Dr. Jenny Phipps
Adjunct Professor
Degrees:
D.E.S. (Paul Sabatier)
D.E.A. (ibid)
Doctorat es Sciences (ibid)
Contact info:
Office: National Research Council
Sussex Drive, Room ...
Ottawa, ON
Phone: 613-990-0556
Email: Jenny.Phipps@pharmagap.com
Research Interests:
I became the Head Scientist at PharmaGap, a small Biotech company to which the National Research Council (CNRC) is associated after leaving my Senior Research Officer position at CNRC.
My main research interest is onco-signaling and cell signaling including Gap Junction channels (GJ). In about 98% of cancers, there is an alteration of the Gap Junction channels. Among adjacent cells, GJ allow for the direct two-way transfer of small molecules particularly the second messengers that modulate the protein kinases (PK) activity. I was able to restore Gap Junction channels in an in vitro model of neuroblastoma, the most frequent solid tumor in childhood. In the cell lines derived from these tumors, the connexin is in a perinuclear aberrant sub-localization. With an Ottawa PhD student (L. Belbaraka), we identified the signaling abnormalities and I further developed a successful two-step strategy to restore the GJ function. It involved the inhibition of the PKC alpha isoform. The analyses of Neuroblastoma biopsies confirmed the expression of connexins and the overexpression of PKC alpha. Since, I designed a specific inhibitor to this isoform in collaboration with a computational chemist at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Lyon. The prodrug was synthesized in my laboratory and tested on neuroblastoma cell lines where it restored GJ function and consequently led to growth control. The prodrug is also efficient as an inhibitor of multidrug resistance and cell invasion in a wide array of cancer cell lines. At the fundamental level we pursue our investigations on detailed signaling pathways in tumors at various stages, especially glioblastoma Human cell lines, tumor biopsies and matching healthy tissues. Our research focuses on the alteration of the interactions among signaling pathways in mechanisms such as proliferation, cell migration, differentiation and apoptosis in Human cancer cell lines and matching tumor samples.
The projects of the students in my Laboratory rely only on fundamental studies relative to these processes.
The laboratory: The laboratory functions in the two official languages. My staff is formed of a young team of precious collaborators: 5 PhD Scientists, 7 skilled technical officers and 3 part time research assistants.
Collaboration: I collaborate closely with Dr Terreux (Faculte of Pharmacy of Lyon (France) I have a budding collaboration with a group of oncologists at the Ottawa General Hospital, with Dr A. Pearson, Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton, UK and Drs B Aggarwal and S. Shishodia, Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, USA.
Selected Publications:
- Sadeghipour M., TerreuxR. & Phipps J. (2005) Flavonoids and tyrosine nitration: structure-activity relationship correlation with enthalpy of formation. Toxicology In Vitro, 19 (2)155-165.
- van Adel, B.A., Arnold, J.M., Phipps, J., Doering, L.C. & Ball, A.K. (2004) Ciliary neurotrophic factor protects retinal ganglion cells from axotomy-induced apoptosis via modulation of retinal glia in vivo. Accepted with revisions: Journal of Neurobiology
- Arnold, J.M., Phipps, M.W., Chen, J. & Phipps, J. (2005) The cellular sublocalization of Cx43 and the establishment of functional coupling in IMR-32 neuroblastoma cells. Mol.Carcinogenesis 42(3) 159-169.
- Panhani M., Alli Z., Cheng X., Belbaraka L., Belgoudi L., Sardana R., Phipps J. & Altosaar I. (2004) Recombinant protein expression plasmids optimized for E.Coli fermentation and plant systems produced biologically active insulin factor-1 in transgenic rice and tobacco plants. Transgenic Research, 13(3), 245-259.
- Hurnik, D., Foote, K., Vanderstichel, R., Phipps, J., Patelakis, S. & VanLunen, T (2004) A description of the effect of a purified beta-glucan extract on the antibody response to PRRS virus vaccination and to lymphocyte proliferation of weaned pigs. American Association of Swine Veterinarians. Journal of Swine Health and Production.
Number of Patent applications: 5
Number of Patents pending: 2