Published on by Medical Lab Scientist

Dr. David Karnak | Biochemistry | Best Researcher Award

Senior Research Specialist | University of Michigan | United States

Dr. David M. Karnak, Ph.D., is the Managing Director of the Experimental Radiation Shared Resource and Senior Research Specialist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Michigan. He earned his B.S. in Chemistry (Biochemistry concentration) from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from the University of Michigan, where his doctoral work elucidated structural mechanisms of L27 domain-mediated protein interactions critical to cell polarity. Over his two-decade research career, Dr. Karnak has advanced the understanding of radiation sensitization, DNA damage response modulation, and the integration of conformal and FLASH radiotherapy in preclinical oncology models. His interdisciplinary expertise bridges biochemistry, molecular oncology, and translational radiation biology, contributing to numerous collaborative studies published in leading journals including Molecular Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Cell Reports, and Molecular Cell. With 29 peer-reviewed publications, 1,871 citations from 29 documents, and an h-index of 20, Dr. Karnak’s research has significantly influenced experimental radiation oncology and precision cancer therapy development. Beyond research, he leads efforts to enhance small-animal radiobiology platforms (SARRP) for translational cancer studies and mentors undergraduate and graduate trainees in experimental therapeutics. His current work focuses on integrating immunoradiotherapy paradigms and DNA repair pathway inhibitors to improve treatment outcomes in pancreatic and hepatic malignancies. Dr. Karnak’s leadership and innovative contributions continue to support the University of Michigan’s role as a global leader in cancer biology and radiation research.

Profiles: Scopus | ORCID

Featured Publications

1. Karnak D, Engelke C.G., Parsels L.A., Kausar T., Wei D., Robertson J.R., Marsh K.B., Davis M.A., Zhao L., Maybaum J., Lawrence T.S., Morgan M.A. (2014). Combined inhibition of Wee1 and PARP1/2 for radiosensitization in pancreatic cancer. Clinical Cancer Research, 20(19): 5085–5096.

2. Parsels L.A., Karnak D., Parsels J.D., Zhang Q., Vélez-Padilla J., Reichert Z.R., Wahl D.R., Maybaum J., O’Connor M.J., Lawrence T.S., Morgan M.A. (2018). PARP1 trapping and DNA replication stress enhance radiosensitization with combined WEE1 and PARP inhibitors. Molecular Cancer Research, 16(2): 222–232.

3. Wang W., McMillan M.T., Zhao X., Wang Z., Jiang L., Karnak D., Lima F., Parsels J.D., Parsels L.A., Lawrence T.S., Frankel T.L., Morgan M.A., Green M.D., Zhang Q. (2022). DNA-PK inhibition and radiation promote antitumoral immunity through RNA Polymerase III in pancreatic cancer. Molecular Cancer Research, 20(7): 1137–1150.

4. Chefetz I., Grimley E., Yang K., Hong L., Vinogradova E.V., Suciu R., Kovalenko I., Karnak D., Morgan C.A., et al. (2019). A pan-ALDH1A inhibitor induces necroptosis in ovarian cancer stem-like cells. Cell Reports, 26(11): 3061–3075.

5. Valvo V.M., Zhang Q., Jiang L., Holcomb E.A., Pearson A.N., Edmunds A.G., Faulkner H.G., James J.G., Tate A., Huber A., Wang Z., Guo Y., Karnak D., et al. (2025). Olaparib and radiotherapy induce type I interferon and CD8+ T cell-dependent sensitization to immunotherapy in pancreatic cancer. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, 24(6): 843–858.

David Karnak | Biochemistry | Best Researcher Award

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