Pharmacology & Physiology
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
NAME: POSITION TITLE:
Janine Santos, Ph.D. Assistant Professor
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION DEGREE YEAR(S) FIELD OF STUDY
Pontificia Universidade Catolica do RS B.S. 1993 Biology
Brazil
Universidade Federal do RS, Brazil Ph.D. 1999 Genetics
National Institute of Environmental PostDoc 2000-2005 Molecular
Sciences, (NIEHS), Durham, NC Genetics
A. Positions and Honors
POSITIONS HELD
Biology Department, Lecturer, Universidade Luterana do Brasil, Canoas , RS, Brazil . 1997-2000
Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, Post-doctoral Fellow, NIEHS , NC, 2000 - 2005.
Pharmacology & Physiology, Assistant Professor, UMDNJ-NJ Medical School .
January 2006 - Present
HONORS
• Young Scientist, IV Salao de Iniciacao Cientifica (1992) with the study:
Suppressing effect of vanillin over chromosome aberrations that are induced
by MMC or occur spontaneously in the germ cell line of Drosophila melanogaster.
Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil .
• Young Scientist, VII Salao de Iniciacao Cientifica (1995) with the study: Evaluation of the
bioantimutagenic potential of vanillin over spontaneous or MMC- induced lesions in
somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster. Porto Alegre , RS, Brazil .
• Young Scientist, IX Salao de Iniciacao Cientifica (1997) with the study: Is vanillin really
antigenotoxic? Porto Alegre , RS, Brazil .
• Excellence in science, 6 th Annual NIEHS/NTA Biomedical Science and Career Fair
(2003) with the study: Telomerase expression sensitizes the mitochondrial genome of
mammalian fibroblasts to oxidative stress: a putative role for iron. Research Triangle Park,
NC , USA .
B. Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications.
• ANDRADE, H.H.R., SANTOS, J.H ., GIMMLER-LUZ, M.C., CORREA, M.J.F.,
LEHMANN, M. e REGULY, M.L. Suppressing effect of vanillin on chromosome
aberrations that occur spontaneously or are induced by mitomycin C in the germ
line of Drosophila melanogaster . Mutation Research, 279 (1992) 281- 287.
PMID: 1377784
• CUNHA, K.S., REGULY, M.L., GIMMLER-LUZ, M.C., SANTOS , J.H .,
LEHMANN, M. & ANDRADE, H.H.R.. Co-mutagenic effect of tannic acid
on ring-X loss induced by mitomycin C in sperms cells of Drosophila
melanogaster. Mutation Research , 308 (1994): 143-148 . PMID: 7518041
• SANTOS , J.H ., GRAF, U., REGULY, M. L. & ANDRADE, H.H.R. The
synergistic effects of vanillin on recombination predominate over its antimutagenic
action in relation to MMC-induced lesions in somatic cells of Drosophila
melanogaster Mutation Research, 444 (1999): 355-365 . PMID: 10521675
• MANDAVILLI, B., J. H. SANTOS AND B. VAN HOUTEN. Mitochondrial DNA
Repair and Aging . Mutation Research , 509 (2002): 127-151 . PMID: 12427535
• SANTOS , J. H ., L. HUNAKOVA, Y. CHEN, C. BORTNER AND B.
VAN HOUTEN. Cell-sorting experiments link persistent mitochondrial DNA damage
with loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and apoptotic cell death.
Journal of Biological Chemistry , 278 (2003): 1728-1734 . PMID: 12424245
• INGRAM, J. L., A. B. RICE, J. H. SANTOS , B. VAN HOUTEN AND J. C.
BONNER. Vanadium-induced HB-EGF Expression in Human Lung Fibroblasts
is Oxidant-Dependent and Requires MAP Kinases . Am J Physiol Lung Cell
Mol Physiol, 284 (2003): L774-L782 .
• WANG Y-Z. , J. L. INGRAM, D. WALTERS, A. B. RICE, J. H. SANTOS, B.
VAN HOUTEN AND J. BONNER. Vanadium-induced STAT-1 activation in lung
myofibroblasts requires H2O2 and p38 MAP kinase. Free Radical Biology and
Medicine, 35 (2003): 845-855 . PMID: 14556849
• GOPALAKRISHNAN, K., J. H. SANTOS , M. A. GRAZCIEWICZ,
W. C. COPELAND, G. ISAYA, B. VAN HOUTEN AND M. A. RESNICK.
Reduction in frataxin causes progressive accumulation of mitochondrial damage.
Human Molecular Genetics , 24 (2003): 3331-3342 .
• J. H. SANTOS, J. N. MEYER, M. SKORVAGA, L. A. ANNAB, AND
B. VAN HOUTEN. Mitochondrial hTERT exacerbates free radical-mediated
mitochondrial DNA damage. Aging Cell, 3 (2004): 399-411 . PMID: 15569357
• STUART GR, SANTOS JH , STRAND MK, VAN HOUTEN B, COPELAND WC.
Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA defects in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with mutations in
DNA polymerase gamma associated with progressive external ophthalmoplegia.
Hum Mol Genet ., 15 (2006):363-374. PMID: 16368709
• VAN HOUTEN, B., V. WORSHNER AND J. H. SANTOS. Role of mitochondria
in toxic stress. DNA Repair , 5 (2006): 145-152 . PMID: 15878696
• J. H. SANTOS, J. N. MEYER AND B. VAN HOUTEN. Mitochondrial localization
of telomerase as a determinant for hydrogen peroxide-induced mitochondrial DNA
damage and apoptosis. Hum Mol Genet, 15 (2006): 1757-1768. PMID: 16613901
• S. L. CHAN, J. H. SANTOS, J. N. MEYER, B. S. MANDAVILLI, D. L. COOK,
C. L. McCASH Jr, G. KISSLING, B. VAN HOUTEN, W. C. COPELAND, V. E.
WALKER, K. L. WITT AND J. B. BISHOP. Mitochondrial toxicity in cardiomyocytes
of CD-1 mice following perinatal exposure to AZT, 3TC, orAZT/3TC in combination.
Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis , 48 (2007): 190-200. PMID: 16395692
• LU B, YADAV S, SHAH PG, LIU T, TIAN B, PUKSZTA S, VILLALUNA N,
KUTEJOVA E, NEWLON CS, SANTOS JH, SUZUKI CK. Roles for the human
ATP-dependent Lon protease in mitochondrial DNA maintenance. J Biol Chem. 282
(2007): 17363-17374. PMID: 17420247.
• KOVALENKO, OA, CARON, MJ, THOMAS, AP, BONINI, MG, HERBIG, U
AND SANTOS, JH. Telomerase reverse transcriptase must translocate out of the
nucleus to immortalize cells and maintain proper mitochondrial function. Submitted.
C. Research Support
Current
NJ Commission on Cancer Research July 2008 -June 2009 1.2 calendar months
Mitochondrial telomerase and its impact in prostate cancer. $50,000 total costs/yr
Role: Principal Investigator
Department of Defense, Army Research Office June 2009 - May 2013 2.0 calendar months
Molecular mechanisms of hTERT function in mitochondria $ 120,000 total costs/yr
Role: Principal Investigator
Completed
Foundation of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School and the Dean's Biomedical Research Support Program- July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007. Principal Investigator. Goal: get a better understanding into the mechanism through which mitochondrial telomerase increased oxidative stress-induced mitochondrial damage.
Fogarty International - July 10, 2000 - July 10, 2005 - Research Fellow Goal: study kinetics of damage formation and removal in the mitochondrial genome of mammalian cells;