Ben C. Valdez
UTMDACC, USA
Biography
Dr. Ben Valdez obtained his PhD in Biochemistry at Louisiana State Univ. He did his post-doctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX and became an Assistant Professor. His laboratory cloned the genes and corresponding cDNAs for RNA helicase II/Gu α and β and discovered their functions. His lab identified the functions of treacle, encoded by the TCOF1 gene, in the expression and methylation of pre-ribosomal RNA. In 2005, he transferred to the Dept of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center where he is now an Associate Professor. His current research focuses on the identification of safe and efficacious conditioning regimen for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients with hematological disorders. He conceptualized and proved the efficacy of combined DNA alkylators, nucleoside analogs, and epigenetic modifiers in leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma cells, and proposed a model called the “loop of death” to explain the cytotoxic synergism of these drugs. He developed an assay for cellular efflux of chemotherapeutic drugs which is relevant to understanding drug interactions. Using this assay, Dr. Valdez discovered the differential effects of HDAC inhibitors on cellular drug transporters which have tremendous implications for using epigenetic modifiers in combination chemotherapy. The results of his pre-clinical studies have been used as bases for several clinical trials at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Abstract
Abstract : Pharmacological optimization of the conditioning regimen for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation