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Didier Dreau
- Bachelor in Physiology & Cell Biology, University of Rennes I (France) – 1988.
- Master in Molecular & Cell Biology, University Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand (France) – 1990.
- Ph.D. in Molecular & Cell Biology (Immunology), College of Agriculture of Rennes (France) – 1994.
Awards
- 2014 Outstanding Faculty Award Multicultural Academic Service Award
- 2020 CLAS Excellence in Teaching: Integration of Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award
Research
- The Research projects ongoing in Dr. Dréau’s laboratory focus on understanding the molecular, cellular, and physiological bases of metastases associated with cancers of epithelial origin.
- The cancers of epithelial origin include: the most lethal skin cancer, i.e. melanoma and the most common solid tumor in female i.e., breast cancer. In these cancers as in others, the occurrence of metastases is associated with a high mortality (see the site of the American Cancer Society for details on cancer statistics in the US: http://www.cancer.org)
- The development of metastases is a multi-step process, which, from the tumor standpoint, includes:
- Development of tumor cells with metastatic potentials.
- Detachment, migration of tumor cells generally through the vascular system (blood, lymph vessels), and anchoring within the host tissue.
- Growth of the metastatic mass requiring the concurrent development of vessels, i.e. neo-angiogenesis, which provide oxygen and various nutriments.
- Preventing responses of the immune system throughout all the steps associated with the development of tumor metastases.
Dr. Dréau’s research centers on the mechanisms of cancer metastasis, and the vascular and immune interactions associated with cancer growth. More specifically, the following aspects of cancer metastasis are studied:
- Key features of Metastatic Tumors
- Anchoring and Growth of Metastatic Tumors
- Vascularization of the Metastatic Tumors
- Interactions Immune System and Metastases; the role of inflammasommes in local inflammation
Research Opportunities:
- Interested Graduate Students (either Ph.D. or M.S. students) should contact Dr. Didier Dréau at: ddreau@uncc.edu
- For REU opportunities please check the REU Summer Program: Biology and Biotechnology at http://biology.uncc.edu/research/reu-biotechnology
- Interested Undergraduate Students (either Honors or BIOL3900 students) should contact Dr. Didier Dréau at: ddreau@uncc.edu
Lab Members
- Katherine Holtzman (PhD Candidate)
- Khanh Nguyen (PhD Candidate)
- Courtney Samuels (MS Student)
- Layla Abu Al Halaweh (Honors Student)
- Madison Snyder (Levine Scholar)
Lab Alumni
- Postdoctoral Fellows
– Muthulekha Swamydas, PhD (2008-2010)
– Danielle Van, PhD (2011-2012)
- Graduate students
– Deepika Suryaprakash (MS Student, 2018). Inflammasome-driven IL-1ß and IL-18 Cytokines Signaling between Macrophages and Cancer Cells within the Breast Tumor Microenvironment Master of Sciences Thesis, 42pp. 2020 Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award
– Donna Goodnow PhD student (rotation 2015)
– Rachel S. Helms, MS (2015). Macrophages Expressing Neuropilin-1 and Breast Tumor Progression. UNC Charlotte
– Michelle M. Phelps, PhD (2015). Periostin and TGFBI in Breast Cancer Progression” UNC Charlotte
– Yas Maghdouri-White, PhD (2014). “Mammary Epithelial Cells Cultured onto Non-Woven Nanofiber Electrospun Silk-Based Biomaterials to Engineer Beast Tissue Models“. Virginia Commonwealth University.
– Stephen L. Rego, PhD (2013). “Factors Shed by Breast Tumor Cells, Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha Converting Enzyme Activities and the Generation of Pro-Tumor Macrophages” UNC Charlotte
– Anindita Das Burman MS (2013). “TGF-β (beta) and Periostin Modulate each others Expressions in both Breast Stroma and Cancer Cells” Skovde University, Sweden
– Krista Ricci, MS (2012). “Hypoxia and Breast Cell Migration” UNC Charlotte
– Adam Secret, MS (2010). “Breast Cancer Cell Responses to TGFß are Affected by Hypoxia and the Extracellular Matrix” UNC Charlotte
– Ashley Jewell, MS thesis (2010). “Endothelin-1, Inflammatory Cytokines, and Macrophages in Breast Cancer” UNC Charlotte
– Andrew Cox, MS (2008). “Hypoxia, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, and Endothelin in Human Breast Cancer” UNC Charlotte
- Honors Undergraduate students
– Kerri Ann McDermott (2005-2006)
– Do (Jason) Nguyen (2006-2007)
– Hebah Sadek (2007-2008)
– Alim Hamid (2008-2009)
– Amber Lathom Yow (2009-2010)
– Ashley Brooker (2011-2012)
– Ronald Valencia (2011-2012)
– Alexander de Piante (2012)
– Rachel Helms (2012-2013)
– Thany Seyok (2014-2015)
– Brianna Sierra (2015-2016)
– Madison Anderson (2016-2017)
– Kirstin Smoot (2017-2018)
– Seth Flynn (2018-2019)
– Makenzie Postma (2018-2019)
– Jayden Corea (2019-2019)
– Erin Nesselroade (2019-2020)
– Emily Floyd (2019-2020)
Selected Publications (Pubmed peer-reviewed list; h-index = 25)
- Dréau D., Wang S., Clemens M.G., Elliott G.D., 2020. Structure and Function of Porcine Arteries Are Preserved for up to 6 Days Using the HypoRP Cold-storage Solution. Transplantation, 104(5):e125-e134. doi: 10.1097/TP.0000000000003141.
