Research Scientist
PhD Nursing Science
Dr. Sandra Johnston (PhD Nursing Science) joined the Swanson lab in early 2012 as a research scientist. Her background in neuro-oncology clinical trials, extensive clinical experience, PhD in nursing science and post doc in biomedical and health informatics dovetailed well with the core and research goals of the lab.
Outside of work, Sandra can be found hiking, camping, and gardening. Living in the pacific northwest is an outdoor wonderland waiting to be explored.
Sandra is dedicated to improving outcomes for patients with brain tumors. Sandra has been integral for the lab’s project for extreme survivors of glioblastoma. We have built a data repository of extreme survivors of GBM to discover actionable targets for predicting and inducing survivorship.
Education:
PhD Nursing Science University of Washington
PostDoc Fellowship Biomedical and Health Informatics University of Washington
MS Clinical Nurse Specialty Texas Woman’s University
BS Nursing Truman State University
Publications (selected):
ENDURES: ENvironmental Dynamics Underlying Responsive Extreme Survivors of Glioblastoma: A consortium paper. Johnston SK, Whitmire P, Massey SC, Kumthekar P, Porter A, Raghunand N, Gonzalez-Cuyar LF, Mrugala MM, Hawkins-Daarud A, Jackson PR, Hu LS, Sarkaria JN, Wang L, Gatenby RA, Egan KM, Canoll P, Swanson KR. Accepted, American Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2019, publication ready.
Stringfield O, Arrington JA, Johnston SK, Rognin N, Peeri NC, Balagurunathan Y, Jackson PR, Clark-Swanson
KR, Swanson KR, Egan KM, Gatenby RA, Raghunand N. Multiparameter MRI Predictors of Long-Term Survival in Glioblastoma. 2019. Tomography. 2019 Mar;5(1):135-144. doi: 10.18383/j.tom.2018.00052.
Hawkins-Daarud A, Johnston S, and Swanson K. Quantifying Uncertainty in Patient-Specific Response Metrics for Glioblastoma. JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics. JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics 2019 :3, 1-8.
Rayfield CA, Grady F, De Leon G, Rockne R, Carrasco E, Jackson P, Vora M, Johnston SK, Hawkins-Daarud A, Clark-Swanson KR, Whitmire S, Gamez ME, Porter A, Hu L, Gonzalez-Cuyar L, Bendok B, Vora S, and Swanson KR. Distinct Phenotypic Clusters of Glioblastoma Growth and Response Kinetics Predict Survival. JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics 2018 :2, 1-14. DOI: 10.1200/CCI.17.00080
Raizer JJ, Grimm SA, Rademaker A, Chandler JP, Muro K, Helenowski I, Rice L, McCarthy K, Johnston SK, Mrugala MM, Chamberlain M. A phase II trial of PTK787/ZK222584 in recurrent or progressive radiation and surgery refractory meningiomas. J Neurooncol. 2014 Mar;117(1):93-101. doi: 10.1007/s11060-014-1358-9.
Baldock AL, Ahn S, Rockne R, Johnston S, Neal M, Corwin D, Clark-Swanson K, Sterin G, Trister AD, Malone H, Ebiana V, Sonabend AM, Mrugala M, Rockhill JK, Silbergeld DL, Lai A, Cloughesy T, McKhann GM 2nd, Bruce JN, Rostomily RC, Canoll P., Swanson KR. Patient-specific metrics of invasiveness reveal significant prognostic benefit of resection in a predictable subset of gliomas. PLoS One. 2014 Oct 28;9(10):e99057.
Adair JE, Johnston SK, Mrugala MM, Beard BC, Guyman LA, Baldock AL, Bridge CA, Hawkins-Daarud A, Gori JL, Born DE, Gonzalez-Cuyar LF, Silbergeld DL, Rockne RC, Storer BE, Rockhill JK, Swanson KR, Kiem HP. Gene therapy enhances chemotherapy tolerance and efficacy in glioblastoma patients. J Clin Invest. 2014 Sep;124(9):4082-92.
