Julius O. Nyalwidhe, PhD

Director, George L. Wright Jr.
Center for Biomedical Proteomics

Associate Professor
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Cell Biology

Leroy T. Canoles Jr. Cancer Research Center
Harry T. Lester Hall 424
651 Colley Avenue
Norfolk, Virginia 23501
Office: (757) 446-5682
Lab: (757) 446-5703

Email: nyalwijo@evms.edu

Teaching:

• Biomedical Sciences Program (BSP)
• Molecular Integrative Biosciences (MIB)

Education:

• Ph.D. - Philips Universität Marburg, Germany.
• Postdoctoral Fellow - Philips Universität Marburg, Germany.

Focus Areas:

• Proteomics, Glycomics and Mass Spectrometry

Lab Members:

	Stephen Mackay, Ph.D. Ph.D. - 91¶ÌÊÓƵ of Western Cape South Africa Post Doc - 91¶ÌÊÓƵ of Alabama Birmingham, Al Phone: 757-446-5703 Email: mackays@evms.edu
	Naomi Hitefield, M.S. B.S. - King 91¶ÌÊÓƵ Bristol, Tn. M.S. - Eastern Virginia Medical School Norfolk, VA Phone: 757-446-5703 Email: hitefinl@evms.edu

Previous Lab Members:

	Tanya C. Burch, Ph.D. Postdoc Ph.D. - 91¶ÌÊÓƵ of North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC
	Megan T. Watson, B.S., Research Technician B.S. - Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA

Research Interests:

Keywords: Cancer, Cancer Progression and Metastasis, Biomarkers, Prostate Cancer, Health Disparities, Infectious Diseases, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Protein Biochemistry, Protein Post Translational Modifications, Proteomics, Glycomics, Metabolomics, Mass Spectrometry.

Mechanisms of Cancer Pathogenesis
Dr. Nyalwidhe's laboratory focuses on molecular biology, functional genomics and proteomic approaches to study cancer for the purposes of understanding cancer biology as well as to discover clinical biomarkers. The focus is on understanding the molecular events and signaling mechanisms that are involved in cancer progression and disease severity. The objective is to identify and disrupt signaling mechanisms that are involved in cancer progression and severity. The molecules that are involved in these mechanisms are potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for disease and may also provide avenues for targeted cancer drug development. The emphasis is on mechanisms and targets that could explain cancer health disparities between different ethnic groups. Our recent research findings demonstrate the differential regulation of proteins and that their glycosylation patterns closely correlate with prostate cancer disease severity. We are also interested in determining the mechanisms of chemopreventive action of nutraceuticals against cancers. The objective is to identify and characterize the molecular targets and mechanisms of action of known nutraceuticals involved in cancer prevention. Glycosylation and Cancer
Protein glycosylation plays a central role in mediating protein stability, function, and structure and the modulation of signal transduction pathways that drive carcinogenesis and progression to aggressive disease. The focus is on understanding the role of protein glycosylation in the development of aggressive forms of prostate and other cancers. Changes in glycosylation patterns are of great significance, as these may influence many cellular processes including cell adhesion, signaling, and stabilization of protein structure, protein trafficking, as well as oncogenesis. Aberrant glycosylation of glycoproteins has been observed in many malignancies, and these changes influence disease progression. Most known cancer biomarkers from bodily fluids that are currently utilized in the clinic are glycoproteins. We and others have demonstrated differential expression of glycans in PSA and PAP that correlate with disease severity. Our current focus is to utilize new generation high resolution, high mass accuracy and high sensitivity mass spectrometry instruments with high data acquisition speeds and flexibility in combining multiple stages of higher energy fragmentation techniques collision dissociation (HCD) with ion trap collision induced dissociation (CID) and electron transfer dissociation (ETD) for glycomic characterization. This has provided us with the opportunity to develop innovative multimode MS2/MS3 data acquisition and processing methods that best address the most relevant and challenging issues that have been associated LC/MS based glycomic analyses. We are currently using these methods for qualitative and quantitative analysis of potential biomarker targets of prostate cancer in clinical samples.

Mechanisms of Host pathogen Interactions
The focus of this project is on understanding the mechanisms of interactions between infectious pathogens and their host cells. A major research focus is the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, which invades and develops in red blood cells to cause disease pathologies that include severe malarial anemia, nephropathy and cerebral disease. The goal is to define unique and fundamental pathways and mechanisms in the microorganisms as well as human cells that provide molecular insights, targets and therapies in neglected diseases. Additionally, we are also focusing on understanding the mechanisms of pathogenesis of a variety of other infectious agents, and viral-induced carcinomas. The emphasis is on the application of molecular biology, functional and structural proteomics and mass spectrometry techniques to functionally characterize protein post-translational modifications to determine their influence in the progression and outcome of disease.

