Dr. Juan Sebastian Yakisich
Assistant Professor
Location: Biomedical Research Building II – Room 209
Phone: 757-727-5585
E-mail: juan.yakisich@hamptonu.edu
Expertise: Cancer Biology – Cancer Stem Cells – Chemotherapy
Dr. Yakisich is an interdisciplinary biomedical researcher (MD/PhD) with extensive experience in pharmacology, oncology, molecular and cellular biology fostered by a doctoral education at the Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institute (Stockholm, Sweden) and postdoctoral training at the Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. He was awarded a very competitive and prestigious research grant by the Swedish Research Council to work as project leader (independent researcher) at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience Karolinska Institute for four additional years. In 2014 Dr. Yakisich joined the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Hampton University where he is currently Assistant Professor.
Education
PhD (Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden)
MD (School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Teaching
- DDM II (PHA 480), Instructor (2018 Spring)
- DDM VIII (PHA-588-01-S18), Instructor (2018 Spring)
- Anatomy & Physiology Instructor (Fall, 2017, 2018). Coordinator (Summer 2018)
- Physiological Chemistry. Instructor (Fall, 2017, 2018)
- Research Methods Instructor. (Fall, 2017, 2018)
Research
Ongoing Research Support
U54MD008621
The Hampton University Regional Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Sub Award number: HU-180004 10/01/2017 – 06/30/2019
Title: Role of Wnt/β-catenin in Prostate Cancer Progression in Obese African-Americans
Role: Co-investigator Amount: $ 93,750/year
Ad-hoc reviewer for scientific journals
- Cancer investigation
- Stem Cells
- Rejuvenation Research
- American Journal of Medical Sciences
- Redox Biology
- Neurochemistry International
- Clinical Cancer Drugs
- Anticancer agents in Medicinal Chemistry
- Marine Drugs
- Pharmacology
- Cellular Oncology
- Apoptosis
- Brain Research
- Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.
Service
Hampton University (HU)
Committee member
- Forum Committee (2017-present)
- Research Committee (2017-present)
- Scholarship, Awards, Commencement Committee (2017-present)
Community Services
2018. Judge for Oral presentations. Senior Science Fair Governor’s School for Science & Technology. Hampton, VA. May 22.
2017. Judge for Oral presentations. Senior Science Fair Governor’s School for Science & Technology. Hampton, VA. May 16.
2017. Judge for Posters presentations. Junior Science Fair Governor’s School for Science & Technology. Hampton, VA. March 1-2.
National Services
International Services
2017 – Present Sigma-Aldrich global advisor
Scientific Meetings
2018. Poster Presentation. VirginiaDrugDiscoveryRX Symposium. George Mason University, Arlington, VA. June 25-26
2018 Oral Presentation. Hampton University 23rd Research Symposium. Hampton, VA (April, 12)
2017. Poster presentation ABRCMS , Nov 1-4, Phoenix, AZ
2017.Oral Presentation. 1st Annual Commonwealth of Virginia Cancer Research Conference (September 22-23, 2017)
2016.Poster Presentations. Annual Meeting. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). April 16-20. New Orleans, LA.
2016.Poster Presentation. Keystone Symposia. Stem cells & Cancer. March 6-10, Breckenbridge, CO.
2015. Two Poster Presentations. Annual Meeting. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), April 18-22. Philadelphia, PA. Abstracts 3795 and 3801.
2013. Co-organizer, Chair. II Anticancer Drugs Meeting. August 22 -23. Stockholm, Sweden. www.anticancerdrugs.org/2013
2013. Poster. Pharmacogenomic and personalized medicine in Psychiatry. 21-23 April. Jerusalem, Israel. http://www.cinp2013.com
2011. Co-organizer, Co-chair. Anticancer Drugs. October 26 -27. Stockholm, Sweden. www.anticancerdrugs.org/2011
2010. Guest speaker, Co-chair.InternationalForumonHealthcareInnovations & Technologies. November 26 -27, Jiangyin, Jiangsu, China
2010. Guest speaker, Co-chair. 15th World Congress on Advances in Oncology and 13th International Symposium on Molecular Medicine (7-9 October, Loutraki, Greece). Program
2010. Distinguished speaker. Chongqing International Neurological Forum Chongqing, China. (20-21 March)
2010. Poster Presentation. Air Pollution and Health (American Association for Aerosol Research) San Diego, California USA (March -22-26).