Baldock AL, Yagle K, Born DE, Ahn S, Trister AD, Neal M, Johnston SK, Bridge CA, Basanta D, Scott J, Malone H, Sonabend AM, Canoll P, Mrugala MM, Rockhill JK, Rockne RC, Swanson KR. Invasion and proliferation kinetics in enhancing gliomas predict IDH1 mutation status. Neuro Oncol. 2014 Jun;16(6):779-86.
Chamberlain MC, Johnston SK. Salvage therapy with single agent bendamustine for recurrent glioblastoma. J Neurooncol. 2011 Dec;105(3):523-30.
Chamberlain MC, Johnston SK. Salvage therapy with single agent bevacizumab for recurrent glioblastoma. J Neurooncol. 2010 Jan;96(2):259-69.
Johnston SK, Nguyen HQ, Wolpin S. Designing and testing a web-based interface for self-monitoring of exercise and symptoms for older adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Comput Inform Nurs. 2009 May-Jun;27(3):166-74.
Dougherty CM, Johnston SK, Thompson EA. Reliability and validity of the self-efficacy expectations and outcome expectations after implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation scales. Appl Nurs Res. 2007 Aug;20(3):116-24.
Parker JC, Smarr KL, Slaughter JR, Johnston SK, Priesmeyer ML, Hanson KD, Johnson GE, Hewett JE, Hewett JE, Irvin WS, Komatireddy GR, Walker SE. Management of depression in rheumatoid arthritis: a combined pharmacologic and cognitive-behavioral approach. Arthritis Rheum. 2003 Dec 15;49(6):766-77.
Motzer SA, Tsuji J, Hertig V, Johnston SK, Scanlan J. Natural killer cell cytotoxicity: a methods analysis of 51chromium release versus flow cytometry. Biol Res Nurs. 2003 Oct;5(2):142-52.
Shaver JL, Johnston SK, Lentz MJ, Landis CA. Stress exposure, psychological distress, and physiological stress activation in midlife women with insomnia. Psychosom Med. 2002 Sep-Oct;64(5):793-802.
Johnston SK, Landis CA, Lentz MJ, Shaver JL. Self-reported nap behavior and polysomnography at home in midlife women with and without insomnia. Sleep. 2001 Dec 15;24(8):913-9.
Jensen B, Hess-Zak A, Johnston SK, Otto DC, Tebbe L, Russell CL, Waller AS. Restraint reduction: a new philosophy for a new millennium. J Nurs Adm. 1998 Jul-Aug;28(7-8):32-8. PubMed PMID: 9709694.
Pre-Print Publications
Days Gained Response Discriminates Treatment Response in Patients with Recurrent Glioblastoma Receiving Bevacizumab-based Therapies. Kyle W. Singleton, Alyx B. Porter, Leland S. Hu, Sandra K Johnston, Kamila M. Bond, Cassandra R. Rickertsen, Gustavo De Leon, Scott A. Whitmire, Kamala R. Clark-Swanson, Maciej M. Mrugala, Kristin R. Swanson. bioRxiv 752402; doi: https:://doi.org/10.1101/752402. UPLOADED 8/30/19.
Sex Differences in Seizure at Presentation in Glioma Population. Sara Ranjbar, Barrett J Anderies, Kyle W Singleton, Sandra K Johnston, Cassandra R Rickertsen, Akanshka Sharma, Alyx B Porter, Maciej M Mrugala, Leland S Hu, J Ross Mitchell, Joshua B Rubin, Kristin R Swanson. bioRxiv 718791; doi: https:://doi.org/10.1101/718791. UPLOADED August 4, 2019.
