Education:
PhD, University of Calgary, Biochemistry &
Molecular Biology
Postdoctoral training, University of Florida
(UFlorida)
Honors and Awards:
Canadian Institutes for Health Research
Studentship (1997-2002)
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical
Research Incentive Award (2001-2002)
Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical
Research Studentship Award (2002-2003)
American Society for Cell Biology Postdoctoral
Travel Award (2005)
Bankhead-Coley Florida Cancer Program New
Investigator Research Grant (2008-2011)
K99/R00 NIH Pathway to Independence Award (2008-2014)
Professional
Experience:
2007 – 2010: Research Assistant Professor, UFlorida, Oral Biology
2010
– 2018: Assistant Professor,
MUSC, Oral Health Sciences (primary appointment)
2012
– Present: Adjunct Assistant
Professor, Clemson University, Bioengineering
2017 – 2018: Assistant Professor, MUSC, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (secondary appointment)
2018 – Present: Associate Professor, MUSC, Oral Health Sciences and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Research Interests:
Dr. Jakymiw’s research focuses on the study of RNAi-based
therapies for oral cancer. In
particular, his lab is currently involved in developing peptide carrier-mediated
targeted delivery strategies of therapeutic siRNA molecules for the treatment
of oral cancer. Moreover, his laboratory
is also pursuing the study of RNA silencing biology and how dysregulation of
its molecular components can contribute to disease, in particular oral
cancer. The goal of his research is to gain further insights into the
molecular causes of oral cancer, identify novel biomarkers for this disease,
and develop novel therapeutic strategies for treating oral cancer.
Recent Publications:
Cummings JC, Zhang H, and Jakymiw A. Peptide carriers to the rescue: overcoming the barriers to siRNA delivery for cancer treatment. Translational Research 214:92-104, 2019. PMID: 31404520, PMCID: PMC6848774
Alexander-Bryant AA, Zhang H, Attaway CC, Pugh
W, Eggart L, Sansevere RM, Andino LM, Dinh L, Cantini LP, and Jakymiw A. Dual
peptide-mediated targeted delivery of bioactive siRNAs to oral cancer cells in
vivo. Oral Oncology 72:123-131, 2017. PMID: 28797448, PMCID: PMC5580030
Alexander-Bryant AA, Dumitriu A, Attaway CC,
Yu H, Jakymiw A. Fusogenic-oligoarginine peptide-mediated silencing of the
CIP2A oncogene suppresses oral cancer tumor growth in vivo. Journal of Controlled Release 218:72-81, 2015. PMID: 26386438, PMCID:
PMC4646222
Cantini L, Andino LM, Attaway CC, Butler B,
Dumitriu A, Blackshaw A, Jakymiw A. Identification and characterization of
Dicer1e, a Dicer1 protein variant, in oral cancer cells. Molecular Cancer 13:190,
2014. PMID: 25115815, PMCID: PMC4141963
Cantini L, Attaway CC, Butler B, Andino LM,
Sokolosky ML, Jakymiw A. Fusogenic-oligoarginine peptide-mediated delivery of
siRNAs targeting the CIP2A oncogene into oral cancer cells. PLoS ONE 8(9):e73348, 2013. PMID: 24019920, PMCID: PMC3760901