, Hogu M, Piekarz R, Covey J, Beumer JH, Ferry-Galow KV, Villaruz LC, Hollingshead MG, Holleran JL, Deppas JJ, Pommier Y, Ko B, Johnson BC, Parchhment RE, Ivy P, Doroshow JH, Chen AP. “Phase 1 studies of the indenoisoquinolines LMP776 and LMP744 in patients with solid tumors and lymphomas.” Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology. 2025 May 29. Deppas JJ, Kiesel BF, Guo J, Rigatti LR, Latoche JD, Green A, Knizner P, Clump DA, Pandya P, Vendetti FP, Bakkenist CJ, Beumer JH. “Comparative in vivo toxicology of ATR inhibitors ceralasertib, elimusertib, and berzosertib alone and in combination with ionizing radiation.” Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. 2025 May 6. Krishnamurthy A, Wang H, Rhee JC, Davar D, Moy RH, Ratner L, Christner SM, Holleran JL, Deppas JJ, Sclafani C, Schmitz JC, Gore S, Chu E, Bakkenist CJ, Beumer JH, Villaruz LC. “Phase I trial of ATR inhibitor elimusertib with FOLFIRI in advanced or metastatic gastrointestinal malignancies (ETCTN 10406).” Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology. 2025 January 22. Pandya P, Vendetti FP, El-Ghoubaira J, Pathak S, Deppas JJ, Jones R, Columbus A, Zhang Y, Ivanov D, Huang Z, MacDonald K, Harding S, Buj R, Aird K, Beumer JH, Sobol R, and Bakkenist CJ. “Deoxyuridine-rich cytoplasmic DNA antagonizes STING-dependent innate immune responses and sensitizes resistant tumors to anti-PD-L1 therapy.” bioRxiv. 2024 April 5. [Preprint]. Deppas JJ, Kiesel BF, Gio J, Parise RA, Clump AD, D’Argenio DZ, Bakkenist CJ, Beumer JH. “Non-linear IV pharmacokinetics of the ATR inhibitor berzosertib (M6620) in mice.” Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology. 2024 May 14. Sugitani N, Vendetti FP, Cipriano AJ, Pandya P, Deppas JJ, Moiseeva TN, Schamus-Haynes S, Wang Y, Palmer D, Osmanbeyoglu HU, Bostwick A, Snyder NW, Gong YN, Aird KM, Delgoffe GM, Beumer JH, Bakkenist CJ. “Thymidine rescues ATR kinase inhibitor-induced deoxyuridine contamination in genomic DNA, cell death, and interferon-α/β expression.” Cell Reports. 2022 September 20. Kiesel BF, Deppas JJ, Guo J, Parise RA, Clump DA, Bakkenist CJ, Beumer JH. “Dose-Dependent Bioavailability, Absorption-Rate Limited Elimination, and Tissue Distribution of the ATR Inhibitor BAY-1895344 (elimusertib) in Mice.” Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology. 2022 May 4.