Sex Differences in Predictors of Seizure in Contrast-Enhancing Gliomas at Clinical Presentation: A Network Approach. Sandra K Johnston, Aditya Khurana, Paula Whitmire, Sara Ranjbar, Akanksha Sharma, Andrea Hawkins-Daarud, Joshua B Rubin, Alyx B Porter, Peter D Canoll, Kathleen Egan, Leland S Hu, Maciej M Mrugala, Priya Kumthekar, Kristin R Swanson. bioRxiv 708032; doi: https:://doi.org/10.1101/708032. UPLOADED 7/24/19.
From cells to tissue: How cell scale heterogeneity impacts glioblastoma growth and treatment response. Jill A. Gallaher, Susan C. Massey , Andrea C. Hawkins-Daarud , Sonal S. Noticewala , Russell C. Rockne , Sandra K. Johnston , Luis Gonzalez-Cuyar , Joseph Juliano, Orlando Gil, Kristin R. Swanson , Peter Canoll, and Alexander R. A. Anderson. BIORXIV/2019/650150
Sex-specific impact of patterns of imageable growth on glioblastoma survival. Paula Whitmire, Cassandra R. Rickertsen, Andrea Hawkins-Daarud, Eduardo Carrasco Jr, Julia Lorence, Gustavo De Leon, Lee Curtin, Spencer Bayless, Kamala Clark-Swanson, Noah C. Peeri, Christina Corpuz, Christine Paula Lewis de los Angeles, Bernard R. Bendok, Luis Gonzalez-Cuyar, Sujay Vora, Maciej Mrugala, Leland S. Hu, Lei Wang, Alyx Porter, Priya Kumthekar, Sandra K. Johnston, Kathleen M. Egan, Robert Gatenby, Peter Canoll, Joshua B. Rubin, Kristin R. Swanson. bioRxiv 325464; doi: https:://doi.org/10.1101/325464.
Image-based metric of invasiveness predicts response to adjuvant temozolomide for primary glioblastoma. Susan Christine Massey, Haylye White, Paula Whitmire, Tatum Doyle, Sandra K. Johnston, Kyle W. Singleton, Pamela R. Jackson, Andrea Hawkins-Daarud, Bernard R. Bendok, Alyx B. Porter, Sujay Vora, Jann N. Sarkaria, Maciej M. Mrugala, Kristin R. Swanson. bioRxiv 509281; doi: https:://doi.org/10.1101/509281. UPLOADED 1/2/19.
Abstracts (selected):
- Sex differences in predictors of seizure in contrast-enhancing gliomas at clinical presentation. Sandra K Johnston, Aditya Khurana, Paula Whitmire, Sara Ranjbar, Akanksha Sharma, Andrea Hawkins-Daarud, Joshua B Rubin, Alyx B Porter, Peter D Canoll, Kathleen M. Egan, Leland S Hu, Maciej M Mrugala, PhD, Priya Kumthekar, Kristin R Swanson
- Evaluating the Days Gained response metric in clinical trials using bevacizumab plus additional agents for recurrent glioblastoma. Kyle W. Singleton, Sandra K Johnston, Cassandra R. Rickertsen, S. Keith Anderson, Gustavo De Leon, Scott A. Whitmire, Kamala R. Clark-Swanson, Bernard R. Bendok, Maciej M. Mrugala, Alyx B. Porter, Evanthia Galanis, Kristin R. Swanson.
