Yusuf A. Hannun, MD
Director, Stony Brook Cancer Center
Vice Dean for Cancer Medicine
Joel Strum Kenny Professor in Cancer Research
Program Overview
Our laboratory is focused on studies on bioactive lipids, with a special emphasis on sphingolipids. These studies have allowed us to propose a critical role for sphingolipids in eukaryotic stress responses. We are interested in understanding how sphingolipid metabolism is regulated under various conditions and in response to extracellular stimuli. We are also interested in defining the functions of bioactive sphingolipids, including sphingosine and ceramide. We perform our studies in human cancer cells as well as in yeast as a model organism.
Lab Members
Amira Allam
Research Support Specialist
Education:
DVM, Mansoura University, Egypt (2002)
Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Biochemistry, Mansoura University, Egypt (2015)
Contact Info:
Amira.Allam@stonybrookmedicine.edu
Janet Allopenna
Sr. Research Support Specialist / Lab Manager
Education:
BS, Biology: SUNY @ Binghamton, NY (1984)
MA, Biology: Hunter College, New York, NY(1993)
Contact Info:
Phone: (631) 216-2912
Janet.Allopenna@stonybrookmedicine.edu
The Lipid Cancer Lab
SBU Cancer Center, MART Bldg.
9th Floor, South
Lauterbur Drive
Stony Brook, NY 11794-7294
Sam Blake Chiappone
PhD Student in Genetics
Education:
MS, Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Stony Brook University
BS, Biochemistry, SUNY Geneseo
Research Interest:
How the integration of gene-regulatory pathways produces a defined biological output is still a grand challenge in biomedical science. I am interested primarily in one of these biological outputs, metabolism, and its relationship to cancer, one hallmark of which is an altered metabolic phenotype. Sphingolipids, the products of an extensive metabolic network in the cell, play an important role both as structural components of membranes and as signaling molecules. My research focuses on the role of ceramides as regulators of the phospho-proteome, and how ceramide transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi apparatus may differentially affect the role of ceramides, the central sphingolipids, in these two different compartments of the cell. I am also interested in how the transcriptome is regulated by sphingolipids, including ceramides, and conversely, how the sphingolipid network itself is regulated at the level of transcription, as a subset of the overall metabolic network of the cell.
Contact Info:
sam.chiappone@stonybrook.edu
Sagarika Choudhury
Graduate Student
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
Education:
M.S. Biological Sciences 2022, NYU
Research Interest:
Studying the role of PKCα in regulating different biologies e.g. alternative splicing mechanisms etc. in Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma with EGFR mutation.
Contact Info:
sagarika.choudhury@stonybrook.edu
Botheina Ghandour
Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Medicine
Education:
PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, American University of Beirut
Research Interest:
Sphingolipid metabolism in cancer, regulation of neutral sphingomyelinase 2 and its role in the stress response, sphingomyelin turnover
Contact Info:
Botheina.ghandour@stonybrookmedicine.edu
Masayoshi Higuchi
Research Scientist
Education:
MD, Osaka University, Japan (1999)
PhD, Medical Science, Osaka University, Japan (2007)
Research Interest:
Investigating the role of bioactive sphingolipids and lipid metabolism in cancer
Contact Info:
Masayoshi.Higuchi@stonybrookmedicine.edu
Abhay Kanodia
Graduate Student
Department of Genetics
Education:
B.Tech. Biotechnology, 2014, SRM University, India
M.S. Molecular and Cell biology, 2016 , Brandeis University
Project Description or Research Interest:
Our lab has developed a method to specifically determine ceramide levels in the plasma membrane. I am currently working on exploring which enzymes involved in sphingolipid metabolism in the generation of plasma membrane ceramide. We utilize various genetic and biochemical techniques to study this.
Contact Info:
Abhay.Kanodia@stonybrook.edu
Allen Lee
MSTP student
Education:
BS in Biochemistry at Stony Brook University
Research Interest:
Ceramide kinase (CERK) is responsible for the phosphorylation of ceramides into ceramide 1-phosphate, which has been implicated in pro-proliferative, pro-migratory, and anti-apoptotic processes. CERK has also been implicated in the production of the inflammatory cytokine CCL5 in response to TNFa. Little is known about the biological significance of CERK. My focus will be to understand the regulation of CERK and as well as to understand its downstream signaling.
