Katja Kiseljak-Vassiliades, DO

Associate Professor, Medicine-Endocrinology/Metabolism/Diabetes


FacultyPhoto
Medical School
  • DO, Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University (2005)
Undergraduate School
  • BA, Bethany College (KS) (2000)
Internship
  • Johns Hopkins University/Sinai Hospital of Baltimore Program (2006)
Residency
  • Johns Hopkins University/Sinai Hospital of Baltimore Program, Chief Resident, Internal Medicine (2009)
Fellowships
  • University of Colorado, Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism (2012)
Languages
English, Croatian, Bosnian
Department
Medicine-Endocrinology/Metabolism/Diabetes

Recognitions

  • Young invesitigator award, Women in Endocrinology (2012)

Publications

  • Copy Number amplification and overexpression of mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 4 (MST4) in pituitary tumors: a novel therapeutic target
  • Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Carlson NE, Borges TB, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK, Lillehei KO, Kerr JM,Wierman ME. Growth Hormone Tumor Histological Subtypes Predict Response to Surgical and Medical Therapy. Endocrine. Aug 2 2014 (E-pub ahead of print)
  • Xiong W, Knox AJ, Xu M, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Colgan SP, Brodsky KS, Kleinschmidt-Demasters BK, Lillehei KO and Wierman ME. Mammalian Sterile 20-like Kinase 4 Promotes Pituitary Tumorigenesis in a Hypoxic Microenvironment. Molecular Endocrinology (in press)
  • Xiong W, Matheson CJ, Xu M, Backos DS, Mills TS, Salian-Mehta S, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Reigan P, Wierman ME. Structure-Based Screen Identification of a Mammalian Ste20-like Kinase 4 (MST4) Inhibitor with Therapeutic Potential for Pituitary Tumors. Mol Cancer Ther. 2015 Dec 31. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 26721946
  • Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Xu M, Mills TS, Smith EE, Silveira LJ, Lillehei KO, Kerr JM, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK, Wierman ME. Differential somatostatin receptor (SSTR) 1-5 expression and downstream effectors in histologic subtypes of growth hormone pituitary tumors. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2015 Dec 5;417:73-83. PubMed PMID: 26391562
  • Xiong W, Knox AJ, Xu M, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Colgan SP, Brodsky KS, Kleinschmidt-Demasters BK, Lillehei KO, Wierman ME. Mammalian Ste20-like kinase 4 promotes pituitary cell proliferation and survival under hypoxia. Mol Endocrinol. 2015 Mar;29(3):460-72. PubMed PMID: 25650755
  • Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Carlson NE, Borges MT, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK, Lillehei KO, Kerr JM, Wierman ME. Growth hormone tumor histological subtypes predict response to surgical and medical therapy. Endocrine. 2015 May;49(1):231-41. PubMed PMID: 25129651
  • Newsom SA, Brozinick JT, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Strauss AN, Bacon SD, Kerege AA, Bui HH, Sanders P, Siddall P, Wei T, Thomas M, Kuo MS, Nemkov T, D'Alessandro A, Hansen KC, Perreault L, Bergman BC. Skeletal muscle phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine are related to insulin sensitivity and respond to acute exercise in humans. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2016 Jun 1;120(11):1355-63. PubMed PMID: 27032901
  • Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Zhang Y, Bagby S, Kar A, Pozdeyev N, Xu M, Gowan K, Sharma V, Raeburn CD, Albuja-Cruz M, Jones KL, Fishbein L, Schweppe R, Somerset HL, Pitts TM, Leong S, Wierman M. Development of new preclinical models to advance adrenocortical carcinoma research. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2018 Jan 25. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29371329
  • Carr SB, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK, Kerr JM, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Wierman ME, Lillehei KO. Negative surgical exploration in patients with Cushing's disease: benefit of two-thirds gland resection on remission rate and a review of the literature. J Neurosurg. 2017 Dec 8;:1-8. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 29219752
  • Xiong W, Matheson CJ, Xu M, Backos DS, Mills TS, Salian-Mehta S, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Reigan P, Wierman ME. Structure-Based Screen Identification of a Mammalian Ste20-like Kinase 4 (MST4) Inhibitor with Therapeutic Potential for Pituitary Tumors. Mol Cancer Ther. 2016 Mar;15(3):412-20. PubMed PMID: 26721946
  • Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Mills TS, Zhang Y, Xu M, Lillehei KO, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK, Wierman ME. Elucidating the Role of the Desmosome Protein p53 Apoptosis Effector Related to PMP-22 in Growth Hormone Tumors. Endocrinology. 2017 May 1;158(5):1450-1460. PubMed PMID: 28323918
  • Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Mills TS, Zhang Y, Xu M, Lillehei KO, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK, Wierman ME.Elucidating the Role of the Desmosome Protein p53 Apoptosis Effector Related to PMP-22 (PERP) on Growth Hormone Tumors. Endocrinology. Jan 2017 (in press).
  • Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Zhang Y, Bagby SM, Xu M, Raeburn C, Albuja-Cruz M, Fishbein L, Pozdeyev N, Somerset H, Pitts TM, Leong S and Wierman ME. Development of New Cell and Animal Models to Transform Adrenocortical Cancer Research. Endocrine Society Meeting, Orlando FL, April 2017. (accepted as oral presentation).
  • Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Zhang Y, Razzaghi R, Xu M, Raeburn C, Albuja-Cruz M, Leong S and Wierman ME Elucidating the Role of the Maternal Embryonic Leucine Zipper Kinase (MELK) in Adrenocortical Carcinoma. Endocrine Society Meeting, Orlando FL, April 2017. (accepted as podium talk)
  • Carr S, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK, Kerr JM, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Wierman ME. Negative surgical exploration in Cushing's disease patients: benefit of two-thirds gland resection on remission rate and a review of the literature. Journal of neurosurgery. 2017 (in revision)
  • Nachtigall LB, Karavitaki N, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Ghalib L, Fukuoka H, Syro LV, Kelly D, Fleseriu M. Physicians' awareness of gadolinium retention and MRI timing practices in the longitudinal management of pituitary tumors: a "Pituitary Society" survey. Pituitary. 2018 Nov 19. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 30456434
  • Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Zhang Y, Kar A, Razzaghi R, Xu M, Gowan K, Raeburn CD, Albuja-Cruz M, Jones KL, Somerset H, Fishbein L, Leong S, Wierman ME. Elucidating the Role of the Maternal Embryonic Leucine Zipper Kinase in Adrenocortical Carcinoma. Endocrinology. 2018 Jul 1;159(7):2532-2544. PubMed PMID: 29790920
  • Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Zhang Y, Bagby SM, Kar A, Pozdeyev N, Xu M, Gowan K, Sharma V, Raeburn CD, Albuja-Cruz M, Jones KL, Fishbein L, Schweppe RE, Somerset H, Pitts TM, Leong S, Wierman ME. Development of new preclinical models to advance adrenocortical carcinoma research. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2018 Apr;25(4):437-451. PubMed PMID: 29371329
  • Carr SB, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK, Kerr JM, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Wierman ME, Lillehei KO. Negative surgical exploration in patients with Cushing's disease: benefit of two-thirds gland resection on remission rate and a review of the literature. J Neurosurg. 2018 Nov 1;129(5):1260-1267. PubMed PMID: 29219752
  • Head L, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Clark TJ, Somerset H, King J, Raeburn C, Albuja-Cruz M, Weyant M, Cleveland J, Wierman ME, Leong S. Response to Immunotherapy in Combination With Mitotane in Patients With Metastatic Adrenocortical Cancer. J Endocr Soc. 2019 Dec 1;3(12):2295-2304. PubMed PMID: 31745526
  • Kar A, Wierman ME, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K. Update on in-vivo preclinical research models in adrenocortical carcinoma. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2020 Jun;27(3):170-176. PubMed PMID: 32304391
  • Weigand I, Schreiner J, Röhrig F, Sun N, Landwehr LS, Urlaub H, Kendl S, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Wierman ME, Angeli JPF, Walch A, Sbiera S, Fassnacht M, Kroiss M. Active steroid hormone synthesis renders adrenocortical cells highly susceptible to type II ferroptosis induction. Cell Death Dis. 2020 Mar 17;11(3):192. PubMed PMID: 32184394
  • Lang J, Capasso A, Jordan KR, French JD, Kar A, Bagby SM, Barbee J, Yacob BW, Head LS, Tompkins KD, Freed BM, Somerset H, Clark TJ, Pitts TM, Messersmith WA, Eckhardt SG, Wierman ME, Leong S, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K. Development of an Adrenocortical Cancer Humanized Mouse Model to Characterize Anti-PD1 Effects on Tumor Microenvironment. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Jan 1;105(1). PubMed PMID: 31513709