- Predicting Seizure in Glioma Patients Using a Random Forest Classifier Trained on Sex-Specific and Mixed Cohorts. Aditya Khurana, Sandra K Johnston, Paula Whitmire, Sara Ranjbar , Akanksha Sharma, Andrea Hawkins-Daarud, Joshua B Rubin, Alyx B Porter, Peter D Canoll, Kathleen M. Egan, Leland S Hu, Maciej M Mrugala, Priya Kumthekar, Kristin R Swanson
- Multiparameter MRI investigation of high-grade glioma response to CAR T cell immunotherapy. Harshan Ravi1, Olya Stringfield, Gustavo De Leon, Sandra K Johnston, Russell Rockne, Behnam Badie5Christine E. Brown, Kristin R. Swanson, Robert A. Gatenby, Natarajan Raghunand
- Impact of tumor location on image-derived volume, proliferation rate and growth velocity in glioblastoma patients. Julia Lorence, Sara Ranjbar, Paula Whitmire, Cassandra R. Rickertsen, Sandra K. Johnston, Haylye White, Kyle W. Singleton, Kamala Clark-Swanson, Bernard R. Bendok, J. Ross Mitchell, Alyx B. Porter, Maciej M. Mrugala, Joshua B. Rubin, Leland S. Hu and Kristin R. Swanson
- KW Singleton, D Kirby, SK Johnston, CR Rickertsen, G De Leon, SA Whitmire, KR Clark-Swanson, Y Morris, B Bendok, MM Mrugala, A Porter, KR Swanson. Kinetics-based response metric discriminate improved outcomes for patients receiving bevacizumab-based therapies. 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting and Education day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology 2018. New Orleans, LA.
· P Whitmire, C Rickertsen, A Hawkins-Darrud, E Carrasco Jr., J Lorence, G De Leon, L Curtin, S Bayless, K Clark-Swanson, NC Peeri, C Corpuz, CP Lewis-de Los Angeles, BR Bendok, L Gonzalez-Cuyar, S Vora, M Mrugala, LS Hu, L Wang, A Porter, P Kumthekar, SK Johnston, KM Egan, R Gatenby, P Canoll, JB Rubin, KR Swanson. Sex differences in extreme survivorship among primary glioblastoma patients. 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting and Education day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology 2018. New Orleans, LA.
· SK Johnston, S Bayless, MM Mrugala, J Rubin, P Canoll, KR Swanson. Characteristics of giant cell morphology in long-term survivors of glioblastoma: consideration of sex differences. 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting and Education day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology 2018. New Orleans, LA.
· J Lorence, SC Massey, SK Johnston, S Ranjbar, P Whitmire, CR Rickertsen, G De Leon, B Anderies, H White, KW Singleton, LS Hu, R Mitchell, AB Porter, MM Mrugala, BR Bendok, JB Rubin, KR Swanson. Impact of sex differences and tumor location on survival outcomes in glioblastoma patients. 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting and Education day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology 2018. New Orleans, LA.
· A Khurana, S Ranjbar, SK Johnston, P Whitmire, A Sharma, KR Swanson. Utilizing machine learning for predictive modeling of seizure presentation in glioma patients. 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting and Education day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology 2018. New Orleans, LA.
· S Ranjbar, B Anderies, KW Singleton, SK Johnston, CR Rickertsen, A Sharma, A Porter, M Mrugala, LS Hu, JR Mitchell, JB Rubin, KR Swanson. Sex-specific brain maps for risk of seizure among glioma patients. 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting and Education day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology 2018. New Orleans, LA.
· KW Singleton, D Kirby, SK Johnston, CR Rickertsen, G De Leon, SA Whitmire, KR Clark-Swanson, Y Morris, BR Bendok, MM Mrugala, A Porter, KR Swanson. Deep learning detects differences in the MRIs of male and female gliomas. 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting and Education day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology 2018. New Orleans, LA.
· A Hawkins-Daarud, SK Johnston, KR Swanson. Quantifying uncertainty and robustness in a biomathematical model based patient-specific response metric for Glioblastoma. J. Clinical Oncology Clinical Cancer Informatics. 2018
· KW Singleton, G De Leon, SK Johnston, CR Rickertsen, KR Clark-Swanson, B Bendok, S Vora, M Mrugala, A Porter, KR Swanson. Discriminating response across treatments using the patient-specific model-derived days gained metric. 2018 Annual Meeting of the Society for Mathematical Biology, Sydney, Australia & the Japanese Society for Mathematical Biology.
