1. Mechanisms of ceramide-dependent cancer cell deathRose Nganga, Natalia Oleinik and Besim Ogretmen 2. Sphingolipids as regulators of autophagy and endocytic traffickingMegan M. Young and Hong-Gang Wang3. Role and function of sphingomyelin biosynthesis in the development of cancerGiovanni D'Angelo, Sitapriya Moorthi and Chiara Luberto4. Neutral sphingomyelinases in cancer: friend or foe?Christopher J. Clarke5. Ceramide and exosomes: a novel target in cancer biology and therapyAhmed Elsherbini and Erhard Bieberich6. Sphingolipids at the crossroads of NAFLD and senescenceMariana Nikolova-Karakashian7. Ceramide signaling and p53 pathwaysKristen Jeffries and Natalia Krupenko8. The role of ceramide 1-phosphate in tumor cell survival and disseminationAntonio Gomez-Muñoz9. The onus of sphingolipid enzymes in cancer drug resistanceSamy A.F. Morad and Myles C. Cabot10. Interdiction of sphingolipid metabolism revisited: focus on prostate cancerChristina Voelkel-Johnson, James S. Norris and Shai White-Gilbertson11. Targeting sphingosine kinases for the treatment of cancerClayton S. Lewis, Christina Voelkel-Johnson and Charles D. Smith12. Novel sphingolipid-based cancer therapeutics in the personalized medicine eraJeremy Shaw, Pedro Costa-Pinheiro, Logan Patterson, Kelly Drews, Sarah Spiegel and Mark Kester13. Side effects in cancer therapy: are sphingolipids to blame?Falak Patel and Stefka D. Spassieva
Professor Charles E. Chalfant heads up the Chalfant Laboratory and is the director of the Lipidomic Facility at Virgina Commonwealth University. The Chalfant laboratory is currently focused on two major areas of cell signaling and human pathophysiologies: 1) lipid and oncogenic regulation of alternative splicing; and 2) the regulation of eicosanoid synthesis in inflammation and cancer.
Paul B. Fisher, MPh, PhD, FNAI, Professor and Chairman, Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Director, VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine Thelma Newmeyer Corman Chair in Cancer Research in the VCU Massey Cancer Center, VCU, School of Medicine, Richmond, VA, and Emeritus Professor, Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, NY. Dr. Fisher is among the top 10% of NIH funded investigators over the past 35-years, published approximately 625 papers and reviews, and has 55 issued patents. He pioneered novel gene/discovery approaches (subtraction hybridization), developed innovative therapeutic approaches (Cancer Terminator Viruses), presented numerous named and distinguished lectures, founded several start-up companies, was Virginia Outstanding Scientist of 2014 and elected to the National Academy of Inventors in 2018. Dr. Fisher is a prominent nationally and internationally recognized cancer research scientist focusing on understanding the molecular and biochemical basis of cancer development and progression to metastasis and using this garnered information to develop innovative approaches for diagnosing and treating cancer. He discovered and patented novel genes and gene promoters relevant to cancer growth control, differentiation and apoptosis. His discoveries include the first cloning of p21 (CDK inhibitor), human polynucleotide phosphorylase, mda-9/syntenin (a pro-metastatic gene), mda-5 and mda-7/IL-24, which has shown promising clinical activity in Phase I/II clinical trials in patients with advanced cancers. Dr. Fisher alsohas a documented track record as a successful seasoned entrepreneur. He was Founder and Director of GenQuest Incorporated, a functional genomics company, which merged with Corixa Corporation in 1998, traded on NASDAQ and was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline in 2006. He discovered the cancer-specific PEG-Prom, which is the core technology of Cancer Targeting Systems (CTS, Inc.), a Virginia/Maryland-based company (at Johns Hopkins Medical Center) focusing on imaging and therapy ("theranostics) of metastatic cancer (2014) by Drs. Fisher and Martin G. Pomper. He co-founded InVaMet Therapeutics (IVMT) and InterLeukin Combinatorial Therapies (ILCT) with Dr. Webster K. Cavenee (UCSD) (2017/2018).