  • Schreiber AR, Kar A, Goodspeed AE, Pozdeyev N, Somerset H, Raeburn CD, Tan AC, Leong S, Wierman ME, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K. Leptomeningeal Metastasis from Adrenocortical Carcinoma: A Case Report. J Endocr Soc. 2020 Mar 1;4(3):bvaa017. PubMed PMID: 32154490
  • Lang J, Capasso A, Jordan KR, French JD, Kar A, Bagby SM, Barbee J, Yacob BW, Head LS, Tompkins KD, Freed BM, Somerset H, Clark TJ, Pitts TM, Messersmith WA, Eckhardt SG, Wierman ME, Leong S, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K. Development of an Adrenocortical Cancer Humanized Mouse Model to Characterize Anti-PD1 Effects on Tumor Microenvironment. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Jan 1;105(1). PubMed PMID: 31513709
  • Kar A, Zhang Y, Yacob B, Saeed JM, Tompkins KD, Bagby S, Pitts TM, Somerset HL, Leong S, Wierman M, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K. Targeting PDZ binding kinase is anti-tumorigenic in novel preclinical models of ACC. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2019 Jul 1. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31325906
  • Hadjidemetriou I, Mariniello K, Ruiz-Babot G, Pittaway J, Mancini A, Mariannis D, Gomez-Sanchez CE, Parvanta L, Drake WM, Chung TT, Abdel-Aziz TE, DiMarco A, Palazzo FF, Wierman ME, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, King PJ, Guasti L. DLK1/PREF1 marks a novel cell population in the human adrenal cortex. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2019 Oct;193:105422. PubMed PMID: 31265901
  • Nachtigall LB, Karavitaki N, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Ghalib L, Fukuoka H, Syro LV, Kelly D, Fleseriu M. Physicians' awareness of gadolinium retention and MRI timing practices in the longitudinal management of pituitary tumors: a "Pituitary Society" survey. Pituitary. 2019 Feb;22(1):37-45. PubMed PMID: 30456434
  • Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Bancos I, Hamrahian A, Vaidya A, Levine AC, Else T. American Association of Clinical Endocrinology Disease State Clinical Review on the Evaluation and Management of Adrenocortical Carcinoma in an Adult: a Practical Approach. Endocrine Practice. 2021 Nov 1; 26(11): 1366-1383.
  • Pinto EM, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Hantel C. Contemporary preclinical human models of adrenocortical carcinoma. Current Opinion in Endocrine and Metabolic Research. 2019 Aug 29; 8: 139-144.
  • Clay MR, Pinto EM, Fishbein L, Else T, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K. Pathological and Genetic Stratification for Management of Adrenocortical Carcinoma. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2021 Nov 30. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 34850906
  • Pozdeyev N, Fishbein L, Gay LM, Sokol ES, Hartmaier R, Ross JS, Darabi S, Demeure MJ, Kar A, Foust LJ, Koc K, Bowles DW, Leong S, Wierman ME, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K. Targeted genomic analysis of 364 adrenocortical carcinomas. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2021 Aug 16;28(10):671-681. PubMed PMID: 34410225
  • Pegna GJ, Roper N, Kaplan RN, Bergsland E, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Habra MA, Pommier Y, Del Rivero J. The Immunotherapy Landscape in Adrenocortical Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2021 May 28;13(11). PubMed PMID: 34071333
  • Alzofon N, Koc K, Panwell K, Pozdeyev N, Marshall CB, Albuja-Cruz M, Raeburn CD, Nathanson KL, Cohen DL, Wierman ME, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Fishbein L. Mastermind Like Transcriptional Coactivator 3 (MAML3) Drives Neuroendocrine Tumor Progression. Mol Cancer Res. 2021 Sep;19(9):1476-1485. PubMed PMID: 33986121
  • Marín-Jiménez JA, Capasso A, Lewis MS, Bagby SM, Hartman SJ, Shulman J, Navarro NM, Yu H, Rivard CJ, Wang X, Barkow JC, Geng D, Kar A, Yingst A, Tufa DM, Dolan JT, Blatchford PJ, Freed BM, Torres RM, Davila E, Slansky JE, Pelanda R, Eckhardt SG, Messersmith WA, Diamond JR, Lieu CH, Verneris MR, Wang JH, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Pitts TM, Lang J. Testing Cancer Immunotherapy in a Human Immune System Mouse Model: Correlating Treatment Responses to Human Chimerism, Therapeutic Variables and Immune Cell Phenotypes. Front Immunol. 2021;12:607282. PubMed PMID: 33854497