· Olya Stringfield, Mahmoud Abdalah, Sandra Johnston, Nicolas Rognin, Yoganand Balagurunathan, John Arrington, Kristin Swanson, Kathleen M. Egan, Robert A. Gatenby, Natarajan Raghunand. Radiomics of MRI at Diagnosis is Predictive of Survival in Glioblastoma Multiforme. Joint Annual Meeting ISMRM-ESMRMB, June 16-21 2018. Paris, France.
· Gustavo De Leon, Sandra K. Johnston, Kyle W. Singleton, Cassandra Rickertsen, Spencer Bayless, Sara Yee, Ali S. Khalifa, Kamala Clark-Swanson, Alyx Porter, Maciej Mrugala, Bernard Bendok, Analiz Rodriguez, Behnam Badie, Prativa Sahoo, Russell C. Rockne, Christine Brown, Kristin R. Swanson. Discrimination of response to CAR T-cell therapy using a novel response metric incorporating tumor growth kinetics in recurrent GBM patients. Immunobiology of Primary and Metastatic CNS Cancer: Multidisciplinary Science to Advance Cancer Immunotherapy. February 2018, San Diego, CA, Poster and Podium Presentations.
· Gustavo De Leon, Sandra Johnston, Andrea Hawkins-Daarud, Kyle Singleton, Pamela Jackson, Cassandra Rickertsen, Spencer Bayless, Alyx Porter, Maciej Mrugala, Bernard Bendok, Analiz Rodriguez, Behnam Badie, Prativa Sahoo, Russell C Rockne, Christine Brown, Kristin R Swanson. Society of Neuro-Oncology 2017, San Francisco, CA. Poster Session.
· Kyle W. Singleton, Sandra K. Johnston, Andrea Hawkins-Daarud, Cassandra R. Rickertsen, Gustavo De Leon, Lauren Kunkel, Scott A. Whitmire, Kamala Clark-Swanson, Bernard Bendok, Maciej Mrugala, Alyx Porter, Kristin R. Swanson. Discrimination of clinically impactful treatment response in recurrent glioblastoma patients receiving bevacizumab treatment. Society of Neuro-Oncology 2017, San Francisco, CA. Poster Session.
· Kyle W. Singleton, Sandra K. Johnston, Cassandra R. Rickertsen, Gustavo De Leon, Lauren R. Kunkel, Jason Rockhill, Maciej Mrugala, Bernard Bendok, Naresh Patel, Alyx Porter and Kristin R. Swanson. Role of pretreatment tumor dynamics and imaging response in discriminating glioblastoma survival following Gamma Knife. Society of Neuro-Oncology 2017, San Francisco, CA. Poster Session.
· Olya Stringfield, John Arrington, Sandra Johnston, Nicolas Rognin, Yoganand Balagurunathan, Kristin Swanson, Kathleen Egan, Robert Gatenby, Natarajan Raghunand. Multiparameter MRI Predictors of Extreme Survival in Glioblastoma Multiforme. Radiomics Workshop. Clearwater, FL. October 23-24, 2017
· Sandra Johnston, Sara Ranjbar, Andrea Hawkins-Daarud, Robert Rostomily, Daniel Silbergeld, Maciej Mrugala, James Chandler, Priya Kumthekar, Bernard Bendok, Ross Mitchell, and Kristin Swanson. Predictors of Seizure in Glioma at Initial Tumor Presentation. Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology, 2016 (Phoenix, AZ), poster
· J. Jacobs, R. Rockne, A. Hawkins-Daarud, S. K. Johnston, R. Harrison, B. Elston, K. Krohn, P. Kinahan, K. Swanson. Correlating Magnetic Resonance and Molecular Imaging using Three Dimensional Untreated Virtual Control. RSNA 2016
· C. Rayfield, S K Johnston, KR Swanson. Clustering of Patients with GBM on Treatment Response Reveals Underlying Phenotypic Differences. ASTRO 2016
· C. Rayfield, S. Johnston, S. Whitmire, L. Guyman, K. Swanson. Treatment response kinetics and Exceptional survival in glioblastoma. Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology, 2015 (San Antonio, TX), poster