- Nguyen K.T.P., Druhan L.J., Avalos B.R., Li Z., Rauova L., Nesmelova I.V., Dréau D., 2020. CXCL12-CXCL4 heterodimerization prevents CXCL12-driven breast cancer cell migration. Cellular Signalling, 66:109488. doi: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2019.109488.
- Yazdanifar M., Zhou R., Grover P., Williams C., Bose M., Moore L.J., Wu S-T., Maher J., Dréau D., Mukherjee P., 2019. Overcoming Immunological Resistance Enhances the Efficacy of A Novel Anti-tMUC1-CAR T Cell Treatment against Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Cells, 8:1070(1-24) doi:10.3390/cells8091070.
- Dréau D., Moore L.J., Wu S., das Roy L., Dillion L., Porter T., Puri R., Wittrup K.D., Mukherjee P., 2019. Combining the Specific Anti-MUC1 Antibody TAB004 and Lip-MSA-IL-2 Limits Pancreatic Cancer Progression in Immune Competent Murine Models of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Front. In Oncol. 9:330(1-15) doi: 10.3389/fonc.2019.00330
- Park, J., Marriott I., Dréau D., Kim D.Y., Tanzi R.E., Cho H, 2018. A 3D human triculture system modeling neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease. Nature Neuroscience, 21:941-951. doi:10.1038/s41593-018-0175.
- Park, J., Wetzel I., Dréau D., Cho H., 2018. 3D Miniaturization of Human Organs for Drug Discovery. Advanced Healthcare Materials, 1700551: doi:10.1002/adhm. 201700551 [Frontcover of the Feb 2018 issue]. Most read & downloaded Adv. Healthcare Mater. Article (Oct 2017)
- Dréau D., Jeffords Moore L, Alvarez-Berrios MP, Tarannum M, Mukherjee P, Vivero-Escoto JL. Mucin-1-Antibody-Conjugated Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Selective Breast Cancer Detection in a Mucin-1 Transgenic Murine Mouse Model. J Biomed Nanotech 12:2172-2184
- Moore LJ, Roy LD, Zhou R, Grover P, Wu ST, Curry JM, Dillon LM, Puri PM, Yazdanifar M, Puri R, Mukherjee P, Dréau D., 2016. Antibody-Guided In Vivo Imaging for Early Detection of Mammary Gland Tumors. Transl Oncol. 2016 9:295-305. doi: 10.1016/j.tranon.2016.05.001.
- Maghdouri-White Y, Elmore LW, Bowlin GL, Dréau D., 2016. Breast epithelial cell infiltration in enhanced electrospun silk scaffolds. J Tissue Eng Regen Med. 2016 10:E121-31. doi: 10.1002/term.1778.
- Maghdouri-White Y, Bowlin GL, Lemmon CA, Dréau D., 2016. Bioengineered silk scaffolds in 3D tissue modeling with focus on mammary tissues. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2016 59:1168-80. doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2015.10.007.
- Case JR, Young MA, Dréau D, Trammell SR., 2015. Noninvasive enhanced mid-IR imaging of breast cancer development in vivo. J Biomed Opt. 2015 20:116003. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.20.11.116003.
- Nieman DC, Scherr J, Luo B, Meaney MP, Dréau D, Sha W, Dew DA, Henson DA, Pappan KL., 2014. Influence of pistachios on performance and exercise-induced inflammation, oxidative stress, immune dysfunction, and metabolite shifts in cyclists: a randomized, crossover trial. PLoS One. 2014 9:e113725. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113725.
- Maghdouri-White Y, Bowlin GL, Lemmon CA, Dréau D., 2014. Mammary epithelial cell adhesion, viability, and infiltration on blended or coated silk fibroin-collagen type I electrospun scaffolds. Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2014 43:37-44. doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2014.06.037.