2007. Poster Presentation. FASEB Summer Research Conferences (Ciliate Molecular Biology). Tucson, Arizona (July)
2007. Poster Presentation. Eukaryotic DNA replication and genome maintenance (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory). New York, New York (5-9 September)
2004. Poster Presentation. IX Brazilian Congress of Medical Physics and III Iberian Latin American and Caribbean Congress of Medical Physics. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2004. Poster Presentation. Lost Pines Molecular Biology Conference. Lost Pines, Texas. USA
2003. Poster Presentation. FASEB Summer Research Conferences. The Xth International Meeting on Ciliate Molecular Biology. Saxton River, VT (July 19-24)
2003. Poster Presentation. National Meeting of the Argentinean Society of Clinical Investigations. Argentina.
2002. Poster Presentation. 6th International Symposium on Predictive Oncology and Intervention Strategies. Paris, France.
2001. Poster Presentation. National Meeting of the Argentinean Society of Clinical Investigations. Mar Del Plata, Argentina
2000. Poster Presentation. Signal Transduction Pathways and Regulation of Gene Expression as Therapeutic Targets Conference (January 26-29th). European Conference Center. Kirchberg, Luxembourg.
Peer Reviewed Publications [1-52]
- Kaushik V, Yakisich JS, Way LF, Azad N, Iyer AKV. Chemoresistance of cancer floating cells is independent of their ability to form 3D structures: implications for anticancer drug screening. J Cell Physiol. 2018;In Press.
- Guishard AF, Yakisich, J. S., Azad, N., Iyer, A.K.V.,. Translational Gap in Ongoing Clinical Trials for Glioma. J Clin Neurosci. 2018;47:28-42. PubMed PMID: 29066236
- Yakisich JS, Kulkarni Y, Azad N, Iyer AKV. Selective and irreversible induction of necroptotic cell death in lung tumorspheres by short-term exposure to Verapamil in combination with Sorafenib. Stem Cells Int. 2017;2017:5987015. PubMed PMID: 29201061.
- Yakisich JS, Azad N, Kaushik V, O’Doherty GA, Iyer AK. Nigericin decreases the viability of multidrug-resistant cancer cells and lung tumorspheres and potentiates the effects of cardiac glycosides. Tumour biology : the journal of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine. 2017 Mar;39(3):1010428317694310. PubMed PMID: 28351327. Epub 2017/03/30. eng.
- Wright C, Iyer AK, Yakisich JS, Azad N. Anti-Tumorigenic Effects of Resveratrol in Lung Cancer Cells Through Modulation of c-FLIP. Current cancer drug targets. 2017 Mar 15. PubMed PMID: 28302032. Epub 2017/03/18. eng.
- Wright C, Iyer AK, Wang L, Wu N, Yakisich JS, Rojanasakul Y, et al. Effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on human keratinocytes. Drug and chemical toxicology. 2017 Jan;40(1):90-100. PubMed PMID: 27310834. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC5161738. Epub 2016/06/17. eng.
- Venkatadri R, Iyer AK, Ramesh V, Wright C, Castro CA, Yakisich JS, et al. MnTBAP Inhibits Bleomycin-Induced Pulmonary Fibrosis by Regulating VEGF and Wnt Signaling. Journal of cellular physiology. 2017 Mar;232(3):506-16. PubMed PMID: 27649046. Epub 2016/09/21. eng.
- Kulkarni YM, Yakisich JS, Azad N, Venkatadri R, Kaushik V, O’Doherty G, et al. Anti-tumorigenic effects of a novel digitoxin derivative on both estrogen receptor-positive and triple-negative breast cancer cells. Tumour biology : the journal of the International Society for Oncodevelopmental Biology and Medicine. 2017 Jun;39(6):1010428317705331. PubMed PMID: 28618929. Epub 2017/06/18. eng.
- Kaushik V, Azad N, Yakisich JS, Iyer AK. Antitumor effects of naturally occurring cardiac glycosides convallatoxin and peruvoside on human ER+ and triple-negative breast cancers. Cell death discovery. 2017;3:17009. PubMed PMID: 28250972. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC5327615. Epub 2017/03/03. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Venkatadri R, Azad N, Iyer AK. Chemoresistance of lung and breast cancer cells growing under prolonged periods of serum starvation. Journal of cellular physiology. 2016 Aug 09. PubMed PMID: 27504932. Epub 2016/08/10. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Azad N, Venkatadri R, Kulkarni Y, Wright C, Kaushik V, et al. Digitoxin and its synthetic analog MonoD have potent antiproliferative effects on lung cancer cells and potentiate the effects of hydroxyurea and paclitaxel. Oncology reports. 2016 Feb;35(2):878-86. PubMed PMID: 26573786. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC4689486. Epub 2015/11/18. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Azad N, Venkatadri R, Kulkarni Y, Wright C, Kaushik V, et al. Formation of Tumorspheres with Increased Stemness without External Mitogens in a Lung Cancer Model. Stem cells international. 2016;2016:5603135. PubMed PMID: 26880969. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC4736427. Epub 2016/02/18. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Azad N, Kaushik V, Iyer AK. Cancer Cell Plasticity: Rapid Reversal of Chemosensitivity and Expression of Stemness Markers in Lung and Breast Cancer Tumorspheres. Journal of cellular physiology. 2016 Dec 07. PubMed PMID: 27925198. Epub 2016/12/08. eng.
- Venkatadri R, Muni T, Iyer AK, Yakisich JS, Azad N. Role of apoptosis-related miRNAs in resveratrol-induced breast cancer cell death. Cell death & disease. 2016 Feb 18;7:e2104. PubMed PMID: 26890143. Epub 2016/02/20. eng.
- Orona NS, Ferraro SA, Astort F, Morales C, Brites F, Boero L, et al. Acute exposure to Buenos Aires air particles (UAP-BA) induces local and systemic inflammatory response in middle-aged mice: A time course study. Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987). 2016 Jan;208(Pt A):261-70. PubMed PMID: 26255684. Epub 2015/08/11. eng.
- Kulkarni YM, Dutta S, Iyer AK, Venkatadri R, Kaushik V, Ramesh V, et al. A proteomics approach to identifying key protein targets involved in VEGF inhibitor mediated attenuation of bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Proteomics. 2016 Jan;16(1):33-46. PubMed PMID: 26425798. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC4703486. Epub 2015/10/02. eng.
- Kaushik V, Yakisich JS, Azad N, Kulkarni Y, Venkatadri R, Wright C, et al. Anti-Tumor Effects of Cardiac Glycosides on Human Lung Cancer Cells and Lung Tumorspheres. Journal of cellular physiology. 2016 Sep 23. PubMed PMID: 27662422. Epub 2016/09/24. eng.
- Ferraro SA, Astort F, Yakisich JS, Tasat DR. Particulate matter cytotoxicity in cultured SH-SY5Y cells is modulated by simvastatin: Toxicological assessment for oxidative damage. Neurotoxicology. 2016 Mar;53:108-14. PubMed PMID: 26773838. Epub 2016/01/17. eng.
- Farini VL, Camano CV, Ybarra G, Viale DL, Vichera G, Yakisich JS, et al. Improvement of bovine semen quality by removal of membrane-damaged sperm cells with DNA aptamers and magnetic nanoparticles. Journal of biotechnology. 2016 Jul 10;229:33-41. PubMed PMID: 27164256. Epub 2016/05/11. eng.
- Yakisich JS. System models, assays and endpoint parameters to evaluate anticancer compounds during preclinical screening. Current medicinal chemistry. 2014;21(35):3985-98. PubMed PMID: 23701499. Epub 2013/05/25. eng.
- Orona NS, Astort F, Maglione GA, Saldiva PH, Yakisich JS, Tasat DR. Direct and indirect air particle cytotoxicity in human alveolar epithelial cells. Toxicology in vitro : an international journal published in association with BIBRA. 2014 Aug;28(5):796-802. PubMed PMID: 24590061. Epub 2014/03/05. eng.
- Ma C, Zhao G, Cruz MH, Siden A, Yakisich JS. Translational gap in glioma research. Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry. 2014;14(8):1110-20. PubMed PMID: 25175687. Epub 2014/09/02. eng.
- Luo J, Zhou X, Yakisich JS. Stemness and plasticity of lung cancer cells: paving the road for better therapy. OncoTargets and therapy. 2014;7:1129-34. PubMed PMID: 25018639. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC4075950. Epub 2014/07/16. eng.
- Chen J, Yakisich JS. Emerging concepts and therapeutics strategies for the treatment of brain tumors. Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry. 2014;14(8):1063-4. PubMed PMID: 25212773. Epub 2014/09/13. eng.
- Sun H, Wang Z, Yakisich JS. Natural products targeting autophagy via the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway as anticancer agents. Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry. 2013 Sep;13(7):1048-56. PubMed PMID: 23293890. Epub 2013/01/09. eng.
- Yakisich JS. An Algorithm for the Preclinical Screening of Anticancer Drugs Effective against Brain Tumors. ISRN pharmacology. 2012;2012:513580. PubMed PMID: 22830045. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC3398605. Epub 2012/07/26. eng.
- Delwar ZM, Siden A, Cruz MH, Yakisich JS. Menadione : sodium orthovanadate combination eliminates and inhibits migration of detached cancer cells. ISRN pharmacology. 2012;2012:307102. PubMed PMID: 22957270. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC3431120. Epub 2012/09/08. eng.
