Samy Y. Lamouille, Ph.D.
“Some cancer stem cells are resistant to chemotherapy. If even a small population of these cells are left behind after treatment, then they can rapidly seed the growth of new tumors. By targeting the proteins that are really important for invasion, we may be able to inhibit metastasis in aggressive cancers."
Developing new cancer therapies
If we target cancer stem cells, can we prevent cancer recurrence?
Dr. Lamouille's lab studies how cancer cells communicate and is developing novel therapeutic strategies to target these communication mechanisms to prevent metastases in human cancer progression. In particular, the lab specializes in studying epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) - a process that enables cancer cells to undergo a complete reprogramming at the trasncription, translation, and post-translation levels, leading cancer cells to acquire the invasive characteristics that promote cell proliferation and metastases in new tissues.
The Lamouille Lab analyzes the channel-dependent and -independent roles of connexin proteins during EMT and in cancer stem cells. Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) is a potent inducer of EMT and regulator of cancer stemness through Smad and non-Smad signaling, and crosstalk with other pathways such as Notch and Wnt. Dr. Lamouille studies how these signaling pathways modulate connexin localization and function in cancer cells that undergo EMT, and in cancer stem cells. The lab is developing novel therapeutic strategies using mimetic peptides to specifically disrupt protein-protein interactions that enhance the tumorigenic characteristics of cancer cells. To carry these discoveries forward and pursue clinical trials, Dr. Lamouille co-founded Acomhal Research Inc. in partnership with Dr. Rob Gourdie.
- Assistant Professor, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
- Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science
- Assistant Professor, Department of Basic Science Education, School of Medicine
Katsuno Y, Qin J, Oses-Prieto J, Wang H, Jackson-Weaver O, Zhang T, Lamouille S, Wu J, Burlingame A, Xu J, Derynck R. (2018). Arginine methylation of SMAD7 by PRMT1 in TGF-β-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition and epithelial stem-cell generation. Journal of Biological Chemistry 293: 13059-72.
James CC, Zeitz MJ, Calhoun PJ, Lamouille S, Smyth JW. (2018). Altered translation initiation of Gja1 limits gap junction formation during epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Molecular Biology of the Cell 29(7): 773-880.
Murphy SF, Varghese RT, Lamouille S, Guo S, Pridham KJ, Kanabur P, Osimani AM, Sharma S, Jourdan J, Rodgers CM, Simonds GR, Gourdie RG, Sheng Z. (2016). Connexin 43 Inhibition Sensitizes Chemoresistant Glioblastoma Cells to Temozolomide. Cancer Research 76(1): 139-49.
- Sarcotein Diagnostics
Principal Scientist - University of California, San Francisco
Research Assistant
- University of Grenoble: Ph.D. Molecular and Cell Biology
- University of Grenoble: B.S., Biochemistry
- University of California, San Francisco: Postdoctoral Fellowship
- American Heart Association Scientist Development Award
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Article ItemRare Disease Day brings worldwide attention to more than 7,000 rare diseases , article
Virginia Tech research into rare diseases — those that individually affect 200,000 or fewer but collectively touch 1 in 10 people in the U.S. — provides hope in identifying, treating, and supporting patients.
Date: Feb 28, 2024 -
Article ItemFrom healthy development to cancer treatments, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute scientists aim for impact , article
New Seale Innovation Fund projects fuel a broad spectrum of research focused on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, stress, brain development, and more.
Date: Jan 29, 2024 -
Article ItemCommon challenge, different strategies: Virginia Tech Cancer Research Alliance gathers broad mix of researchers and clinicians , article
The second annual Virginia Tech Cancer Research Alliance retreat, hosted this year on the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus, brought together scientists and physicians on the leading edge of developing innovative therapy types, fresh biological targets, and new technologies to take on cancer.
Date: Jun 21, 2023 -
Article ItemJoining forces: Virginia Tech Cancer Research Alliance scientists to share ideas, innovations , article
For its second annual retreat, the Virginia Tech Cancer Research Alliance is broadening its reach and opportunities for collaboration and innovation. The 2023 event will take place May 24 and May 25 in Washington, D.C., at the Children’s National Research and Innovation Campus.
Date: May 23, 2023 -
Article ItemPhilanthropy supports pilot projects to take on health challenges such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stress, and chronic pain , article
Giving Day contributions to the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC have double the impact, unlocking $20,000 to the Seale Innovation Fund to accelerate innovation
Date: Feb 15, 2023 -
Article ItemThree translational biology, medicine, and health graduate students awarded American Heart Association fellowships , article
The awards are intended to enhance the research and clinical training of promising students seeking careers as scientists, physician-scientists, or clinician scientists interested in improving global cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and brain health.
Date: Jan 11, 2023 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute expands Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program , article
More than 30 undergraduate and high school students worked behind the curtain of biomedical research this summer at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
Date: Aug 16, 2022 -
Article ItemSamy Lamouille recognized as Research Mentor of the Year at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine , article
Students repeatedly describe Lamouille as a mentor who empowers them to independently seek answers to research questions. He will receive the award at this year’s Medical Student Research Symposium, which is set for March 25 beginning at noon at the school.
Date: Mar 22, 2022 -
Article ItemMedical student researches elusive path to brain cancer treatment at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC , article
Natalia Sutherland, a fourth-year student at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, has spent three years searching for a way to increase the effectiveness of treatment for the most common and aggressive form of primary brain cancer in adults: glioblastoma multiforme.
Date: Mar 07, 2022 -
Article ItemRare disease research gives families hope, ‘vital’ to advancing medicine , article
Rare diseases afflict 300 million people worldwide. Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC researchers are bridging a gap in scientific knowledge by studying some of the diseases that together add up to a formidable public health challenge. Feb. 28 marks the 14th international Rare Disease Day.
Date: Feb 28, 2022 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute biotech spin-out raises additional $305,000 in investments , article
With this wave of new grants and investments, Acomhal Research Inc. is nearing a million dollars in total funding toward development of a new therapeutic to fight drug-resistant cancers such as glioblastoma multiforme and metastatic disease including triple negative breast cancer.
Date: Dec 20, 2021 -
Article ItemDual degree program and NIH grant allow medical student to pursue doctorate before graduation , article
Kenneth Young is pausing his studies the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine to pursue a doctorate through Virginia Tech’s Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program, with his first year of research funded by a National Institutes of Health Diversity Supplement grant.
Date: Oct 20, 2021 -
Article ItemFralin Biomedical Research Institute biotech spin-off seeks potential breast cancer treatment , article
Roanoke-based cancer research startup, Acomhal Research Inc., secured a $399,878 Small Business Technology Transfer grant to determine if a molecule that stalls the spread of invasive brain cancer stem cells can help treat aggressive forms of breast cancer.
Date: Jul 28, 2020 -
Article ItemVTCRI scientists identify novel cellular mechanism that can lead to cancer metastasis , article
Scientists at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute have added a new dimension to the understanding of how cells alter their communication with one another during development, wound healing, and the spread of cancer.
Date: May 29, 2018 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech biomedical spinoff cited for innovation by national university associations , article
Acomhal Research Inc., formed to fight a deadly type of brain cancer, is being recognized this week by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Association of American Universities.
Date: Nov 13, 2017 -
Article ItemVirginia Tech Carilion Research Institute teams converge on strategies to defeat McCain’s form of brain cancer , article
Research teams at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute from three colleges — Engineering, Science, and Veterinary Medicine — are developing new approaches to treat glioblastoma, the aggressive form of brain cancer recently diagnosed in U.S. Sen. John McCain.
Date: Jul 24, 2017 -
Article ItemRegenerative medicine researcher’s startup companies give hope to patients , article
Sometimes it takes a researcher with a flair for entrepreneurship to translate a laboratory breakthrough into a medical treatment. Rob Gourdie, the director of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute’s Center for Heart and Regenerative Medicine Research, uses "intrapreneurship" to translate laboratory breakthroughs into medical treatments.
Date: May 23, 2017 -
Article ItemUVA, Virginia Tech Carilion partner to fund cross-university neuroscience research , article
The University of Virginia-Virginia Tech Carilion Neuroscience Research Collaboration have announced more than a half million dollars in grant funding will be awarded to nine research teams to tackle pressing problems in brain development and function in health and disease.
Date: Dec 11, 2016 -
Article ItemResearchers find way to make resistant brain cancer cells sensitive to treatment , article
Scientists from the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and clinicians from Carilion Clinic have discovered how to sensitize drug-resistant human glioblastoma cells to chemotherapy.
Date: Nov 16, 2015 -
Article ItemGoing viral: Targeting brain cancer cells with a wound-healing drug , article
At the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, three scientists are planning to create a virus capable of destroying brain cancer. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but it isn’t hypothetical – the researchers were recently awarded a grant from the Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund, part of the Center for Innovative Technology, to engineer a viral therapy.
Date: Jan 05, 2015
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