Dafna Bar-Sagi

Dafna Bar-Sagi is a cell biologist and cancer researcher at New York University [1]. She is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology and the Department of Medicine and Senior Vice President and Vice Dean for Science at NYU Langone School of Medicine. Bar-Sagi has been a member of scientific advisory boards, including the National Cancer Institute[2], Starr Cancer Consortium[3], and Pancreatic Cancer Action Network[4].

Her research focuses on the nature of the RAS oncogene and how RAS signaling leads to tumor development, particularly in pancreatic cancer[5].

Early life

Education

Dafna Bar-Sagi was born and raised in Israel[6]. Here she attended Bar-Ilan University where she earned her undergraduate and master's degrees in neurobiology[1]. She received her PhD in neurobiology in the United States from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook.[6]

Career

Dafna Bar-Sagi conducted her postdoctoral research in the lab of Dr. James Feramisco in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, where she worked on the nature of the RAS proteins in 1986, and eventually served as senior staff investigator. In 1995, she became faculty at the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook and served as the Department Chair from 2003 to 2006[1]. She transitioned to NYU Langone Medical Center in 2006, where she became chair of the Department of Biochemistry.[7] She has served as Vice Dean for Science and Chief Scientific Officer at NYU Langone Medical Center since 2011[1], and is now a principal strategist for the medical center[7].

Research

Dafna Bar-Sagi's research began in 1986, while completing her postdoctoral work with Dr. James Feramisco in Cold Spring Harbor.[6] In this laboratory, Bar-Sagi and Feramisco were the first to observe how RAS protein facilitates cellular uptake of nutrients through macropinocytosis[8][6]. She continues to study the function of RAS oncogenes and mutant RAS proteins[9] in cell proliferation, survival, nutrient uptake, cell metabolism and tumorigenesis[9], particularly in pancreatic cancer.[5] Recent studies in the Bar-Sagi lab have focused on the treatment of mutant KRAS cancer cells, and understanding how they withstand targeted therapies, as well as identification of novel therapeutic strategies for RAS-driven cancers.[10]

Selected publications
Recent Publications
Year Citation
2018 Cullis, Jane; Das, Shipra; Bar-Sagi, Dafna. Kras and Tumor Immunity: Friend or Foe? Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives In Medicine. 2018 Sep 04; 8(9):[11]
2018 Handler, Jesse; Cullis, Jane; Avanzi, Antonina; Vucic, Emily A; Bar-Sagi, Dafna. Pre-Neoplastic Pancreas Cells Enter a Partially Mesenchymal State Following Transient TGF-î² Exposure. Oncogene. 2018 Aug 02; 37(31):4334-4342[11]
2018 Aiello, Nicole M; Maddipati, Ravikanth; Norgard, Robert J; Balli, David; Li, Jinyang; Yuan, Salina; Yamazoe, Taiji; Black, Taylor; Sahmoud, Amine; Furth, Emma E; Bar-Sagi, Dafna; Stanger, Ben Z. EMT Subtype Influences Epithelial Plasticity and Mode of Cell Migration. Developmental Cell. 2018 Jun 18; 45(6):681-695.e4[11]
2017 Jang, Jung-Eun; Hajdu, Cristina H; Liot, Caroline; Miller, George; Dustin, Michael L; Bar-Sagi, Dafna. Crosstalk Between Regulatory T Cells and Tumor-Associated Dentritic Cells Negates Anti-Tumor Immunity in Pancreatic Cancer. Cell Reports. 2017 Jul 18; 20(3):558-571[11]
2017 Cohen, D J; Grabocka, E; Bar-Sagi, D; Godin, R; Leichman, L P. A Phase lb Studying Combining Irinotecan With AZD1775, A Selective WEE 1 Kinase Inhibitor, in RAS/RAF Mutated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients Who Progressed on First Line Therapy [Meeting Abstract]. Journal Of Clinical Oncology. 2017 Jun 20; (2017):[11]
2017 Fehrenbacher, Nicole; Tojal da Silva, Israel; Ramirez, Craig; Zhou, Yong; Cho, Kwang-Jin; Kuchay, Shafi; Shi, Jie; Thomas, Susan; Pagano, Michele; Hancock, John F; Bar-Sagi, Dafna; Philips, Mark R. The G Proteined-Coupled Receptors GPR31 Promotes Membrane Association of KRAS. Journal Of Cell Biology. 2017 Jun 15; 216(8):2329-2338[11]
2017 Cullis, Jane E; Siolas, Despina; Avanzi, Antonina; Barui, Sugata; Maitra, Anirban; Bar-Sagi, Dafna. Macropinocytosis of Nab-Paclitaxel Drives Macrophage Activation in Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Immunology Research. 2017 Jan 20; 5(3):182-190[11]
2017 Grabocka, Elda; Bar-Sagi, Dafna. Stress Granules in Pancreatic Cancer: Drug & Resistance Treatment. Oncology Times. 2017; 39(4):30-34[11]
2013 Commisso C, Davidson SM, Soydaner-Azeloglu RG, Parker SJ, Kamphorst JJ, Hackett S, Grabocka E, Nofal M, Drebin JA, Thompson CB, Rabinowitz JD, Metallo CM, Vander Heiden MG, Bar-Sagi D. Macropinocytosis of protein is an amino acid supply route in Ras-transformed cells. Nature. 2013 May 30;497(7451):633-7.[11]
2012 Pylayeva-Gupta Y, Lee KE, Hajdu CH, Miller G, Bar-Sagi D. Oncogenic Kras-induced GM-CSF production promotes the development of pancreatic neoplasia. Cancer Cell. 2012 Jun 12;21(6): 836–47.

Awards and Honors
  • Elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2020. [12]
  • Elected as a 2019 Fellow of the AACR Academy.[13]
  • Recipient of the 2018 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Scientific Achievement Award and Lectureship. Bar-Sagi was honored with the 21st AACR Women in Cancer Research "Charlotte Friend Memorial Lectureship" for her significant contributions to cancer research.[14]
  • National Cancer Institute 2016 "Outstanding Investigator Award" for cancer research in RAS mutations[15]
  • 2014 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Grant Recipient for the research project: PDA development: Heads or Tails?[9]
  • 2008 Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Grant Recipient for the research project: Impact of Diet-Induced Hyperlipidemia on Pancreatic Inflammation Cancer[9]

Membership on Scientific Advisory Boards and Boards of Directors
  • National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Advisors, Chair 2021[2]
  • Starr Cancer Consortium Scientific Review Board[3]
  • Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Scientific and Medical Advisory Board[4]
  • AACR Board of Directors, 2016-2019[16]

References
  1. Knapp, Jeffrey. "Nexis Uni". doi:10.5260/cca.199461. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. "NCI Board of Scientific Advisors". deainfo.nci.nih.gov. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  3. "Scientific Review Board". www.starrcancer.org. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  4. "Scientific and Medical Advisory Board - Pancreatic Cancer Action Network/". Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  5. "Dafna Bar-Sagi, PhD". Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  6. "A Conversation with Dafna Bar-Sagi". National Cancer Institute. 2016-03-30. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  7. "ASHA Receives William T. Simpkins Jr. Service Award". ASHA Leader. 23 (7): 62. 2018-07-01. doi:10.1044/leader.an1.23072018.62. ISSN 1085-9586.
  8. "the definition of pinocytosis". www.dictionary.com. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  9. "2014 Grant Recipient Daphna Bar-Sagi, PhD – Pancreatic Cancer Action Network/". Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  10. Brooks, Megan (December 21, 2016). "Stress coping mechanism helps KRAS mutant cancer cells resist chemo". Rueters Health Medical News – via Nexis Uni.
  11. "Dafna Bar-Sagi". med.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
  12. "2020 NAS Election". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  13. "Class Year:2019". American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  14. "AACR Honors Recipients of 2018 Scientific Achievement Awards and Lectureships". Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  15. "NCI Outstanding Investigator Award Recipients". National Cancer Institute. 2015-10-14. Retrieved 2018-10-06.
  16. "Board of Directors | AACR About Us". American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). Retrieved 2020-05-02.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.