Selected Publications:

• Kim Y, Jeon J, Mejia S, Yao CQ, Ignatchenko V, Nyalwidhe JO, Gramolini AO, Lance RS, Troyer DA, Drake RR, Boutros PC, Semmes OJ, Kislinger T. Targeted proteomics
  
  identifies liquid-biopsy signatures for extracapsular prostate cancer. Nature communications. 2016; 7:11906. PMID: 27350604.
• Yang L, Dutta SM, Troyer DA, Lin JB, Lance RA, Nyalwidhe JO, Drake RR, Semmes OJ.
  Dysregulated expression of cell surface glycoprotein CDCP1 in prostate cancer
  Oncotarget. 2015. 6(41):43743-58. PMID: 26497208.
  
  
• Burch TC, Isaac G, Booher CL, Rhim JS, Rainville P, Langridge J, Baker A, Nyalwidhe JO.
  Comparative Metabolomic and Lipidomic Analysis of Phenotype Stratified Prostate Cells.
  PLoS One. 2015. 10(8):e0134206. PMID: 26244785.

• Drake RR, Jones EE, Powers TW, Nyalwidhe JO.
  Altered glycosylation in prostate cancer. Adv Cancer Res. 2015. PMID: 25727153.

• Nyalwidhe JO, Betesh LR, Powers TW, Jones EE, White KY, Burch TC, Brooks J, Watson MT, Lance RS, Troyer DA, Semmes OJ, Mehta A, Drake RR.
  .
  Proteomics Clin Appl. 2013. doi: 10.1002/prca.201200134. PMID: 23775902.
  
  
• Burch TC, Watson MT, Nyalwidhe JO.
  .
  PLoS One. 2013. 8(5):e65005. PMID: 23717685.
  
  
• Principe S, Jones EE, Kim Y, Sinha A, Nyalwidhe JO, Brooks J, Semmes OJ, Troyer DA, Lance RS, Kislinger T, Drake RR.
  
  Proteomics. 2013. 13(10-11):1667-71. PMID: 23533145.
  
  
• Nyalwidhe J, Burch T, Bocca S, Cazares L, Green-Mitchell S, Cooke M, Birdsall P, Basu G, Semmes OJ, Oehninger S.
  .
  Mol Hum Reprod. 2013, 19(4):250-63. PMID: 23247814.
  
  
• Kim Y, Ignatchenko V, Yao CQ, Kalatskaya I, Nyalwidhe JO, Lance RS, Gramolini AO, Troyer DA, Stein LD, Boutros PC, Medin JA, Semmes OJ, Drake RR, Kislinger T.
  .
  Mol Cell Proteomics. 2012, 11(12):1870-84. PMID: 22986220.
  
  
• Sharp JA, Echague CG, Hair PS, Ward MD, Nyalwidhe JO, Geoghegan JA, Foster TJ, Cunnion KM.
  
  PLoS One. 2012, 7(5):e38407. PMID: 22675461.
  
  
• Hair PS, Echague CG, Rohn RD, Krishna NK, Nyalwidhe JO, Cunnion KM.
  
  J Transl Med. 2012, 5:10:35. PMID: 22390383.
  
  
• Principe S, Kim Y, Fontana S, Ignatchenko V, Nyalwidhe JO, Lance RS, Troyer DA, Alessandro R, Semmes OJ, Kislinger T, Drake RR, Medin JA.
  
  J Proteome Res. 2012,11(4):2386-96. PMID: 22339264.
  
  
• Hair PS, Wagner SM, Friederich PT, Drake RR, Nyalwidhe JO, Cunnion KM.
  
  Mol Immunol. 2012, 50(4):253-61. PMID: 22333221.
  
  
• Green-Mitchell SM, Cazares LH, Semmes OJ, Nadler JL, Nyalwidhe JO.
  
  Proteomics Clin Appl. 2011, 5(7-8):448-53. PMID: 21656913.
  
  
• Fernandez Falcon MF, Echague CG, Hair PS, Nyalwidhe JO, Cunnion KM.
  
  J Med Microbiol. 2011, 60(Pt 10):1415-22. PMID: 21636671.
  
  
• Yang L, Nyalwidhe JO, Guo S, Drake RR, Semmes OJ.
  
  Mol Cell Proteomics. 2011, 10(6):M110.007294. PMID: 21447706.
  
  
• Gatlin CL, White KY, Tracy MB, Wilkins CE, Semmes OJ, Nyalwidhe JO, Drake RR, Malyarenko DI.
  
  J Mass Spectrom. 2011, 46(1):85-9. PMID: 21190259.
  
  
• Belgnaoui SM, Fryrear KA, Nyalwidhe JO, Guo X, Semmes OJ.
  
