Jovanny Zabaleta, MS, PhD

Associate Professor

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
Department of Pediatrics
1700 Tulane Avenue, Room 909
New Orleans, LA 70112

Phone:  504-210 2979
Email:  jzabal@lsuhsc.edu

 

Degrees

PhD, Department of Genetics, Louisiana State University, New Orleans, 2008

Master's in Immunology - University of Antioquia, School of Medicine
Medellin, Colombia, 1996

Degree in Bacteriology, University of Antioquia, School of Bacteriology
Medellin, Colombia, 1991

Research Interests

-Genomic analysis of inflammatory diseases including cancer (gastric, coloreactal, pancreatic, prostate, breast) and obesity.

-Immune response in H. pylori infetion in humans and mouse models

Teaching Activities

2010 – 2011          Technology for Biomed Research. Theory and Application of Cutting-Edge Technology for Biomedical Research. Physiology 221. I was invited to teach the students about epigenetics and techniques used to measure DNA methylation at the Translational Genomics Core at LSUHSC

2012                      “Epigenetics-Genomic Cores, Sequencing and Illumina Facilities,” Dr. Ed Grabczyk, PhD class INTER 122, Dr. Grabczyk, Department of Genetics. invited me to speak on the Translational Genomics Core to this interdisciplinary class.

2015                      Molecular Epidemiology, EPID 6213, Dr. Richard Scribner, Department of Epidemiology invited me to share with the students our experience on molecular determinants of risk of gastritis and gastric cancer in African American and Caucasian individuals.

2013 – present       Co-Director, BCHS 7350: CHS Translational Research, School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences. In this class, we invite researchers who work on basic and clinical sciences to share with the students their work on the clinical field and how they bring all that knowledge into the laboratory to investigate molecular mechanisms of disease. We also invite basic researchers who work on fields with clinical applicability.

Committees & Administrative Responsibilities

2014 – present       Chair, Radioactive Material Safety Committee, LCRC

2015 – present       Member, Multicultural and Diversity Subcommittee

2015 – present       LSUHSC-NO, IBC member

2008 – Present            Director, Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center’s Translational Genomics Core (TGC), LSU Health Sciences and Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium Center, New Orleans, LA 70112

Selected Publications

publications 2015 to date:

  1. Dai L, Cao Y, Chen Y, Kaleeba JA, Zabaleta J, Qin Z. Genomic analysis of xCT-mediated regulatory network: Identification of novel targets against AIDS-associated lymphoma. Oncotarget. 2015 May 20; 6 (14): 12710 – 12722
  2. Schneider BG, Mera R, Piazuelo MB, Bravo JC, Zabaleta J, Delgado AG, Bravo LE, Wilson KT, El-Rifai W,  Peek, Jr. RM, Correa P. DNA Methylation Predicts Progression of Human Gastric Lesions. CEBP, 2015; 24(10):1607-13.
  3. Camargo MC, Kim KM, Matsuo K, Torres J, Liao LM, Morgan DR, Michel A, Waterboer T, Zabaleta J, Dominguez RL, Yatabe Y, Kim S, Rocha-Guevara ER, Lissowska J, Pawlita M, Rabkin CS. Anti-Helicobacter pylori Antibody Profiles in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-Positive and EBV-Negative Gastric Cancer. Helicobacter. 2015 Aug 7. doi: 10.1111/hel.12249.
  4. Dai L, Trillo-Tinoco J, Cao Y, Bonstaff K, Doyle L, Del Valle L, Whitby D, Parsons C, Reiss K, Zabaleta J, Qin Z. Targeting HGF/c-MET induces cell cycle arrest, DNA damage and apoptosis for primary effusion lymphoma. Blood. 2015 Dec 24;126(26):2821-31
  5. Simon L, Hollenbach AD, Zabaleta J, Molina PE. Chronic binge alcohol administration dysregulates global regulatory gene networks associated with skeletal muscle wasting in simian immunodeficiency virus-infected macaques. BMC Genomics. 2015 Dec 23;16(1):1097
  6. Dai L, Trillo-Tinoco J, Chen Y, Bonstaff K, Del Valle L, Parsons C, Ochoa AC, Zabaleta J, Toole BP, Qin Z. CD147 and downstream ADAMTSs promote the tumorigenicity of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infected endothelial cells. Oncotarget. 2015 Dec 12. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.6584
  7. Garay J, Piazuelo MB, Majumdar S, Li L, Trillo-Tinoco J, Del Valle L, Schneider BG, Delgado AG, Wilson KT, Correa P, Zabaleta J. The homing receptor CD44 is involved in the progression of precancerous gastric lesions in patients infected with Helicobacter pylori and in development of mucous metaplasia in mice. Cancer Lett. 2016 Feb 1;371(1):90-8
  8. Coulon SJ, Velasco-Gonzalez C, Scribner R, Park CL, Gomez R, Vargas A, Stender S, Zabaleta J, Clesi P, Chalew SA, Hempe JM. Racial differences in neighborhood disadvantage, inflammation and metabolic control in black and white pediatric type 1 diabetes patients. Pediatr Diabetes. 2016 Jan 18. doi: 10.1111/pedi.12361
  9. Kepper M, Sothern M, Zabaleta J, Ravussin E, Velasco-Gonzalez C, Leonardi C, Griffiths L, Park C, Estrada J, Scribner R. Prepubertal children exposed to concentrated disadvantage: An exploratory analysis of inflammation and metabolic dysfunction. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2016 Mar 9. doi: 10.1002/oby.21462
  10. Gastañaduy AS, Zabaleta J, Li L, Bégué RE. Norovirus as the cause of medically attended gastroenteritis: a hospital-based experience. Epidemiol Infect. 2016 Mar 16:1-7
  11. Nataly Cruz-Rodriguez, Alba L. Combita, Leonardo J. Enciso, Sandra M. Quijano, Paula L. Pinzon, Olga C. Lozano, Juan S. Castillo, Li Li, Jose Bareño, Claudia Cardozo,  Julio Solano,  Maria V. Herrera,  Jennifer Cudris and Jovanny Zabaleta. High expression of ID family and IGJ genes signature as predictor of low induction treatment response and worst survival in adult Hispanic patients with B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2016 Apr 5;35:64.
  12. Silvia J. Serrano-Gomez, Maria C. Sanabria-Salas, Gustavo Hernadez-Suarez, Oscar Garcia, Camilo Silva, Alejandro Romero, Juan Carlos Mejia, Lucio Miele, Laura Fejerman, Jovanny Zabaleta. High prevalence of Luminal B breast cancer intrinsic subtype in Colombian women. Carcinogenesis. 2016 Jul;37(7):669-76
  13. Sobota RS, Kodaman N, Mera R, Piazuelo MB, Bravo LE, Pazos A, Zabaleta J, Delgado AG, El-Rifai W, Morgan DR, Wilson KT, Correa P, Williams SM, Schneider BG. Epigenetic and genetic variation in GATA5 is associated with gastric disease risk. Hum Genet. 2016 Aug;135(8):895-906. doi: 10.1007/s00439-016-1687-1. Epub 2016 May 25
  14. Joseph AM, Srivastava R, Zabaleta J, Davila E. Cross-talk between 4-1BB and TLR1-TLR2 Signaling in CD8+ T Cells Regulates TLR2's Costimulatory Effects.  Cancer Immunol Res. 2016 Aug;4(8):708-16
  15. Dai L, Bai L, Lin Z, Qiao J, Yang L, Flemington EK, Zabaleta J, Qin Z. Transcriptomic analysis of KSHV-infected primary oral fibroblasts: The role of interferon-induced genes in the latency of oncogenic virus. Oncotarget. 2016 May 30
  16. Espinoza I, Sakiyama MJ, Ma T, Fair L, Zhou X, Hassan M,Zabaleta J, Gomez CR. Hypoxia on the Expression of Hepatoma Upregulated Protein in Prostate Cancer Cells. Front Oncol. 2016 Jun 15;6:14
  17. Sobota RS, Kodaman N, Mera R, Piazuelo MB, Bravo LE, Pazos A, Zabaleta J, Delgado AG, El-Rifai W, Morgan DR, Wilson KT, Correa P, Williams SM, Schneider BG. Erratum to: Epigenetic and genetic variation in GATA5 is associated with gastric disease risk. Hum Genet. 2016 Aug;135(8):907-908
  18. Loupe JM, Miller PJ, Bonner BP, Maggi EC, Vijayaraghavan J, Crabtree JS, Taylor CM, Zabaleta J, Hollenbach AD. Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals the oncogenic fusion protein PAX3-FOXO1 globally alters mRNA and miRNA to enhance myoblast invasion. Oncogenesis. 2016 Jul 25;5(7):e246
  19. Loupe JM, Miller PJ, Bonner BP, Maggi EC, Vijayaraghavan J,Zabaleta J, Taylor CM, Tsien F, Crabtree JS, Hollenbach AD. Acquisition of an oncogenic fusion protein serves as an initial driving mutation by inducing aneuploidy and overriding proliferative defects. Oncotarget. Oncotarget. 2016 Sep 27;7(39):62814-62835
  20. DePaolo JS, Wang Z, Guo J, Zhang G, Qian C, Zhang H,Zabaleta J, Liu W. Acetylation of androgen receptor by ARD1 promotes dissociation from HSP90 complex and prostate tumorigenesis.  2016 Nov 1;7(44):71417-71428
  21. Maxi JK, Dean M, Zabaleta J, Reiss K, Bagby GJ, Nelson S, Winsauer PJ, Peruzzi F, Molina PE. Chronic Binge Alcohol Administration Dysregulates Hippocampal Genes Involved in Immunity and Neurogenesis in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Macaques. Biomolecules. 2016 Nov 9;6(4). pii: E43.
  22. Kepper M, Broyles S, Scribner R, Tseng TS, Zabaleta J, Griffiths L, Sothern M. Parental Perceptions of Collective Efficacy are Inversely Related to Constraint of Adolescents’ Neighborhood Physical Activity. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016 Dec 21;13(12).
  23. María Carolina Sanabria-Salas, Gustavo Hernández-Suárez, Adriana Umaña-Pérez, Konrad Rawlik, Albert Tenesa, Martha Lucía Serrano-López, Myriam Sánchez de Gómez, Martha Patricia Rojas, Luis Eduardo Bravo, Rosario Albis, José Luis Plata, Heather Green, Theodor Borgovan, Li Li,Sumana Majumdar, Jone Garai, Edward Lee, Hassan Ashktorab, Hassan Brim, Li Li, David Margolin, Laura Fejerman, Jovanny Zabaleta.IL1B-CGTC haplotype is associated with colorectal cancer in admixed individuals with increased African ancestry. Accepted in Scientific Reports. 2016
  24. Lin HY, Chen DT, Huang PY, Liu YH, Ochoa A, Zabaleta J, Mercante DE, Fang Z, Sellers TA, Pow-Sang JM, Cheng CH, Eeles R, Easton D, Kote-Jarai Z, Amin Al Olama A, Benlloch S, Muir K, Giles GG, Wiklund F, Gronberg H, Haiman CA, Schleutker J, Nordestgaard BG, Travis RC, Hamdy F, Pashayan N, Khaw KT, Stanford JL, Blot WJ, Thibodeau SN, Maier C, Kibel AS, Cybulski C, Cannon-Albright L, Brenner H, Kaneva R, Batra J, Teixeira MR, Pandha H, Lu YJ; PRACTICAL Consortium., Park JY. SNP interaction pattern identifier (SIPI): an intensive search for SNP-SNP interaction patterns. Bioinformatics. 2016 Dec 30
  25. Konrad Rawlik, Amy Rowlatt, María Carolina Sanabria-Salas, Gustavo Hernández-Suárez, Martha Lucía Serrano López, Jovanny Zabaleta and Albert Tenesa. Evidence of epigenetic admixture in the Colombian population. Hum Mol Genet. 2017 Jan 10.
  26. Cao Y, Qiao J, Lin Z, Zabaleta J, Dai L, Qin Z. Up-regulation of tumor suppressor genes by exogenous dhC16-Cer contributes to its anti-cancer activity in primary effusion lymphoma. Oncotarget. 2017 Jan 27
  27. Sanabria-Salas MC, Hernández-Suárez G, Umaña-Pérez A, Rawlik K, Tenesa A, Serrano-López ML, Sánchez de Gómez M, Rojas MP, Bravo LE, Albis R, Plata JL, Green H, Borgovan T, Li L, Majumdar S, Garai J, Lee E, Ashktorab H, Brim H, Li L, Margolin D, Fejerman L, Zabaleta J.
    IL1B-CGTC haplotype is associated with colorectal cancer in admixed individuals with increased African ancestry. Sci Rep. 2017 Feb 3;7:41920. doi: 10.1038/srep41920.
  28. Cruz-Rodriguez N, Combita AL, Enciso LJ, Raney LF, Pinzon PL, Lozano OC, Campos AM, Peñaloza N, Solano J, Herrera MV, Zabaleta J, Quijano S. Prognostic stratification improvement by integrating ID1/ID3/IGJ gene expression signature and immunophenotypic profile in adult patients with B-ALL. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Feb 28;36(1):37
  29. Dai L, Cao Y, Jiang W, Zabaleta J, Liu Z, Qiao J, Qin Z. KSHV co-infection down-regulates HPV16 E6 and E7 from cervical cancer cells. Oncotarget. 2017 Mar 15.
  30. Jone Garay, M. Blanca Piazuelo, Lizbeth Lopez-Carrillo, Yelda A. Leal, Sumana Majumdar, Li Li, Nataly Cruz-Rodriguez, Silvia J. Serrano-Gomez, Carlos S. Busso, Barbara G. Schneider, Alberto G. Delgado, Luis E. Bravo, Angela M. Crist, Stryder M. Meadows, M. Constanza Camargo, Keith T. Wilson, Pelayo Correa, Jovanny Zabaleta.    Increased expression of Deleted in Malignant Brain Tumors (DMBT1) gene in precancerous gastric lesions: Findings from human and animal studies. Accepted Oncotarget, March 2017.

Center of Excellence

Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center