· J. Jacobs, A. J. Hawkins-Daarud, S. K. Johnston, R. C. Rockne, K. R. Swanson. Improved Anatomical Model Prediction of Glioma Growth Utilizing Tissue-Specific Boundary Effects. Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology, 2014 (Miami, FL)
· C. A. Bridge, A. L. Baldock, P. Kumthekar, P. Dilfer, S. K. Johnston, J. Jacobs, D.Corwin, L. Guyman, R. Rockne, A. Sonabend, M. Cloney, P. Canoll, K. R. Swanson. Characteristics of Long-term Survivors in Glioblastoma. Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuro-Oncology, 2013 (San Francisco, CA)
· S.K. Johnston, J. E. Adair, C. A. Bridge, L. Guyman, A. Hawkins-Daarud, R. C. Rockne, A. Baldock, J. K. Rockhill, M. M. Mrugala, B. C. Beard, H-P. Kiem, K. R. Swanson Patient-specific mathematical modeling as a precision-medicine approach to evaluating therapeutic gains of a novel chemoprotection treatment in newly-diagnosed glioblastoma. Abstract #111972. American Society for Clinical Oncology, 2013 (ASCO)
· S. K. Johnston, J. E. Adair, C A. Bridge, L. Guyman, A. Hawkins-Daarud, R. C. Rockne, A. Baldock, J. K. Rockhill, M. M. Mrugala, B. C. Beard, H.-Pr. Kiem, K. R. Swanson Patient-specific mathematical modeling as a precision-medicine approach to evaluating therapeutic gains of a novel chemoprotection treatment in newly-diagnosed glioblastoma. Abstract #111972, American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), June 2013 (Chicago, IL)
· Johnston SK, Bridge CA, Rockne RC, Guyman L, Baldock AL, Rockhill JK, Mrugala MM, Beard BC, Adair JE, Kiem HP, Swanson KR. Enabling the Detection of Treatment Benefit through Patient-Specific Mathematical
· Modeling: Analysis of Chemoprotective Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Therapy in Glioblastomas. Proceeding of the Society for Neuro-Oncology 17th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. November 15-18, 2012. Poster Presentation. Neuro-Oncology, Volume 14 suppl 6 October 2012, NO-69.
· Neuro Oncol (2012) 14(suppl 6): vi129-vi132 doi:10.1093/neuonc/nos237, Baldock A, Yagle K, Ahn S, Johnston S, Mrugala M, Rockhill J, Born D, Swanson P, Trister A, Rockne R, Swanson KR. Invasion and Proliferation Kinetics Predict IDH-1 Mutation in Contrast-Enhancing Gliomas. Proceeding of the Society for Neuro-Oncology 17th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC. November 15-18, 2012. Podium Presentation. RB-14 Neuro Oncol (2012) 14(suppl 6): vi129-vi132 doi:10.1093/neuonc/nos237
· Characteristics of long-term survivors in glioblastoma. Carly A Bridge, Anne Baldock, Priya Kumther, Paul Dilfer, Sandra K Johnston, Joshua Jacobs, David Corwin, Laura Guyman, Russell Rockne, Adam Sonabend, Michael Cloney, Peter Canoll, Kristin R Swanson. For presentation at SNO 2013
· Patient-specific mathematical modeling as a precision-medicine approach to evaluating therapeutic gains of a novel chemoprotection treatment in newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Sandra K. Johnston, Jennifer E. Adair, Carly Bridge, Laura Guyman, Andrea Hawkins-Daarud, Russell Rockne, Anne Baldock, Jason K. Rockhill, Maciej M. Mrugala, Brian C. Beard, Hans-Peter Kiem, Kristin Swanson. J Clin Oncol 31, 2013 (suppl; abstr e13041).