  J Biol Chem. 2010, 285(43):32897-905. PMID: 20729195.
  
  
• Gronemus JQ, Hair PS, Crawford KB, Nyalwidhe JO, Cunnion KM, Krishna NK.
  
  Mol Immunol. 2010, 48(1-3):305-13. PMID: 20728940.
  
  
• Guo X, Ward MD, Tiedebohl JB, Oden YM, Nyalwidhe JO, Semmes OJ.
  
  J Biol Chem. 2010, 285(43):33348-57. PMID: 20713355.
  
  
• Azimzadeh O, Sow C, Geze M, Nyalwidhe JO, Florent I.
  
  Malar J. 2010, 30; 9:189. PMID: 20591164.
  
  
• Drake RR, Elschenbroich S, Lopez-Perez O, Kim Y, Ignatchenko V, Ignatchenko A, Nyalwidhe JO, Basu G, Wilkins CE, Gjurich B, Lance RS, Semmes OJ, Medin JA, Kislinger T.
  
  J Proteome Res. 2010, 9(5):2109-16. PMID: 20334419.
  
  
• Chao TC, Kalinowski J, Nyalwidhe J, Hansmeier N.
  
  Proteomics. 2010, 10(8):1673-84. PMID: 20162560.
  
  
• Britten RA, Mitchell S, Johnson AM, Singletary SJ, Keeney SK, Nyalwidhe JO, Karbassi ID, Lonart G, Sanford LD, Drake RR.
  
  Health Phys. 2010, 98(2):196-203. PMID: 20065683.
  
  
• Cazares LH, Troyer D, Mendrinos S, Lance RA, Nyalwidhe JO, Beydoun HA, Clements MA, Drake RR, Semmes OJ.
  
  Clin Cancer Res. 2009, 15(17):5541-51. PMID: 19690195.
  
  
• Karbassi ID, Nyalwidhe JO, Wilkins CE, Cazares LH, Lance RS, Semmes OJ, Drake RR.
  
  J Proteome Res. 2009, 8(9):4182-92. PMID: 19603828.
  
  
• Schaub NP, Jones KJ, Nyalwidhe JO, Cazares LH, Karbassi ID, Semmes OJ, Feliberti EC, Perry RR, Drake RR.
  
  J Am Coll Surg. 2009, 208(5):970-8; discussion 978-80. PMID: 19476873.
  
  
• Drake RR, White KY, Fuller TW, Igwe E, Clements MA, Nyalwidhe JO, Given RW, Lance RS, Semmes OJ.
  
  J Proteomics. 2009, 72(6):907-17. PMID: 19457353.
  
  
• White KY, Rodemich L, Nyalwidhe JO, Comunale MA, Clements MA, Lance RS, Schellhammer PF, Mehta AS, Semmes OJ, Drake RR.
  
  J Proteome Res. 2009, 8(2):620-30. PMID: 19128049.
  
  
• Bolte K, Kawach O, Prechtl J, Gruenheit N, Nyalwidhe J, Maier UG.
  
  BMC Plant Biol. 2008, 6; 8:56. PMID: 18485196.
  
  
• Jones D, Nyalwidhe J, Tetley L, Barrett MP.
  
  Trends Parasitol. 2007, 23(10):468-9. PMID: 17826338.
  
  
• Azim-Zadeh O, Hillebrecht A, Linne U, Marahiel MA, Klebe G, Lingelbach K, Nyalwidhe J.
  
  J Biol Chem. 2007, 282(30):21609-17. PMID: 17545162.
  
  
• Shamseldin A, Nyalwidhe J, Werner D.
  
  Curr Microbiol. 2006 52(5):333-9. PMID: 16604415.
  
  
• Nyalwidhe J, Lingelbach K.
  
  Proteomics. 2006, 6(5):1563-73. PMID: 16470785.
  
  
• Nyalwidhe J, Maier UG, Lingelbach K.
  
  Zoology (Jena). 2003,106(4):341-8. PMID: 16351918.
  
  
• Baumeister S, Endermann T, Charpian S, Nyalwidhe J, Duranton C, Huber S, Kirk K, Lang F, Lingelbach K.
  
  Mol Biochem Parasitol. 2003 132(1):35-45. PMID: 14563535.
  
  
• Nyalwidhe J, Baumeister S, Hibbs AR, Tawill S, Papakrivos J, Volker U, Lingelbach K.
  
  J Biol Chem. 2002, 18;277(42):40005-1. PMID: 12186876.
  
  
• Khan B, Omar S, Kanyara JN, Warren-Perry M, Nyalwidhe J, Peterson DS, Wellems T, Kaniaru S, Gitonga J, Mulaa FJ, Koech DK.
  
  Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1997, (4):456-60. PMID: 9373654.
  
  

Book Chapters: