Anne E Cress, PhD

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Experimental Mouse Shared ResourceFlow Cytometry Shared ResourceTissue Acquisition Cellular and Molecular Analysis Shared Resource
Biography
Dr. Cress earned a doctoral degree in biochemistry from the University of Arizona. She studied the biochemistry of DNA replication at Stanford University in Dr. Robert Lehman’s laboratory; peptide chemistry at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and developmental biology at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She joined the UA faculty rising through the ranks to become a Professor with tenure in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Radiation Oncology. She was one of eleven founding faculty members of the UA Cancer Center and the Cancer Biology Graduate Program. She currently serves as Deputy Dean for Research and Academic Affairs at the UA College of Medicine.
Cancer Focus
My group studies the molecular mechanisms of human epithelial cancer invasion and metastasis. Specifically, we study the regulation of cell surface molecules (called integrins) and their role in cancer cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix. My research team discovered that laminin adhesion structures are dramatically altered in human cancer resulting in invasion, metastasis, and drug resistance. We have developed three approaches to interrupt cell adhesion to laminin: (1) using cyclized peptides, (2) deploying small molecules, and/or (3) using a function-blocking antibody. Currently we are using gene editing technology to identify inactivating mutations of tumor specific invasion and metastasis receptors.
Selected Publications
Wang, M., B. S. Knudsen, R. B. Nagle, G. C. Rogers, and A. E. Cress, "A method to quantify centrosomes at single-cell level in human normal and cancer tissue.", Mol Biol Cell, pp. mbcE18100651, 2019 Jan 30. PMID: 30699045
Wang, M., J. P. Hinton, J. M. C. Gard, J. G. N. Garcia, B. S. Knudsen, R. B. Nagle, and A. E. Cress, "Integrin α6β4E variant is associated with actin and CD9 structures and modifies the biophysical properties of cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions.", Mol Biol Cell, vol. 30, issue 7, pp. 838-850, 2019 03 21. PMCID: PMC6589785 PMID: 30865564
Rubenstein, C. S., J. M. C. Gard, M. Wang, J. E. McGrath, N. Ingabire, J. P. Hinton, K. D. Marr, S. J. Simpson, R. B. Nagle, C. K. Miranti, et al., "Gene Editing of α6 Integrin Inhibits Muscle Invasive Networks and Increases Cell-Cell Biophysical Properties in Prostate Cancer.", Cancer Res, vol. 79, issue 18, pp. 4703-4714, 2019 09 15. PMCID: PMC6750953 PMID: 31337652
Das, L., J. M. C. Gard, R. Prekeris, R. B. Nagle, C. Morrissey, B. S. Knudsen, C. K. Miranti, and A. E. Cress, "Novel Regulation of Integrin Trafficking by Rab11-FIP5 in Aggressive Prostate Cancer.", Mol Cancer Res, vol. 16, issue 8, pp. 1319-1331, 2018 Aug. PMID: 29759989
Wang, M., R. B. Nagle, B. S. Knudsen, G. C. Rogers, and A. E. Cress, "A basal cell defect promotes budding of prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia.", J Cell Sci, vol. 130, issue 1, pp. 104-110, 2017 01 01. PMCID: PMC5394777 PMID: 27609833
Harryman, W. L., J. P. Hinton, C. P. Rubenstein, P. Singh, R. B. Nagle, S. J. Parker, B. S. Knudsen, and A. E. Cress, "The Cohesive Metastasis Phenotype in Human Prostate Cancer.", Biochim Biophys Acta, vol. 1866, issue 2, pp. 221-231, 2016 12. PMCID: PMC5534328 PMID: 27678419