David A. Fruman
•Professor, Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine
•Academic Director, GPS-STEM program for graduate professional development, UCI
Biography
David A. Fruman, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry at the University of California, Irvine. A molecular pharmacologist specializing in phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and mTOR signaling, Fruman has built a research program centered on understanding these pathways in immune cell function, cancer biology, and therapeutic targeting, with a particular focus on leukemia and lymphoma. His laboratory also studies the mevalonate pathway as a targetable dependency in cancer, and is leading efforts to repurpose statin drugs for oncology indications.
Fruman trained as a postdoctoral fellow with Lewis Cantley at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he contributed to foundational work on PI3K biology, and subsequently with Owen Witte at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He joined UC Irvine as Assistant Professor in 2000 and has held a series of leadership roles at the institution, including Director of the Cancer Research Institute, Associate Director for Basic Science at the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Academic Director of the GPS-STEM graduate professional development program. He is also co-investigator on an NIH T32 interdisciplinary cancer research training program and holds two patents related to PI3K-mTOR pathway modulators.
Fruman was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2016. He received a Ph.D. in Immunology from Harvard University and holds an h-index of 69.
Return to topEducation
- Ph.D. in Immunology, Harvard University, Division of Medical Sciences, 1995
- B.S. in Biological Sciences, Stanford University, 1987
Distinctions
- Elected Fellow of the AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science), 2016
- Predoctoral Fellowship, 1989
- Research Scholar Award, 2005
- Departmental Distinction in Biology, 1987
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1995
- New Investigator Award, 2001
- Special Fellowship, 1998
- AFLAC Travel Award, 1998
- National Merit Scholarship, 1983
- Golden Apple Award for Teaching Excellence, UC Irvine School of Biological Sciences, 2011
Areas of Expertise
- PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling Pathways
- B Lymphocyte Activation and Development
- Calcineurin and Immunosuppressive Drug Mechanisms
- Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase Isoform Functions
- Statin Combination Therapy in Hematologic Malignancies
- eIF4E Translation Initiation in Leukemia
- Mevalonate Pathway Inhibition in Cancer
Recent Publications
- Christofk H.R., Denicola G.M., Emerling B.M., Engelman J.A., Fruman D.A., Goncalves M.D., Lamia K.A., Lyssiotis C.A., Manning B.D., Shaw R.J., Toker A., Vander Heiden M.G., Yaffe M.B., “A Legacy of Mentorship: A Tribute to Lewis Cantley” (opens in new tab), Cancer Discovery, vol. 16, pp. 431-438, 2026.
- Skuli, SJ, Bakayoko, A, Kruidenier, M, Manning, B, Pammer, P, Salimov, A, Riley, O, Brake-Sillá, G, Bowman, M, Martinez-Gutierrez, LN, Buono, R, Paul, M, Saland, E, Wong, S, Xu, J, Nee, E, Hausler, R, Anderson, C, Reisz, JA, D'Alessandro, A, et al., “Chemoresistance of TP53 mutant AML requires the mevalonate byproduct, GGPP, for regulation of ROS and induction of a mitochondria stress response” (opens in new tab), Leukemia, vol. 39, pp. 2087-2098, 2025.
- Jayashankar V, Kubiniok P, McCracken AN, Gentry RG, Eckenstein KH, Sernissi L, Vece V, Garsi JB, Valles SY, Jung S, Hoffman NC, Perrochon AS, Selwan EM, Finicle BT, Pitman M, Lin DW, Bonneil E, Xu R, Mao C, Kaiser P, et al., “Sphingosine and anti-neoplastic sphingosine analogs activate PP2A and inhibit nuclear import in parallel by engaging PPP2R1A and importins” (opens in new tab), EMBO Journal, vol. 44, pp. 4473-4498, 2025.
- Hillis, AL, Martin, TD, Manchester, HE, Hogstrom, JM, Zhang, N, Lecky, E, Kozlova, N, Persky, NS, Root, DE, Brown, M, Cichowski, KM, Elledge, SJ, Muranen, T, Fruman, DA, Barry, ST, Clohessy, JG, Madsen, RR, Toker, A, “Cholesterol biosynthesis inhibition synergizes with AKT inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer” (opens in new tab), Cancer Research, vol. 84, pp. 3250–3266, 2024.
- Brem, E, Shieh, K, Juarez, D, Buono, R, Jeyakumar, D, O'Brien, S, Taylor, TH, Fruman, DA, “A phase 1 study of adding pitavastatin to venetoclax-based therapy in AML and CLL/SLL: a tolerable, mechanism-based, drug repurposing strategy” (opens in new tab), Blood Neoplasia, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 100036, 2024.
- Chun, Y, Fruman, DA, Lee, G, “The picky mTORC1 in metabolic enzyme degradation” (opens in new tab), Molecular Cell, vol. 84, pp. 2011-2013, 2024.
- Niman, S, Buono, R, Fruman, DA, Vanderwal, C, “Synthesis of a Complex Brasilicardin Analogue Utilizing a Cobalt-Catalyzed MHAT-Induced Radical Bicyclization Reaction” (opens in new tab), Organic Letters, vol. 25, pp. 3451-3455, 2023.
- Buono, R, Alhaddad, M, Fruman, DA, “Novel pharmacological and dietary approaches to target mTOR in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Oncology, vol. 13, pp. 1162694, 2023.