  • Maria AG, Silva Borges K, Lira RCP, Hassib Thomé C, Berthon A, Drougat L, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Wierman ME, Faucz FR, Faça VM, Tone LG, Stratakis CA. Inhibition of Aurora kinase A activity enhances the antitumor response of beta-catenin blockade in human adrenocortical cancer cells. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2021 May 15;528:111243. PubMed PMID: 33716050
  • Wierman ME, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K. Should Dehydroepiandrosterone Be Administered to Women?. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022 May 17;107(6):1679-1685. PubMed PMID: 35254428
  • Clay MR, Pinto EM, Fishbein L, Else T, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K. Pathological and Genetic Stratification for Management of Adrenocortical Carcinoma. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2022 Mar 24;107(4):1159-1169. PubMed PMID: 34850906
  • Warmington E, Smith G, Chortis V, Liang R, Lippert J, Steinhauer S, Landwehr LS, Hantel C, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Wierman ME, Altieri B, Foster PA, Ronchi CL. PLK1 inhibitors as a new targeted treatment for adrenocortical carcinoma. Endocr Connect. 2024 Jan 1;13(1). PubMed PMID: 37992487
  • Fu R, Walters K, Kaufman ML, Koc K, Baldwin A, Clay MR, Basham KJ, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Fishbein L, Mukherjee N. In Situ Spatial Reconstruction of Distinct Normal and Pathological Cell Populations Within the Human Adrenal Gland. J Endocr Soc. 2023 Nov 2;7(12):bvad131. PubMed PMID: 37953901
  • McDonald HG, Sarvestani AL, Owen JW, Rueckert J, Wierman ME, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Pandalai PK, Ellis CS, Patel RA, Del Rivero J, Hernandez JM, Cavnar MJ. Response of adrenocortical carcinoma liver metastases to hepatic artery infusion floxuridine. HPB (Oxford). 2023 Nov;25(11):1446-1449. PubMed PMID: 37453816
  • Sedlack AJH, Hatfield SJ, Kumar S, Arakawa Y, Roper N, Sun NY, Nilubol N, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Hoang CD, Bergsland EK, Hernandez JM, Pommier Y, Del Rivero J. Preclinical Models of Adrenocortical Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2023 May 23;15(11). PubMed PMID: 37296836
  • Warde KM, Smith LJ, Liu L, Stubben CJ, Lohman BK, Willett PW, Ammer JL, Castaneda-Hernandez G, Imodoye SO, Zhang C, Jones KD, Converso-Baran K, Ekiz HA, Barry M, Clay MR, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Giordano TJ, Hammer GD, Basham KJ. Senescence-induced immune remodeling facilitates metastatic adrenal cancer in a sex-dimorphic manner. Nat Aging. 2023 Jul;3(7):846-865. PubMed PMID: 37231196
  • Tahmasbi Sohi M, Cali M, Forster JE, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Wierman ME. Short term effects of intraarticular triamcinolone acetonide injection on serum testosterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone levels in male veterans: A prospective pilot study. PM R. 2024 Jan;16(1):6-13. PubMed PMID: 37229562
  • Ruggiero C, Tamburello M, Rossini E, Zini S, Durand N, Cantini G, Cioppi F, Hantel C, Kiseljak-Vassiliades K, Wierman ME, Landwehr LS, Weigand I, Kurlbaum M, Zizioli D, Turtoi A, Yang S, Berruti A, Luconi M, Sigala S, Lalli E. FSCN1 as a new druggable target in adrenocortical carcinoma. Int J Cancer. 2023 Jul 1;153(1):210-223. PubMed PMID: 36971100

Practice Locations

UCHealth Anschutz Outpatient Pavilion - Anschutz Medical Campus
1635 Aurora Ct
Aurora, CO 80045
720-848-0000

Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center
1055 Clermont St
Denver, CO 80220
1-888-336-8262

UCHealth Diabetes and Endocrinology Clinic - Anschutz Medical Campus
1635 Aurora Ct
6th Floor
Aurora, CO 80045
720-848-2650

Hospital Affiliation
  • University of Colorado Hospital
  • Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Specialty Information

Specialties
  • Internal Medicine, Board Certification (2008)
  • Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Board Certification (2011)
Conditions & Treatments
  • Endocrine System (Hormones) - Thyroid Cancer
  • Endocrine System (Hormones) - Adrenal Diseases
  • Endocrine System (Hormones) - Endocrine Cancer (Parathyroid, Adrenal, Carcinoid)
  • Brain and Nervous System - Pituitary Disorders
  • Pregnancy and Reproduction - Endocrine Disorders
  • Women's Health - Menopause
  • Brain and Nervous System
  • Endocrine System (Hormones)
  • Pregnancy and Reproduction
  • Women's Health