I graduated from Michigan State University in 2015 with two bachelors degrees in Animal Science and Genomics & Molecular Genetics. After college, I participated in the NIH sponsored Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). In Dr. Anthony Wynshaw-Boris laboratory, I studied the differentiation of IPSC-derived neural precursor cells of a neurodegenerative disease called ataxia telangiectasia (AT). I joined Dr. Castro's laboratory in 2016 to study the impact of mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) and alpha-thalassemia/mental retardation, X-linked (ATRX) in brain cancer.
Biography
Research Interests
My research focuses on understanding how the co-expressed mutations in IDH1 (mIDH1) and ATRX influence chromatin organization and neural lineage in brain cancer. I have performed RNA-seq and ChIP-seq in a patient-derived glioma cell culture following mIDH1 inhibition and ATRX rescue. I have generated a genetically engineered mouse model of mIDH1 glioma using PDGFR-alpha D842V as the driver mutation, where this growth factor receptor is highly expressed in mIDH1 glioma.
Techniques Used
RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, intracranial surgery, immunohistochemistry, lentiviral generation and plasmid cloning.
Abstracts
Stephen Carney, Brandon Zhu, Padma Kadiyala, Maria Garcia-Fabiani, Preethi Gorla, Felipe Nunez, Pedro R. Lowenstein and Maria G. Castro. Mutant IDH1 alters epigenetic regulation to promote stemness in low grade glioma: Deciphering signaling pathways altered by mIDH1 inhibition. American Association of Cancer Research, 2020.
Stephen Carney, Felipe J. Núñez, Brandon Zhu, Pedro R. Lowenstein, & Maria G. Castro. Identifying dysregulated lncRNAs and miRNAs in low grade glioma: Uncovering signaling pathways and novel therapeutic targets. American Association of Cancer Research, 2019.
Stephen Carney, Felipe J. Núñez, Pedro R. Lowenstein, & Maria G. Castro. Identifying Dysregulated lncRNAs and miRNAs in a Human Model of Low Grade Glioma. Regulatory and Non-coding RNA Conference. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, 2018.
Awards
2012 USDA Multicultural Scholar Program Scholarship
2013 College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Alumni Scholarship
2014 DAAD German Academic Exchange Service
2015 NIH-CWRU Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) Fellowship
2016 Rackham Merit Fellowship
2018 Cancer Biology T32 Training Grant
2020 NIH NINDS Minority Research Supplements
Publications
Kadiyala, P, S.V. Carney, J.C. Gauss, M.B. Garcia-Fabiani, S. Haase, M.S. Alghamri, F.J. Núñez, Y. Liu, M. Yu, A. Taher, F.M. Nunez, D. Li, M.B. Edwards, C.G. Kleer, H. Appelman, Y. Sun, L. Zhao, J.J. Moon, A. Schwendeman, P.R. Lowenstein, & M.G. Castro. Inhibition of 2-hydroxyglutarate elicits metabolic reprogramming and mutant IDH1 glioma immunity in mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 131(4):e139542. (2021). PMCID: PMC7880418
Mendez, F.M., P. Kadiyala, F.J. Núñez, S. Carney, F.M. Nunez, J.C Gauss, R. Ravindran, S. Pawar, M. Edwards, M.B. Garcia-Fabiani, S. Haase, P.R Lowenstein and M.G. Castro. Therapeutic efficacy of immune stimulatory thymidine kinase and fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 ligand (TK/Flt3L) gene therapy in a mouse model of high grade brainstem glioma. Clinical Cancer Research. (2020) PMCID: PMC7415674
Núñez, F., F.M. Mendez, P. Kadiyala, M. Alghmari, M. Savelieff, C. Koschmann, A. Calinescu, N. Kamran, R. Patel, S. Carney, M. Guo, M. Garcia-Fabiani, S. Hasse, M. Edwards, M. Ljungman, T. Qin, M. Sartor, R. Tagett, S. Venneti, J. Brosnan-Cashman, A. Meeker, V. Gorbunova, L. Zhao, D. Kremer, L. Zhang, C. Lyssiotis, L. Jones, C. Herting, J. Ross, D. Hambardzumyan, S. Hervey-Jumper, M. Figueroa, P.R. Lowenstein, & M.G. Castro. IDH1R132H acts as a tumor suppressor in glioma via epigenetic upregulation of the DNA damage response. Science Translational Medicine. (2019). PMCID: PMC6400220
Diversity Ambassador
- Black or African American
- American Indian or Alaska Native