- Paul, M, Fruman, DA, “The road less traveled: Activating an oncogenic kinase” (opens in new tab), Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, vol. 44, pp. 640-642, 2023.
- Juarez, D, Buono, R, Matulis, SM, Gupta, VA, Duong, M, Yudiono, J, Paul, M, Mally, S, Diep, S, Hsin, P, Lu, A, Suh, SM, Dong, VM, Roberts, AW, Leverson, JD, Jalaluddin, M, Liu, Z, Bueno, OF, Boise, LH, Fruman, DA, “Statin-induced mitochondrial priming sensitizes multiple myeloma cells to BCL2 and MCL-1 inhibitors” (opens in new tab), Cancer Research Communications, vol. 3, pp. 2497-2509, 2023.
- Herzog, L, Walters, B, Lee, JS, Chiu, H, Mallya, S, Fung, A, Nguyen, N, Li, B, Pinkerton, AB, Jackson, MR, Schneider, RJ, Ronai, ZA, Fruman, DA, “Targeting eIF4F Translation Initiation Complex with SBI-756 Sensitizes B Lymphoma Cells to Venetoclax” (opens in new tab), British Journal of Cancer, vol. 124, pp. 1098–1109, 2021.
- Juarez, D, Fruman, DA, “Targeting the mevalonate pathway in cancer” (opens in new tab), Trends in Cancer, vol. 7, pp. 525-540, 2021.
- Chiu, H, Buono, R, Jackson, LV, Herzog, L, Mallya, S, Conn, C, Ruggero, D, Fruman, DA, “Reduced eIF4E function impairs B-cell leukemia without altering normal B-lymphocyte function”, iScience, vol. 24, pp. 102748, 2021.
- Lee, BJ, Mallya, S, Dinglasan, N, Fung, A, Nguyen, T, Herzog, L, Thao, J, Lorenzana, EG, Wildes, D, Singh, M, Smith, JA, Fruman, DA, “Efficacy of novel bi-steric mTORC1 inhibitor in models of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Oncology, vol. 11, pp. 673213, 2021.
- Vo, TT, Herzog, L, Buono, R, Lee, JS, Mallya, S, Duong, MR, Thao, J, Gotesman, M, Fruman, DA, “Targeting eIF4F translation complex sensitizes B-ALL cells to tyrosine kinase inhibition” (opens in new tab), Scientific Reports, vol. 11, pp. 21689, 2021.
Most Cited Publications
- Fruman, DA, Chiu, H, Hopkins, BD, Bagrodia, S, Cantley, LC, Abraham, RT, “The PI3K pathway in human disease” (opens in new tab), Cell, vol. 170, pp. 605-635, 2017.
- Fruman, DA, Rommel, C, “PI3K and cancer: lessons, challenges, and opportunities” (opens in new tab), Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, vol. 13, pp. 140-56, 2014.
- Fruman, DA, Klee, CB, Bierer, BE, Burakoff, SJ, “Calcineurin phosphatase activity in T lymphocytes is inhibited by FK506 and cyclosporin A”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 89, pp. 3686-90, 1992.
- Fruman, DA, Snapper, SB, Yballe, CM, Yu, JY, Davidson, L, Alt, FW, Cantley, LC, “Impaired B cell development and function in the absence of phosphoinositide 3-kinase p85α” (opens in new tab), Science, vol. 283, pp. 393-7, 1999.
- Janes, MR, Limon, JJ, So, L, Chen, J, Lim, RJ, Chavez, MA, Vu, C, Lilly, MB, Mallya, S, Ong, ST, Konopleva, M, Martin, MB, Ren, P, Liu, Y, Rommel, C, Fruman, DA, “Effective and selective targeting of leukemia cells using a TORC1/2 kinase inhibitor” (opens in new tab), Nature Medicine, vol. 16, pp. 205-213, 2010.
- Deane, JD, Fruman, DA, “Phosphoinositide 3-kinase: diverse roles in immune cell activation” (opens in new tab), Annual Review of Immunology, vol. 22, pp. 563-98, 2004.
- Fruman, DA, Mauvais-Jarvis, F, Pollard, DA, Brazil, D, Bronson, RT, Kahn, CR, Cantley, LC, “Hypoglycemia, liver necrosis and perinatal death in mice lacking all isoforms of phosphoinositide 3-kinase p85α” (opens in new tab), Nature Genetics, vol. 26, pp. 379-82, 2000.
- Fruman DA, Burakoff SJ, Bierer BE, “Immunophilins in protein folding and immunosuppression” (opens in new tab), FASEB Journal, vol. 8, pp. 391-400, 1994.
- Ueki, K, Fruman, DA, Brachmann, SM, Tseng, Y-H, Cantley, LC, Kahn, CR, “Molecular balance between the regulatory and catalytic subunits of phosphoinositide 3-kinase regulates cell signaling and survival” (opens in new tab), Molecular and Cellular Biology, vol. 22, pp. 965-77, 2002.
- Limon, JJ, Fruman, DA, “Akt and mTOR in B cell activation and differentiation” (opens in new tab), Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 3, pp. 228-240, 2012.
Contact Information
Website: https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/frumanlab
Email: dfruman@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-1947, 2274
Address: 216 Sprague Hall
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Last updated on 9/20/2026.