Contact Info:
The Lipid Cancer Lab
SBU Cancer Center, MART Bldg.
9th Floor, South
Lauterbur Drive
Stony Brook, NY 11794-7294
Nihal Medatwal
Postdoctoral Associate
Education:
Ph.D., Biotechnology, 2021, Regional Center for Biotechnology, India.
Research Interest:
Delving into the intricate mechanisms of nSMase2 translocation, activation, and ceramide dynamics to achieve a comprehensive grasp of lipid signaling networks and explore potential therapeutic applications.
Contact Info:
Nihal.Medatwal@stonybrookmedicine.edu
Jihui Ren
Research Scientist
Education:
PhD, Genetics, University of Iowa, 2007
Project Description or Research Interest:
Sphingolipids are major membrane components of all eukaryotic cells. The intermediate products of the sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway and their derivatives are important signaling molecules involved in a plethora of cellular processes. Ceramides and sphingosine-1-phosphate are best characterized with their function as apoptosis and cell proliferation signals respectively. I am investigating the function of LCBs (long-chain sphingoid bases), products of the first step of sphingolipid biosynthetic pathway, and their regulation using yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model system.
Contact Info:
Phone: (631) 216-2900
Jihui.Ren@stonybrook.edu
Mohammad M. Sadeghi
Graduate Student in Molecular and Cellular Biology
Education:
BS, Biochemistry and Psychology at Stony Brook University (2018)
Research Interest:
1. Investigating the role of PKC in the development of drug resistance in NSCLC with EGFR mutations
2. Investigating the role of PLD in AKT/mTORC signaling in NSCLC
Contact Info:
Phone: (917) 714-1243
The Lipid Cancer Lab
SBU Cancer Center, MART Bldg.
9th Floor, South
Lauterbur Drive
Stony Brook, NY 11794-7294
Mohamed Salama
Postdoctoral Fellow
Education:
BSc, Veterinary Medical Sciences, Mansoura University, Egypt (2001)
MSc, Biochemistry, Mansoura University, Egypt (2005)
PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University College London, UK (2010)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Stony brook Medicine (July 2013-March 2016)
Research Interest:
I am interested in the roles of bioactive sphingolipids and their metabolism in cancer development and biology.
Contact Info:
mohamed.salama@stonybrookmedicine.edu
Fabiola Velazquez
Post Doctoral Associate, Department of Medicin
Education:
Licenciada en Bioquímica Clínica (Degree in Clinical Biochemistry) at Chemical Science Faculty (FCQ) - National University of Córdoba (UNC), Argentina. 2007
Doctorado en Ciencias Químcias (PhD in Chemical Science) at Chemical Science Faculty (FCQ) - National University of Córdoba (UNC), Argentina. 2015
Research Interest:
My project is to define the role of sphingosine kinase 1 (SK1) as a novel and critical downstream target for the tumor suppressive action of p53, and to establish SK1 as a potential target for cancer therapy, particularly in tumors with loss of p53 or mutant p53.
SK1 is a highly regulated enzyme with a central role in tumor biology by regulating the levels of the bioactive sphingolipids: shingosine 1 phosphate (S1P) (a tumor promoting sphingolipid) and ceramide (a tumor suppressor lipid). Previous work shows that the induction of p53 results in loss of SK1 through proteolysis. Moreover, recent studies using the combined p53/SK1 knockout (KO) mice demonstrated that the loss of SK1 is critical for the suppression of thymic lymphoma, osteosarcoma and others cancers in the absence of p53. Since a lot of time p53 and components of the p53 pathway have emerged as key tumor suppressor, however, targeting this pathway has been difficult due to the nature and function of the proteins involved. The recent and ongoing results provide a novel and solid connection between p53, SK1 and bioactive sphingolipids, and led us to the hypothesis that SK1 is a candidate target for therapeutic development especially in the context of mutant p53.
To test this hypothesis we will utilize different animals’ models (p53 null and mutant mice) in which the SK1 expression could be controlled. These studies raise novel and fundamental questions as to the role of SK1 as a druggable target in p53 null and mutant cancers. Addressing this specific aim opens up the door for developing novel chemotherapeutic approaches to many human cancers in which p53 is deregulated or mutated.
Contact Info:
The Lipid Cancer Lab
SBU Cancer Center, MART Bldg.
9th Floor, South
Lauterbur Drive
Stony Brook, NY 11794-7294