Aikseng Ooi, PhD

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PO Box 210207
Building: Pharmacy (#207)
Room #: 132
Biography
I am a biochemist working on solving problems in cancer biology. I have extensive experience in developing and applying computational algorithms on large genomic datasets to identify biological changes critical to cancer biology. I have experience working on various tumor types, including kidney cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, non small cell lung cancer, hepatoma, T cell lymphoma, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, and phyllodes tumor of the breast. Being a biochemist by training, my current research program has the capacity to go from computational biology to molecular and in vivo validation of the computational findings. I also actively collaborate with oncologists to carry out translational cancer research.
Cancer Focus
My research focuses on the dysregulation of the NRF2 transcription factor and iron signaling in cancers, particularly in kidney malignancies. My group utilizes computational biology, bioinformatics, molecular biology, and chemical biology tools to probe signaling pathways in cancer. We recently discovered that NRF2 activation and iron signaling disruption lead to constitutive growth in a subtype of kidney cancer arising from the hereditary cancer syndrome, hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC). Moreover, we found that HLRCC is particularly sensitive to a class of drugs called ferroptosis inducers. My long-term research goals are to understand and cure HLRCC, and identify means to manage and treat cancer with sustained NRF2 activation.
Selected Publications
Kerins, M. J., J. Milligan, J. A. Wohlschlegel, and A. Ooi, "Fumarate hydratase inactivation in hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer is synthetic lethal with ferroptosis induction.", Cancer Sci, vol. 109, issue 9, pp. 2757-2766, 2018 Sep. PMCID: PMC6125459 PMID: 29917289
Kerins, M. John, and A. Ooi, "The Roles of NRF2 in Modulating Cellular Iron Homeostasis.", Antioxid Redox Signal, vol. 29, issue 17, pp. 1756-1773, 2018 Dec 10. PMCID: PMC6208163 PMID: 28793787
Knatko, E. V., B. Praslicka, M. Higgins, A. Evans, K. J. Purdie, C. A. Harwood, C. M. Proby, A. Ooi, and A. T. Dinkova-Kostova, "Whole-Exome Sequencing Validates a Preclinical Mouse Model for the Prevention and Treatment of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma.", Cancer Prev Res (Phila), vol. 10, issue 1, pp. 67-75, 2017 Jan. PMCID: PMC5408961 PMID: 27923803
Kerins, M. John, A. Amar Vashisht, B. Xi- Tong Liang, S. Jordan Duckworth, B. John Praslicka, J. Akira Wohlschlegel, and A. Ooi, "Fumarate Mediates a Chronic Proliferative Signal in Fumarate Hydratase-Inactivated Cancer Cells by Increasing Transcription and Translation of Ferritin Genes.", Mol Cell Biol, vol. 37, issue 11, 2017 06 01. PMCID: PMC5440649 PMID: 28289076
Tao, S., S. Wang, S. Javad Moghaddam, A. Ooi, E. Chapman, P. K. Wong, and D. D. Zhang, "Oncogenic KRAS confers chemoresistance by upregulating NRF2.", Cancer Res, vol. 74, issue 24, pp. 7430-41, 2014 Dec 15. PMCID: PMC4268230 PMID: 25339352
Ooi, A., J-C. Wong, D. Petillo, D. Roossien, V. Perrier-Trudova, D. Whitten, B. Wong Hui Min, M-H. Tan, Z. Zhang, X. J. Yang, et al., "An antioxidant response phenotype shared between hereditary and sporadic type 2 papillary renal cell carcinoma.", Cancer Cell, vol. 20, issue 4, pp. 511-23, 2011 Oct 18. PMID: 22014576