- Kidiyoor A, Schettini J, Besmer DM, Rego SL, Nath S, Curry JM, Roy LD, Dréau D, Mukherjee P., 2014. Pancreatic Cancer Cells Isolated from Muc1-Null Tumors Favor the Generation of a Mature Less Suppressive MDSC Population. Front Immunol. 2014 5:67. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00067.
- Rego SL, Helms RS, Dréau D., 2014. Breast tumor cell TACE-shed MCSF promotes pro-angiogenic macrophages through NF-κB signaling. Angiogenesis. 2014 17:573-85. doi: 10.1007/s10456-013-9405-2.
- Rego SL, Helms RS, Dréau D., 2014. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha-converting enzyme activities and tumor-associated macrophages in breast cancer. Immunol Res. 2014 58:87-100. doi: 10.1007/s12026-013-8434-7.
- Nieman DC, Luo B, Dréau D, Henson DA, Shanely RA, Dew D, Meaney MP., 2014. Immune and inflammation responses to a 3-day period of intensified running versus cycling. Brain Behav Immun. 2014 39:180-5. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2013.09.004.
- Rego SL, Swamydas M, Kidiyoor A, Helms R, De Piante A, Lance AL, Mukherjee P, Dréau D., 2013. Soluble tumor necrosis factor receptors shed by breast tumor cells inhibit macrophage chemotaxis. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2013 33:672-81. doi: 10.1089/jir.2013.0009.
- Swamydas M, Ricci K, Rego SL, Dréau D., 2013. Mesenchymal stem cell-derived CCL-9 and CCL-5 promote mammary tumor cell invasion and the activation of matrix metalloproteinases. Cell Adh Migr. 2013 7:315-24. doi: 10.4161/cam.25138. Epub 2013 May 24.
- Lance A, Yang CC, Swamydas M, Dean D, Deitch S, Burg KJ, Dréau D, 2016. Increased extracellular matrix density decreases MCF10A breast cell acinus formation in 3D culture conditions. J Tissue Eng Regen Med. 2016 Jan;10(1):71-80. doi: 10.1002/term.1675
- Carlson J, Baxter SA, Dréau D, Nesmelova IV., 2013. The heterodimerization of platelet-derived chemokines. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2013 1834:158-68. doi: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2012.09.010.
- Bland E, Dréau D, Burg KJ., 2013. Overcoming hypoxia to improve tissue-engineering approaches to regenerative medicine. J Tissue Eng Regen Med. 2013 7:505-14. doi: 10.1002/term.540.
- Swamydas M, Nguyen D, Allen LD, Eddy J, Dréau D., 2010. Progranulin stimulated by LPA promotes the migration of aggressive breast cancer cells. Cell Commun Adhes. 2011 18:119-30.
- Swamydas M, Eddy JM, Burg KJ, Dréau D., 2010. Matrix compositions and the development of breast acini and ducts in 3D cultures. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim. 2010 46:673-84.
- Dréau D, Karaa A, Culberson C, Wyan H, McKillop IH, Clemens MG., 2006. Bosentan inhibits tumor vascularization and bone metastasis in an immunocompetent skin-fold chamber model of breast carcinoma cell metastasis. Clin Exp Metastasis. 2006;23:41-53.
- Carbonell AM, Matthews BD, Dréau D, Foster M, Austin CE, Kercher KW, Sing RF, Heniford BT., 2004. The susceptibility of prosthetic biomaterials to infection. Surg Endosc. 2005 19:430-5.
- Brar SS, Grigg C, Wilson KS, Holder WD Jr, Dreau D, Austin C, Foster M, Ghio AJ, Whorton AR, Stowell GW, Whittall LB, Whittle RR, White DP, Kennedy TP., 2004. Disulfiram inhibits activating transcription factor/cyclic AMP-responsive element binding protein and human melanoma growth in a metal-dependent manner in vitro, in mice and in a patient with metastatic disease. Mol Cancer Ther. 2004 3:1049-60.
Courses Taught
BIOL 4171/5171 Cell Physiology
BIOL 3273 Animal Physiology
BIOL 4601 Honors Seminar
BIOL 2000 UG experience EFRi-REM program (not currently taught)
BIOL 6000/8000 Special Topics in Cancer Biology: Initiation to Metastasis
BIOL4600 Senior Seminar
BIOL 6273 Adv. Human Physiology
BIOL 6143 Integrated Physiology
Professional Experience
- 1994-1996 Research Fellowship in Infection and Immunology, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte.
- 1996-1997 Research Fellowship in Cancer Immunology, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte.
- 1998-2002 Research scientist Dept General Surgery, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte.
- 2002-2002 Director of Immunology & Oncology Research, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte.
- 2003-2004 Research scientist Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
- 2004-2010 Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
- 2010-Present Associate Professor, Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte.