About Us >> Faculty >> Tan

Chalet Tan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Contact Information:
3001 Mercer University Drive, DV-114
Atlanta, GA 30341
(678) 547-6240
Fax: (678) 547-6423
e-mail: tan_c@mercer.edu

Educational Background
B.S., Pharmacy, Shanghai Medical University, PR China
Ph.D., Pharmacokinetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Postdoctoral fellow, Cancer Biology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

Research Background and Interests

Oxygen homeostasis is an essential organizing principle of metazoan evolution and biology.  Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1), an oxygen-labile transcriptional factor, mediates adaptative responses to reduced oxygen availability in many developmental, physiological and pathological contexts. In solid tumors, low oxygen levels are frequently encountered.  Hypoxia, as well as constitutive oncogenic pathways including Ras and PI3K signaling pathways, leads to increased expression of HIF-1, which consequently activates the transcription of genes that are critically involved in tumor angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis.  HIF-1 has recently become an important therapeutic target for solid tumor therapy.

One of the most consistent hallmarks of malignant cells is the enhanced rate of glycolysis coupled with high glucose uptake.  Increased glycolytic influx requires transcriptional activation of genes encoding glucose transporters and glycolytic enzymes that is mediated by HIF-1.  However, the molecular basis for the increased glycolysis in cancer cells remains to be fully elucidated.

Further understanding on the interplay between glycolysis, tumor microenvironment and oncogene activation in malignant cells will yield novel therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment. The integration of genomics, proteomics and metabolomics may prove powerful in better dissecting the essential molecular alterations in cancers and monitoring the pharmacodynamics of anticancer drugs.

Selected Publications
Tan C, Waldmann TA. Proteasome inhibitor PS-341, a potential therapeutic agent for adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). Cancer Res 62, 1083-1086 (2002).

Bellail AC, Hunter SB, Brat DJ, Tan C, Van Meir EG. Microregional extracellular matrix heterogeneity in brain modulates glioma cell invasion. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 36, 1046-1069 (2004).

Kaur B, Tan C, Brat D, Van Meir EG. Genetic and hypoxic regulation of angiogenesis in gliomas.  J Neuro-Oncol 70, 229-43 (2004).

Tan C, de Noronha RG, Roecker AJ, Pyrzynska B, Khwaja F,  Zhang Z, Zhang H, Teng Q, Nicholson AC, Giannakakou P, Zhou W, Olson JJ, Pereira MM, Nicolaou KC, Van Meir EG. Identification of a novel small-molecule inhibitor of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 pathway. Cancer Res 65, 605-12 (2005).

Moore C, Hernández-Santiago, BI, Hurwitz SJ, Tan C, Wang C, Schinazi RF. The boron-neutron capture agent b-D-5-o-carboranyl-2-deoxyuridine accumulates preferentially in dividing brain tumor cells. J Neuro-Oncol 7, 275-80 (2005).

Reddy VJ, Roforth MM, Tan C, Reddy MVR. Synthesis of functionalized carboranes as potential anticancer and BNCT agents.  Inorg Chem 46, 381-3 (2007).

Courses

PHA 320 Biochemistry
PHA 440 General Principles of Pharmacotherapy
PHA 557 Hematology and Oncology Disorders
PHA 808 Pharmacokinetics
PHA 833 Advanced Pharmacokinetics
PHA 899 Doctoral Research