- Delwar ZM, Avramidis D, Follin E, Hua Y, Siden A, Cruz M, et al. Cytotoxic effect of menadione and sodium orthovanadate in combination on human glioma cells. Investigational new drugs. 2012 Aug;30(4):1302-10. PubMed PMID: 21553345. Epub 2011/05/10. eng.
- Cruz MH, Siden A, Calaf GM, Delwar ZM, Yakisich JS. The stemness phenotype model. ISRN oncology. 2012;2012:392647. PubMed PMID: 22928120. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC3423925. Epub 2012/08/29. eng.
- Vita MF, Nagachar N, Avramidis D, Delwar ZM, Cruz MH, Siden A, et al. Pankiller effect of prolonged exposure to menadione on glioma cells: potentiation by vitamin C. Investigational new drugs. 2011 Dec;29(6):1314-20. PubMed PMID: 20625795. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC3171656. Epub 2010/07/14. eng.
- Ferraro SA, Yakisich JS, Gallo FT, Tasat DR. Simvastatin pretreatment prevents ambient particle-induced lung injury in mice. Inhalation toxicology. 2011 Dec;23(14):889-96. PubMed PMID: 22122302. Epub 2011/11/30. eng.
- Delwar ZM, Vita MF, Siden A, Cruz M, Yakisich JS. In vitro inhibition of topoisomerase IIalpha by reduced glutathione. Acta biochimica Polonica. 2011;58(2):265-7. PubMed PMID: 21643560. Epub 2011/06/07. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Vita MF, Siden A, Tasat DR, Cruz M. Strong inhibition of replicative DNA synthesis in the developing rat cerebral cortex and glioma cells by roscovitine. Investigational new drugs. 2010 Jun;28(3):299-305. PubMed PMID: 19390782. Epub 2009/04/25. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Siden A, Cruz M. Ongoing DNA synthesis in the rat cerebral cortex is regulated by a proteolytic pathway independent of the proteasome and calpains. Investigational new drugs. 2010 Jun;28(3):242-50. PubMed PMID: 19288291. Epub 2009/03/17. eng.
- Martin S, Fernandez-Alanis E, Delfosse V, Evelson P, Yakisich JS, Saldiva PH, et al. Low doses of urban air particles from Buenos Aires promote oxidative stress and apoptosis in mice lungs. Inhalation toxicology. 2010 Nov;22(13):1064-71. PubMed PMID: 21047167. Epub 2010/11/05. eng.
- Cruz M, Siden Å, Tasat DR, Yakisich JS. Are all Glioma Cells Cancer Stem Cells? . J Cancer Sci Ther. 2010;2:100-6.
- Yakisich JS, Ohlsson Lindblom I, Siden A, Cruz MH. Rapid inhibition of ongoing DNA synthesis in human glioma tissue by genistein. Oncology reports. 2009 Sep;22(3):569-74. PubMed PMID: 19639205. Epub 2009/07/30. eng.
- Ostachuk A, Evelson P, Martin S, Dawidowski L, Sebastian Yakisich J, Tasat DR. Age-related lung cell response to urban Buenos Aires air particle soluble fraction. Environmental research. 2008 Jun;107(2):170-7. PubMed PMID: 18313661. Epub 2008/03/04. eng.
- Mohammad MM, Donti TR, Sebastian Yakisich J, Smith AG, Kapler GM. Tetrahymena ORC contains a ribosomal RNA fragment that participates in rDNA origin recognition. The EMBO journal. 2007 Dec 12;26(24):5048-60. PubMed PMID: 18007594. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC2140106. Epub 2007/11/17. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Sandoval PY, Morrison TL, Kapler GM. TIF1 activates the intra-S-phase checkpoint response in the diploid micronucleus and amitotic polyploid macronucleus of Tetrahymena. Molecular biology of the cell. 2006 Dec;17(12):5185-97. PubMed PMID: 17005912. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC1679683. Epub 2006/09/29. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Kapler GM. Deletion of the Tetrahymena thermophila rDNA replication fork barrier region disrupts macronuclear rDNA excision and creates a fragile site in the micronuclear genome. Nucleic acids research. 2006;34(2):620-34. PubMed PMID: 16449202. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC1356531. Epub 2006/02/02. eng.
- Morrison TL, Yakisich JS, Cassidy-Hanley D, Kapler GM. TIF1 Represses rDNA replication initiation, but promotes normal S phase progression and chromosome transmission in Tetrahymena. Molecular biology of the cell. 2005 Jun;16(6):2624-35. PubMed PMID: 15772155. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC1142411. Epub 2005/03/18. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Kapler GM. The effect of phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitors on programmed nuclear degradation in Tetrahymena and fate of surviving nuclei. Cell death and differentiation. 2004 Oct;11(10):1146-9. PubMed PMID: 15257301. Epub 2004/07/17. eng.
