Our Experts

Johnson Wang, MD, PhD, Supervisor of Histology and Molecular Pathology ​Services
 
  • Over 20 years of hands-on experiences in histology and molecular histopathology,  animal model, cancer research and stem cells at NIH, Georgetown University, VitroVivo and GeneCopoeia,Inc.
  • Over 65 peer-reviewed publications .
  • Former director of the Division of  Pulmonary Medicine, Guilin Medical University in China
  • Expertise in histology, laser capture microdissection (LCM), molecular histopathology and animal model

      Selected Publications:

  • Li Y, Ning G, Kang B, Zhu J, Wang XY, Wang Q, Cai T. A novel recessive mutation in OXR1 is identified in patient with hearing loss recapitulated by the knockdown zebrafish. Human. Molecular Genetics, 2022, 00: 1–9
  • Wang XY, Yu H, Linnoila RI, Li L, Li D, Mo B, Okano H, Penalva LF,  Glazer RI. Musashi1 as a potential therapeutic target and diagnostic marker for lung cancer. Oncotarget 2013; 4: 739-750
  • Wang XY, Jensen-Taubman S, Keefe KM, Yang D, Linnoila RI. Achaete-scute complex homolog-1 promotes DNA repair in early lung carcinogenesis through activation of the MMP-7 and MGMT. PloS One 2012, 7(12): e52832
  • Wang XY, Keefe KM, Jensen-Taubman SM, Linnoila RI. Novel method for isolation of murine clara cell secretory protein-expressing cells with traces of stemness. PloS One 2012; 7(8):e43008.
  • Demelash A, Rudrabhatla P, Pant HC, Wang XY, Amin ND, McWhite CD, Naizhen X, Linnoila RI. Achaete-scute homolog-1 (ASH1) stimulates migration of lung cancer cells through Cdk5/p35 pathway. Mol Biol Cell. 2012, 23(15):2856-66.
  • Wang XY, Penalva LF, Yuan H, Linnoila RI, Lu J, Okano H, Glazer RI. Musashi1 regulates breast tumor cell proliferation and is a prognostic indicator of poor survival. Mol. Cancer, 2010, 9: 221.
  • Wang XY, Jensen-Taubman S, Linnoila RI. Achaete-scute homologue-1 tapers neuroendocrine cell differentiation in lungs after exposure to naphthalene. Toxicol Sci. 2010; 117(1):238-48.
  • Wang XY, Demelash A, Kim H, Jensen-Taubman S, Dakir EH, Ozbun L , Birrer MJ, Linnoila RI. Matrilysin mediates bronchiolization of the alveoli, a potential pre-malignant change in lung cancer. Am J. Pathol, 2009, 175(2):592-604.
  • Wang XY, Yin Y, Yuan H, Sakamaki T, Okano H, Glazer RI. Musashi-1 modulates mammary stem cell expansion through proliferin-mediated activation of the Wnt and notch pathways. Mol. Cell. Biol., 2008, 28(11):3589-3599.
  • Glazer RI, Wang XY, Yuan H , Yin Y. Musashi1: a stem cell marker no longer in search of a function. Cell Cycle, 2008,7(17): 2635-2639 (Review).
  • Wang XY, Dakir EB, Naizhen X, Jensen-Taubman SM, DeMayo FJ, Linnoila RI. Achaete-scute homolog-1 linked to remodeling and preneoplasia of pulmonary epithelium. Lab Invest, 2007, 87: 527–539

Mike Emmert-Buck, MD, PhD, Licensed and Board Certified Pathologist
 
  • World renowned physician-scientist.
  • 20 years as a principal investigator at NIH.
  • Over 200 publications.
  • Inventor on 20 allowed or submitted patent applications.
  • Former Chief, PGU, Laboratory of Pathology and Director, LCM Core Laboratory at NIH
  • Developed laser capture microdissection (LCM).
  • Expertise in experimental pathology and precision medicine.

    Selected Publications:

  • Gundem G, Van Loo P, Kremeyer B, Alexandrov LB, Tubio JM, Papaemmanuil E, Brewer DS, Kallio HM, Högnäs G, Annala M, Kivinummi K, Goody V, Latimer C, O’Meara S, Dawson KJ, Isaacs W, Emmert-Buck MR, Nykter M, Foster C, Kote-Jarai Z, Easton D, Whitaker HC; ICGC Prostate UK Group, Neal DE, Cooper CS, Eeles RA, Visakorpi T, Campbell PJ, McDermott U, Wedge DC, Bova GS. The Evolutionary History of Lethal Metastatic Prostate Cancer. Nature, 520(7547):353-7, 2015
  • Hipp JD, Cheng J, Hanson JC, Rosenberg AZ, Emmert-Buck MR, Tangrea MA, Balis UJ. SIVQ-LCM protocol for the ArcturusXT instrument. J Vis Exp, (89), 2014
  • Hanson JC, Tangrea MA, Kim S, Armani MD, Pohida T, Bonner RF, Rodriguez-Canales J, Emmert-Buck MR. Expression Microdissection Adapted to Commercial Laser Dissection Instruments. Nat Protoc, 6(4):457-67, 2011
  • Mukherjee S, Richardson AM, Rodriguez-Canales J, Ylaya K, Erickson HS, Player A, Kawasaki ES, Pinto PA, Choyke PL, Merino MJ, Albert PS, Chuaqui RF, Emmert-Buck MR. Identification of EpCAM as a Molecular Target of Prostate Cancer Stroma. Am J Pathol. 175(6):2277-87, 2009
  • Hanson J, Gillespie JW, Grover A, Tangrea MA, Chuaqui RF, Emmert-Buck MR, Tangrea JA, Libutti SK, Linehan WM, Woodson K. Identification of Gene Promoter Methylation in Prostate Tumor-Associated Stromal Cells. J Natl Cancer Inst, 98(4):255-61, 2006
  • Chuaqui, RF Bonner RF, Best CJ, Gillespie JW, Flaig MJ, Hewitt SM, Phillips JL, Krizman DB, Tangrea MA, Ahram M, Linehan WM, Knezevic V, Emmert-Buck MR. Post-Analysis Follow-up and Validation of Microarray Experiments. Nat Genet, 32:509-14, 2002
  • Cole, KA, Krizman, DB, Emmert-Buck MR. The Genetics of Cancer – A 3D Model. Nat. Genet. 21(1):38-41, 1999
  • Bonner, RF, Emmert-Buck, MR, Cole, KA, Pohida, T, Chuaqui, RF, Goldstein, SR, Liotta, LA. Laser Capture Microdissection: Molecular Analysis of Tissue. Science, 278:1481-83, 1997
  • Chandrasekharappa, SC, Guru, SC, Manickam, P, Olufemi, S, Collins, FS, Emmert-Buck, MR, Debelenko, LV, Zhuang, Z, Lubensky, IA, Liotta, LA, Crabtree, JS, Wang, Y, Roe, BA, Weisemann, J, Boguski, MS, Agarwal, SK, Kester, MB, Kim, YS, Heppner, C, Dong, Q, Spiegel, AM, Burns, AL, Marx, SJ. Positional Cloning of the Gene for Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1. Science, 276:404-407, 1997
  • Gnarra, JR, Ward, JM, Porter, FD, Wagner, JR, Devor, DE, Grinberg, A, Emmert-Buck, MR, Westphal, H, Klausner, RD, Linehan, WM. Defective Placental Vasculogenesis Causes Embryonic Lethality in VHLdeficient Mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci, 94(17):9102-9107, 1997
  • Heppner, C, Kester, M, Agarwal, SK, Debelenko, LV, Emmert-Buck, MR, Guru, SC, Manickam, P, Olufemi, S-E, Skarulis, MC, Doppman, JL, Alexander, RH, Kim, YS, Saggar, SK, Lubensky, IA, Zhuang, Z, Boguski, MS, Weisemann, J, Liotta, LA, Chandrasekharappa, SC , Collins, FS, Spiegel, AM, Burns, AL, Marx, SJ. Somatic mutation of the MEN1 gene in Sporadic Parathyroid Tumors. Nat Genet, 16:375-378, 1997

John W. Gillespie, MD, Licensed and Board Certified Pathologist

  • Former Principal Scientist at NIH/NCI.
  • 25 year experience in experimental pathology and laser capture microdissection (LCM) at NIH, Google and other biotechnology companies.
  • Over 60 publications.
  • Expertise in LCM, histological interpretation of tissue especially oncologic samples and molecular pathology.

      Selected Publications:

  • Gannot G, Richardson AM, Rodriguez-Canales J, Pinto PA, Merino MJ, Chuaqui RF, Gillespie JW, Emmert-Buck MR. Decrease in CD8+ lymphocyte number and altered cytokine profile in human prostate cancer. Am J Cancer Res. 2011;1(1):120-127.
  • Erickson HS, Josephson JW, Vira M, Albert PS, Gillespie JW, Rodriguez Canales J, Pinto PA, Chuaqui RF, Emmert-Buck MR, and Coleman JA. Influence of hypoxia induced by minimally invasive prostatectomy on gene expression:implications for bio-marker analysis. Am J Transl Res. 2010 ;2(3):210-22.
  • Erickson HS, Albert PS, Gillespie JW, Rodriguez-Canales J, Marston Linehan W, Pinto PA, Chuaqui RF, Emmert-Buck MR. Quantitative RT-PCR gene expression analysis of laser microdissected tissue samples. Nat Protoc. 2009;4(6):902-22.
  • Wallace TA, Prueitt RL, Howe TM, Gillespie JW, Yfantis HG, Stephens RM, Caporaso NE, Loffredo CA, Ambs S. Tumor immnobiological differences between African –American and European-American men. Cancer Res. 2008;68(3):927-36.
  • Erickson HS, Albert PS, Gillespie JW, Wallis BS, Rodriguez-Canales J, Linehan WM, Gonzalez S, Valesco A, Chuaqui RF, Emmert-Buck MR. Assessment of normalization strategies for quantitative RT-PCR using microdissected tissue samples. Lab Invest. 2007;87(9):951-62.
  • Gillespie JW, Best CJ, Bichsel V, Cole KA, Greenhut S, Hewitt SM, Ahram M, Gathright YB, Merino MJ, Strqusberg RL, Epstein JI, Hamilton SR, Gannot G, Baibakova GV, Calvert VS, Flaig MJ, Chuaqui RF, Herring JC, Pfeifer J, Petricoin EF, Linehan WM, Duray PH, Bova GS, Emmert-Buck MR. Evaluation of Non-Formalin Tissue Fixation for Molecular Profiling Studies. Am J Pathol. 60(2):449-57 (2002).
  • Glasow A, Haidan A, Gillespie JW, Kelley PA, Chrousos GP, Bornstein SR. Differential expression of prolactin receptor (PRLR) in normal and tumorous adrenal tissues: separation of cellular endocrine compartments by laser capture microdissection (LCM). Endocr Res;24(3-4):857-62(1998).
  • Tangrea MA, Gillespie JW, et al. Methods of microdissection and new technologies. In Emmert-Buck MR, Gillespie JW, and Chuaqui RF, eds. Dissecting the molecular anatomy of tissue, 2005 Springer (Heidelberg).
  • Gillespie JW, Nicole L Simone, Robert F Bonner, Lance A Liotta and Michael R Emmert-Buck. Techniques and Applications of Tissue Microdissection. In Harvey I Pass, et al, eds. Lung Cancer: Principles and Practice, second edition, 2000 Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins (Philadelphia).

Hank Xu, PhD, Senior Scientist , Expert in Biochemistry
  • Hold a PhD in Biochemistry from Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
  • 20 years of research and development experience in various biotechnological companies and universities.
  • More than 10 peer-reviewed publications.
  • Former Research and Development Director in a private biotech company.

Selected Publications and Conference Abstracts:

  • Jay George, Hai Xu. Development of a validated high throughput ELISA assay for gamma H2AX as a pharmacodynamic marker: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA.:AACR Cancer Res 2014;74 (19Suppl): Abstract nr 2423.
  • Jay George, Gabriel Jon Benton, Sandra Woodgate, Hai Xu. A novel, in vitro tankyrase 1 trans-ribosylation assay: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL.: AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8Suppl):Abstract nr 3884.
  • Gabriel Jon Benton, Hai Xu. Laminin-1 confers Bleomycin-resistance through poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase activation in 3D culture: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC.: AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70 (8 Suppl): Abstract nr 1437.
  • Wijerathna SR, Ahmad MF, Xu H, Fairman JW, Zhang A, Kaushal PS, Wan Q, Kiser J and Dealwis CG .Targeting the Large Subunit of Human Ribonucleotide Reductase for Cancer Chemotherapy. Pharmaceuticals, 2011,4(10): 1328-1354.
  • Fairman JW, Wijerathna SR, Ahmad MF, Xu H, Nakano R, Jha S, Prendergast J, Welin RM, Flodin S, Roos A, Nordlund P, Li Z., Walz T and Dealwis CG. Structural basis for allosteric regulation of human ribonucleotide reductase by nucleotide-induced oligomerization. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 2011,18(3): 316-22.
  • Sun D*, Xu H*, Wijerathna SR, Dealwis C and Lee RE. Structure-based design, synthesis, and evaluation of 2′-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-2′-deoxyadenosine and the 5′-diphosphate derivative as ribonucleotide reductase inhibitors. Chem Med Chem. 2009, 4(10): 1649-56. *Joint first author.
  • Xu H, Fairman JW, Wijerathna S, Kreischer NR, LaMacchia J, Helmbrecht E, Cooperman BS and Dealwis. The Structural Basis for Peptidomimetic Inhibition of Eukaryotic Ribonucleotide Reductase: a Conformationally Flexible Pharmacophore. J. Med. Chem.2008, 51(15): 4653-9.
  • Bennett, B. C., Xu, H., Simmerman, R., Lee, R.E. and Dealwis, C. Crystal Structure’of the Anthrax Drug Target, Bacillus anthracis Dihydrofolate Reductase. J. Med. Chem. 2007, 50: 4374-4381.
  • Xu, H., Faber, C., Uchiki, T., Fairman, J., Racca, J., Dealwis, C. (2006) Structures of eukaryotic ribonucleotide reductase I provide insight into dNTP regulation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A 2006,103: 4022-4027.
  • Xu, H., Faber, C., Uchiki, T., Racca, J., Dealwis, C. Structures of eukaryotic ribonucleotide reductase I define gembcitable diphosphate binding and subunit assembly. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A. 2006.103: 4028-4033.