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<span property="dc:title" content="McDonald, Donald, MD, PhD" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span><span property="sioc:num_replies" content="0" datatype="xsd:integer" class="rdf-meta element-hidden"></span> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-picture field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://anatomy.ucsf.edu/sites/g/files/tkssra5891/f/styles/large/public/f_mcdonald.jpg?itok=fmthWFbp" width="220" height="220" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-title field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Professor, Department of Anatomy<br /> <br /> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-research-overview field-type-text-with-summary field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Research Overview<span class="colon">:</span> </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Research in the McDonald lab studies mechanisms and consequences of blood vessel changes in cancer and inflammation to determine the contributions of altered vascular growth and function to disease pathophysiology and treatment. In-vivo cell biological approaches have been developed for use in mouse models to learn how the vasculature remodels during disease progression and how these alterations can serve as therapeutic targets.</p> <p>Ongoing experiments are examining the processes underlying defective endothelial barrier function in inflammation. New strategies are being explored to reverse vascular leakage by regulating signaling pathways that control the junctions between endothelial cells. Here the focus is the regulation of endothelial tight junctions and adherens junctions by angiopoietins, Tie1 and Tie2 tyrosine kinase receptors, and endothelial cell-specific phosphotyrosine phosphatases.</p> <p>Other work is elucidating the antitumor actions of engineered oncolytic vaccinia viruses that home selectively to tumor blood vessels and reduce tumor growth. Viral infection of tumor blood vessels is followed by focal tumor infection accompanied by widespread tumor cell killing mediated by a robust immune response. Studies are examining immune checkpoint inhibitor amplification of the action of genetically modified vaccinia viruses on primary tumors and on metastases. The overall goal is to advance the mechanistic understanding of blood vessel growth and remodeling and to develop strategies that exploit changes in vascular phenotype in the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases.</p> <p><a href="https://mcdonald.ucsf.edu/">Visit the McDonald Lab</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-contact-info field-type-text-long field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Contact Info<span class="colon">:</span> </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cda9a2a3aca1a9e3a0aea9a2a3aca1a98db8aebeabe3a8a9b8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7f1b10111e131b51121c1b10111e131b3f0a1c0c19511a1b0a">[email protected]</span></a><br /> 513 Parnassus Ave, Room S 1349A, Box 0452<br /> San Francisco, CA 94143<br /> 415-476-2118<br /> <br /> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-ucsf-profile field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://profiles.ucsf.edu/donald.mcdonald" target="_blank">UCSF Profile</a></div></div></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="sidebar" class="column"> </div> </div></div> <div id="footer"> <div class="section"> <div class="footer-bottom"> <nav aria-label="Footer Navigation" class="footer--navigation"> <ul> <li><a href="https://anatomy.ucsf.edu/department-administration">Contact Us</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/accessibility-resources">Accessibility</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.ucsf.edu/website-privacy-policy">Privacy Policy</a></li> <li><a href="https://websites.ucsf.edu/website-terms-use">Terms of Use </a></li> <li><a href="https://websites.ucsf.edu/azlist">A-Z Website List</a></li> </ul> </nav> <div class="footer--copyright"> <p>© 2025 The Regents of the University of California</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script><script type="text/javascript"> /*<![CDATA[*/ (function() { var sz = document.createElement('script'); sz.type = 'text/javascript'; sz.async = true; sz.src = '//siteimproveanalytics.com/js/siteanalyze_8343.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(sz, s); })(); /*]]>*/ </script> </body> </html>