- Smith JJ, Yakisich JS, Kapler GM, Cole ES, Romero DP. A beta-tubulin mutation selectively uncouples nuclear division and cytokinesis in Tetrahymena thermophila. Eukaryotic cell. 2004 Oct;3(5):1217-26. PubMed PMID: 15470250. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC522614. Epub 2004/10/08. eng.
- Vitali L, Yakisich JS, Vita MF, Fernandez A, Settembrini L, Siden A, et al. Roscovitine inhibits ongoing DNA synthesis in human cervical cancer. Cancer letters. 2002 Jun 06;180(1):7-12. PubMed PMID: 11911964. Epub 2002/03/26. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Siden A, Eneroth P, Cruz M. Disulfiram is a potent in vitro inhibitor of DNA topoisomerases. Biochemical and biophysical research communications. 2001 Nov 30;289(2):586-90. PubMed PMID: 11716515. Epub 2001/11/22. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Siden A, Vargas VI, Eneroth P, Cruz M. Early effects of protein kinase modulators on DNA synthesis in rat cerebral cortex. Experimental neurology. 1999 Sep;159(1):164-76. PubMed PMID: 10486185. Epub 1999/09/16. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Boethius J, Lindblom IO, Wallstedt L, Vargas VI, Siden A, et al. Inhibition of DNA synthesis in human gliomas by roscovitine. Neuroreport. 1999 Aug 20;10(12):2563-7. PubMed PMID: 10574370. Epub 1999/11/26. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Siden A, Idoyaga Vargas V, Eneroth P, Cruz M. Early inhibition of DNA synthesis in the developing rat cerebral cortex by the purine analogues olomoucine and roscovitine. Biochemical and biophysical research communications. 1998 Feb 24;243(3):674-7. PubMed PMID: 9500988. Epub 1998/03/17. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Siden A, Idoyaga Vargas V, Eneroth P, Cruz M. Fast and sensitive method for simultaneous measurement of cell proliferation rate and drug sensitivity in rat cerebral cortex. Experimental neurology. 1998 Jun;151(2):194-202. PubMed PMID: 9628754. Epub 1998/06/26. eng.
- Castagnino CG, Yakisich JS, Iacono RF, Berria MI, Idoyaga-Vargas V. Growth inhibition of herpes simplex virus-type 1 in calphostin C-treated astrocytes. Intervirology. 1995;38(6):332-8. PubMed PMID: 8880383. Epub 1995/01/01. eng.
- Yakisich JS, Radrizzani M, Idoyaga Vargas V. Examination of the natural protein substrates affected by staurosporine in the developing cerebral cortex. Neuroscience letters. 1994 Oct 10;180(1):17-20. PubMed PMID: 7877753. Epub 1994/10/10. eng.
Editorials
Chen J, Yakisich JS. Emerging concepts and therapeutics strategies for the treatment of brain tumors. Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry. 2014;14(8):1063-4. PubMed PMID: 25212773. Epub 2014/09/13. eng.
Tasat DR, Yakisich JS. Expanding the pleiotropic effects of statins: attenuation of air pollution-induced inflammatory response. American journal of physiology Lung cellular and molecular physiology. 2012 Oct 15;303(8):L640-1. PubMed PMID: 22923638. Epub 2012/08/28. eng.
Book Chapters
- Kaushik V, Yakisich JS, Kulkarni Y, Azad N, Iyer AKV. Chemoresistance of lung cancer cells: 2D and 3D in vitro models for drug screening. In: Costa Torres AF, editor. Lung Cancer – Latest Strategies for Diagnosis and Treatment. In Press: IntechOpen; 2018.
- Kaushik V, Yakisich JS, Azad N, Iyer AKV. Alternative Models of Cancer Stem Cells: Implications for Translational Oncology. 2018. In: Frontiers in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research (FSCRMR) [Internet]. Bentham Science Publishers; [1-54].
- Yakisich JS. Animal models of Parkinson disease. In: Kumar A., editor. Textbook of Movement Disorders,. New Delhi – London – Philadelphia – Panama: Jaypee Brothers Medical Medical Publishers; 2014. p. 34-41.
- Tasat DR, Yakisich JS. Intra-S phase checkpoint. In: Thomas AE, editor. DNA Repair: damage, Repair Mechanisms and Aging: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.; 2012. p. 71-96.