Description of Research Expertise:
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
1. Defining Mechanisms and Reducing Toxicity from Normal Tissue Damage Caused by Ionizing Radiation: These projects center on modeling the physical patterns of dose deposition by x-rays, gamma rays and charged particles and determining the mechanism(s) that lead to normal tissue toxicity. From a greater understanding of these mechanisms, these projects seek to identify and formulate potential radiation protectors and mitigators for use in human medicine.
2. Cellular Signaling and PDT cytotoxicity: This project is focused on defining the molecular mechanism by which PDT-initiated growth factor and anti-oxidant signaling leads to decreased PDT-mediated cytotoxicity in human cancer cells and tumors.
3. Clinical trials of RT and PDT: These projects involve using insights gained from pre-clinical studies to design early phase interventional trials for patients with cancers that are difficult to treat using current standard modalities.
Selected Publications:
Sanzari JK, Wan XS, Wroe AJ, Rightnar S, Cengel KA, Diffenderfer ES, Krigsfeld GS, Gridley DS, Kennedy AR: Acute Hematological Effects of Solar Particle Event Proton Radiation in the Porcine Model. Radiat Res. 180 (1): 7-16,2013.
Whaley JT, Kirk M, Cengel K, McDonough J, Bekelman J, Christodouleas JP: Protective Effect of Transparent Film Dressing on Proton Therapy Induced Skin Reactions. Radiat Oncol. 8 : 19,2013.
Cengel KA, Sanzari J, Billings P, Diffenderfer ES, Kennedy AR: Evaluating Radiation Repose And Countermeasures For Exposure To
Solar Particle Events With Differing Energy-Fluence Profiles. Heavy Ion in Therapy and Space Radiation Symposium 2013, Chiba, Japan : 2013.
Cengel KA, Sanzari J, Billings P, Diffenderfer ES, Kennedy AR: Determining The Whole Body Radiation Repose To Solar Particle Events With Differing Energy-fluence Profiles. NASA Human Research Program Investigator's Workshop, Galveston, TX : 2013.
Cengel KA, Kennedy AR: NSBRI Center For Acute Radiation Research: Dosimetric and Practical Considerations for Simulating Solar Particle Event Exposure for Earth Based Model Systems. National Space Biomedical Research Institute Radiation Effects Team : 2013.
Chandra A, Lan S, Zhu J, Lin T, Zhang X, Siclari VA, Altman AR, Cengel KA, Liu XS, Qin L.: PTH prevents the adverse effects of focal radiation on bone architecture in young rats. Bone. 55 (2): 449-57,2013.
Pietrofesa R, Turowski J, Tyagi S, Dukes F, Arguiri E, Busch TM, Gallagher-Colombo SM, Solomides CC, Cengel KA, Christofidou-Solomidou M: Radiation mitigating properties of the lignan component in flaxseed. BMC Cancer. 13 : 179,2013.
Edmonds C, Hagan S, Gallagher-Colombo SM, Busch TM, Cengel KA: Photodynamic therapy activated signaling from epidermal growth factor receptor and STAT3: Targeting survival pathways to increase PDT efficacy in ovarian and lung cancer. Cancer Biol Ther. 13 (14): 1463-70,2012.
Cengel K, Yendamuri S, Demmy T, Culligan M, Schofield M, Smith D, Punekar S, Sterman D, Stevenson J, Busch T, Glatstein E, Hahn S, Friedberg J: Qualitative And Quantitative Differences in the Toxicity Of HPPH-Mediated PDT with a 24 Versus 48-Hour Drug Light Interval: Moving from the Bedside to the Bench and Back. SPIE Photonics West, San Francisco, CA : 2012.
Christofidou-Solomidou M, Tyagi S, Pietrofesa R, Dukes F, Arguiri E, Turowski J, Grieshaber PA, Solomides CC, Cengel KA: Radioprotective Role In Lung Of The Flaxseed Lignan Complex Enriched In The Phenolic Secoisolaricresinol Diglucoside (SDG). Radiat Res. 178 (6): 568-80,2012.
Allen AM, Pawlicki T, Dong L, Fourkal E, Buyyounouski M, Cengel K, Plastaras J, Bucci MK, Yock TI, Bonilla L, Price R, Harris EE, Konski AA: An Evidence Based Review of Proton Beam Therapy: The Report of ASTRO's Emerging Technology Committee. Radiother Oncol. 103 (1): 8-11,2012.
Fishbein L, Bonner L, Torigian DA, Nathanson KL, Cohen DL, Pryma D, Cengel KA: External Beam Radiation Therapy (EBRT) for Patients with Malignant Pheochromocytoma and Non-Head and Neck Paraganglioma: Combination with 131I-MIBG. Horm Metab Res. 44 (5): 405-10,2012.
York JM, Blevins NA, Meling DD, Peterlin MB, Gridley DS, Cengel KA, Freund GG: The Biobehavioral and Neuroimmune Impact of Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation. Brain Behav Immun. 26 (2): 218-27,2012.
Christofidou-Solomidou M, Tyagi S, Tan KS, Hagan S, Pietrofesa R, Dukes F, Arguiri E, Heitjan DF, Solomides CC, Cengel KA: Dietary flaxseed administered post-thoracic radiation treatment improves survival and mitigates radiation-induced Pneumonopathy in mice. BMC Cancer. 11 : 269,2011.
Wilson JM, Sanzari JK, Diffenderfer ES, Yee SS, Seykora JT, Maks C, Ware JH, Litt HI, Reetz JA, McDonough J, Weissman D, Kennedy AR, Cengel KA: Acute Biological Effects of Simulating the Whole Body Radiation Dose Distribution from a Solar Particle Event Using a Porcine Model. Radiat Res. 176 (5): 649-59,2011.
Lee JC, Kinniry PA, Arguiri E, Serota M, Kanterakis S, Chatterjee S, Solomides CC, Javvadi P, Koumenis C, Cengel KA, Christofidou-Solomidou M: Dietary curcumin increases antioxidant defenses in lung, ameliorates radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis, and improves survival in mice. Radiat Res. 173 (5): 590-601,2010.
Hill-Kayser CE, Avery S, Mesina CF, James P, Friedberg JS, Cengel K, Lin LL, Hahn SM, Rengan R: Hemithoracic radiotherapy after extrapleural pneumonectomy for malignant pleural mesothelioma: a dosimetric comparison of two well-described techniques. J Thorac Oncol. 4 (11): 1431-7,2009.
Lee JC, Krochak R, Blouin A, Kanterakis S, Chatterjee S, Arguiri E, Vachani A, Solomides CC, Cengel KA, Christofidou-Solomidou M: Dietary flaxseed prevents radiation-induced oxidative lung damage, inflammation and fibrosis in a mouse model of thoracic radiation injury. Cancer Biol Ther. 8 (1): 43-9,2008.
Machtay M, Scherpereel A, Santiago J, Lee J, McDonough J, Kinniry P, Arguiri E, Shuvaev VV, Sun J, Cengel K, Solomides CC, Christofidou-Solomidou M: Systemic polyethylene glycol-modified (PEGylated) superoxide dismutase and catalase mixture attenuates radiation pulmonary fibrosis in the C57/bl6 mouse. Radiother Oncol. 81 (2): 196-205,2006.
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