Dr Sita Withers
Senior Lecturer
School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
College of Science
After graduating with a veterinary degree from the University of Melbourne in 2008, Sita practiced in a mixed animal clinic in Far North Queensland for a year. She then returned to Melbourne to pursue a small animal internship, and subsequently moved to California to undertake a medical oncology residency at the University of California Davis (UC Davis). She became a board-certified Veterinary Medical Oncologist (DACVIM(Onc)) in August, 2014. During her residency, she developed a keen interest in cancer research, which prompted her to stay on at UC Davis to pursue a PhD in Integrative Pathobiology. This experience enabled her to develop knowledge and skills in pathology, immunology, molecular biology, and flow cytometry. She then joined Louisiana State University (LSU) as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Medical Oncology in November, 2018. Her lab was primarily funded through National Institutes of Health grants and in the clinic, she oversaw the establishment and expansion of a residency training program to train up new Veterinary Medical Oncology specialists. She decided to return to Australia after five years at LSU and is currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide.When she's not at work she enjoys hoarding plants, jogging, swimming, practicing yoga, traveling and hanging out with her two dogs and two cats.
The Withers Lab studies naturally occurring cancers in pet dogs to develop a deeper understanding of canine and human cancer biology.
Specifically, we are focused on addressing three main goals:
- To explore the use of state-of-the-art tools to detail canine immune responses
- To characterize differences in the immune microenvironment between primary and metastatic sites of osteosarcoma
- To explore the utility of novel therapeutics for the treatment of osteosarcoma
We utilize a range of cell-based, molecular and tissue assays, including techniques such as fresh tissue processing and preservation, protein assays, immunoassays, flow cytometry, RT-qPCR, and next-gen sequencing.
| Date | Institution name | Country | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 - 2018 | University of California, Davis | United States | PhD |
| 2003 - 2008 | University of Melbourne | Australia | BVSc(Hons) |
| Date | Title | Institution | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 - 2014 | Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Oncology) | University of California, Davis | United States |
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Luker, M. E., York, D., Al-Nadaf, S., Johnson, E. G., Withers, S. S., Cruz, S. M., . . . Rebhun, R. B. (2025). Evaluating the impact of doxorubicin preconditioning on the efficacy of inhaled recombinant human IL-15 immunotherapy in dogs with pulmonary metastasis. Veterinary Oncology, 2(1), 23-1-23-14. |
| 2024 | Richartz, E. R., Hodgkiss, B. A., Black‐Ocken, N. C., Fuentes, R. A., Looper, J. S., & Withers, S. S. (2024). Characterization of the dissemination of canine cancer misinformation on YouTube. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology, 22(3), 359-366. Scopus3 WoS2 Europe PMC1 |
| 2024 | Walter, K. M., Culp, W. T. N., Giuffrida, M. A., Amsellem, P., Wallace, M. L., Grimes, J. A., . . . Kent, M. S. (2024). Treatment of retroperitoneal sarcoma results in improved outcomes. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 262(7), 1-9. Scopus2 |
| 2024 | Robinson, C. J., Moeller, C. E., Quick, C. N., Goodermuth, C. E., Carossino, M., & Withers, S. S. (2024). Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (M-CSF) and Interleukin-34 (IL-34) Expression in Canine Osteosarcoma in the Context of the Tumour Immune Microenvironment. VETERINARY AND COMPARATIVE ONCOLOGY, 22(4), 480-489. |
| 2023 | Withers, S. S., Moeller, C. E., Quick, C. N., Liu, C. C., Baham, S. M., Looper, J. S., . . . Kousoulas, K. G. (2023). Effect of stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling on radiation-induced chemokine expression in human osteosarcoma cells. PLoS ONE, 18(4 April), e0284645. Scopus14 WoS15 Europe PMC15 |
| 2023 | Moses, A. A., Robinson, C. J., Rincon, A. A., Wurlod, V. A., & Withers, S. S. (2023). Autologous blood patch pleurodesis for management of persistent pneumothorax in a dog with metastatic osteosarcoma. Veterinary Record Case Reports, 11(2). Scopus2 |
| 2022 | Bauman, A. B., Moeller, C. E., Soileau, A. M., Goodermuth, C. E., Costa, V. R., Schaumburg, J. C., . . . Withers, S. S. (2022). Canine memory T-cell subsets in health and disease. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology, 246, 7 pages. Scopus8 WoS7 Europe PMC7 |
| 2022 | Groves, P. K., Liu, C. C., Geels, O. R., & Withers, S. S. (2022). The use of ‘trend’ statements in veterinary oncology literature. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology, 20(3), 732-736. Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC1 |
| 2022 | Aarnes, T., Abeysekara, S., Acierno, M., Adams, C., Adin, D., Alcaraz, A., . . . Duncan, C. (2022). Thank you: 2022 JAVMA Reviewers. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 261(1), 65-66. |
| 2022 | Soileau, A. M., Quick, C. N., Moeller, C. E., Schaumburg, J. C., & Withers, S. S. (2022). The Effect of Arginase on Canine T-Lymphocyte Functions and its Modulation by All-Trans Retinoid Acid (ATRA) in Canine Monocyte-Derived Macrophages. Veterinary Sciences, 9(7), 374. Scopus3 |
| 2022 | Rebhun, R. B., York, D., Cruz, S. M., Judge, S. J., Razmara, A. M., Farley, L. E., . . . Canter, R. J. (2022). Inhaled recombinant human IL-15 in dogs with naturally occurring pulmonary metastases from osteosarcoma or melanoma: a phase 1 study of clinical activity and correlates of response. Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 10(6), e004493. Scopus31 Europe PMC31 |
| 2022 | Costa, V. R., Soileau, A. M., Liu, C. C., Moeller, C. E., Carossino, M., Langohr, I. M., & Withers, S. S. (2022). Exploring the association of intratumoral immune cell infiltrates with histopathologic grade in canine mast cell tumors. Research in Veterinary Science, 147, 83-91. Scopus6 Europe PMC7 |
| 2021 | Sparger, E. E., Chang, H., Chin, N., Rebhun, R. B., Withers, S. S., Kieu, H., . . . Kent, M. S. (2021). T Cell Immune Profiles of Blood and Tumor in Dogs Diagnosed With Malignant Melanoma. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 8, 772932. Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC7 |
| 2021 | Singh, S. S., Mattheolabakis, G., Gu, X., Withers, S., Dahal, A., & Jois, S. (2021). A grafted peptidomimetic for EGFR heterodimerization inhibition: Implications in NSCLC models. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 216, 113312. Scopus18 WoS17 Europe PMC16 |
| 2021 | Dehghanpir, S. D., Boudreaux, B., Withers, S. S., Izquierdo, A., Sasaki, E., Piero, F. D., . . . Mitchell, M. A. (2021). Chemotherapy-Responsive Acute Myeloid Leukemia in a Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus). Journal of Herpetological Medicine and Surgery, 31(4), 257-263. |
| 2021 | Hu, T. G., Dehghanpir, S. D., Sasaki, E., Costa, V. R., Pucheu-Haston, C. M., Del Piero, F., & Withers, S. S. (2021). Pathology in Practice. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 259(S2), 1-4. |
| 2020 | Choi, J. W., Withers, S. S., Chang, H., Spanier, J. A., De La Trinidad, V. L., Panesar, H., . . . McSorley, S. J. (2020). Development of canine PD-1/PD-L1 specific monoclonal antibodies and amplification of canine T cell function. PLoS ONE, 15(7), e0235518. Scopus48 WoS38 Europe PMC39 |
| 2020 | What Is Your Diagnosis? (2020). Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery, 34(4). |
| 2019 | Withers, S. S., Sparger, E. E., Boudreaux, B., & Mason, N. J. (2019). Utilizing Microbes to Treat Naturally Occurring Cancer in Veterinary Species. Current Clinical Microbiology Reports, 6(4), 200-212. Scopus2 WoS2 |
| 2019 | Withers, S. S., York, D., Choi, J. W., Woolard, K. D., Laufer-Amorim, R., Sparger, E. E., . . . Rebhun, R. B. (2019). Metastatic immune infiltrates correlate with those of the primary tumour in canine osteosarcoma. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology, 17(3), 242-252. Scopus25 WoS24 Europe PMC23 |
| 2019 | Wang, Z., Aguilar, E. G., Luna, J. I., Dunai, C., Khuat, L. T., Le, C. T., . . . Monjazeb, A. M. (2019). Paradoxical effects of obesity on T cell function during tumor progression and PD-1 checkpoint blockade. Nature Medicine, 25(1), 141-151. Scopus769 WoS731 Europe PMC755 |
| 2019 | Withers, S. S., Skorupski, K. A., York, D., Choi, J. W., Woolard, K. D., Laufer-Amorim, R., . . . Rebhun, R. B. (2019). Association of macrophage and lymphocyte infiltration with outcome in canine osteosarcoma. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology, 17(1), 49-60. Scopus41 WoS41 Europe PMC40 |
| 2018 | Withers, S. S., York, D., Johnson, E., Al-Nadaf, S., Skorupski, K. A., Rodriguez, C. O., . . . Rebhun, R. B. (2018). In vitro and in vivo activity of liposome-encapsulated curcumin for naturally occurring canine cancers. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology, 16(4), 571-579. Scopus29 WoS27 Europe PMC22 |
| 2018 | Withers, S. S., Moore, P. F., Chang, H., Choi, J. W., McSorley, S. J., Kent, M. S., . . . Rebhun, R. B. (2018). Multi-color flow cytometry for evaluating age-related changes in memory lymphocyte subsets in dogs. Developmental and Comparative Immunology, 87, 64-74. Scopus37 WoS36 Europe PMC35 |
| 2017 | York, D., Withers, S. S., Watson, K. D., Seo, K. W., & Rebhun, R. B. (2017). Enrofloxacin enhances the effects of chemotherapy in canine osteosarcoma cells with mutant and wild-type p53. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology, 15(3), 1087-1100. Scopus9 WoS7 Europe PMC7 |
| 2017 | Rebhun, R. B., Kass, P. H., Kent, M. S., Watson, K. D., Withers, S. S., Culp, W. T. N., & King, A. M. (2017). Evaluation of optimal water fluoridation on the incidence and skeletal distribution of naturally arising osteosarcoma in pet dogs. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology, 15(2), 441-449. Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC4 |
| 2016 | Park, J. S., Withers, S. S., Modiano, J. F., Kent, M. S., Chen, M., Luna, J. I., . . . Canter, R. J. (2016). Canine cancer immunotherapy studies: Linking mouse and human. Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, 4(1), 11 pages. Scopus112 WoS108 Europe PMC106 |
| 2016 | Withers, S. S., Lawson, C. M., Burton, A. G., Rebhun, R. B., & Steffey, M. A. (2016). Management of an invasive and metastatic Sertoli cell tumor with associated myelotoxicosis in a dog. Canadian Veterinary Journal La Revue Veterinaire Canadienne, 57(3), 299-304. Scopus13 WoS8 Europe PMC4 |
| 2015 | Shahi, M. H., York, D., Gandour-Edwards, R., Withers, S. S., Holt, R., & Rebhun, R. B. (2015). BMI1 Is expressed in canine osteosarcoma and contributes to cell growth and chemotherapy resistance. Plos One, 10(6), 17 pages. Scopus19 WoS23 Europe PMC17 |
| 2015 | Withers, S. S., Johnson, E. G., Culp, W. T. N., Rodriguez, C. O., Skorupski, K. A., & Rebhun, R. B. (2015). Paraneoplastic hypertrophic osteopathy in 30 dogs. Veterinary and Comparative Oncology, 13(3), 157-165. Scopus60 WoS42 Europe PMC26 |
| 2014 | Withers, S. S., Kass, P. H., Rodriguez, C. O., Skorupski, K. A., O'Brien, D., Guerrero, T. A., . . . Rebhun, R. B. (2014). Fasting Reduces the Incidence of Delayed-Type Vomiting Associated with Doxorubicin Treatment in Dogs with Lymphoma. Translational Oncology, 7(3), 377-383. Scopus25 WoS19 Europe PMC19 |
| 2012 | Simcock, J. O., Withers, S. S., Prpich, C. Y., Kuntz, C. A., & Rutland, B. E. (2012). Evaluation of a single subcutaneous infusion of carboplatin as adjuvant chemotherapy for dogs with osteosarcoma: 17 cases (2006-2010).. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 241(5), 608-614. Scopus22 WoS18 Europe PMC12 |
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