Michael Ihnat

Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology

EDUCATION

B.S., Pharmacy, Cum Laude with Honors and Distinction, The Ohio State University, Colombus, Ohio

Ph.D., Pharmacology and Toxiocology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire

RESEARCH SUMMARY

The interest of our laboratory is pre-clinical drug development. We have two major current areas of focus - cancer and inflammatory diseases. We have partnered with medicinal chemists and biomedical researchers to target molecules involved in inflammation, carcinogenesis, metastasis, angiogenesis, and bone formation. Some specific projects ongoing in our laboratory are:

With Dr. Aleem Gangjee at Duquesne University to create dual TKI/cytotoxic anticancer molecules.
With Dr. Tarisai Dandajena in the Department of Cell Biology/College of Dentistry at OUHSC to find molecules capable of speeding up tooth movement via increased angiogenesis and osteoclastogenesis.
With Drs. Pui-Kai Li and Chenglong Li at The Ohio State University and Dr. Thomas Sferra in the Department of Pediatrics to target the anti-apoptotic/anti-mitotic molecule survivin to treat cancer.
With Drs. Drs. Pui-Kai Li and Chenglong Li at The Ohio State University, Dr. Thomas Sferra in the Department of Pediatrics and Dr. Randle Gallucci in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences to create novel molecules targeting the IL-6 signaling pathway at both the level of its receptor and at downstream signaling points (STAT3) for the treatment of inflammation bowel disease, colon carcinogenesis, cancer therapy, wound healing and refractory dermatitis.
With Dr. Robert Hurst in the Department of Urology to discover molecules capable of targeting suppressed cancer cells before they reactivate.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Lin, L., Hutzen, B., Zuo, M., Ball, S., Deangelis, S., Foust, E., Pandit, B., Ihnat, M.A., Shenoy, S.S., et al. (2010). Novel STAT3 Phosphorylation Inhibitors Exhibit Potent Growth-Suppressive Activity in Pancreatic and Breast Cancer Cells. Cancer Res 70, 2445-454.

Gangjee, A., Zaware, N., Raghavan, S., Ihnat, M., Shenoy, S., and Kisliuk, R.L. (2010). Single Agents with Designed Combination Chemotherapy Potential: Synthesis and Evaluation of Substituted Pyrimido[4,5-b]indoles as Receptor Tyrosine Kinase and Thymidylate Synthase Inhibitors and as Antitumor Agents. J Med Chem 53, 1563-578.

Kozul, C.D., Hampton, T.H., Davey, J.C., Gosse, J.A., Nomikos, A.P., Eisenhauer, P.L., Weiss, D.J., Thorpe, J.E., Ihnat, M.A., and Hamilton, J.W. (2009). Chronic exposure to arsenic in the drinking water alters the expression of immune response genes in mouse lung. Environ Health Perspect 117, 1108-115.

Ceriello, A., Esposito, K., Piconi, L., Ihnat, M.A., Thorpe, J.E., Testa, R., Boemi, M., and Giugliano, D. (2008). Oscillating glucose is more deleterious to endothelial function and oxidative stress than mean glucose in normal and type 2 diabetic patients. Diabetes 57, 1349-354.

Ihnat, M.A., Thorpe, J.E., Kamat, C.D., Szabo, C., Green, D.E., Warnke, L.A., Lacza, Z., Cselenyak, A., Ross, K., et al. (2007). Reactive oxygen species mediate a cellular 'memory' of high glucose stress signalling. Diabetologia 50, 1523-531.

Hurst, R.E., Kamat, C.D., Kyker, K.D., Green, D.E., and Ihnat, M.A. (2005). A novel multidrug resistance phenotype of bladder tumor cells grown on Matrigel or SIS gel. Cancer Lett 217, 171-180.

Soucy, N.V., Ihnat, M.A., Kamat, C.D., Hess, L., Post, M.J., Klei, L.R., Clark, C., and Barchowsky, A. (2003). Arsenic stimulates angiogenesis and tumorigenesis in vivo. Toxicol Sci 76, 271-79.

MAILING ADDRESS

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Department of Cell Biology

P.O. Box 26901

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73126-0901

Phone: (405) 271-8001 ext. 47965

Fax: (405) 271-3548

Michael-Ihnat@ouhsc.edu