Joshua Heyza

 

 

 

 

 

Joshua Heyza
( Graduated 07/19/2019 )

Dissertation Mentor: Stephan Patrick, Ph.D.

Research Focus: 
Understanding the role of p53 in mediating sensitivity to platinum-based chemotherapy in NER-deficient tumors. Identifying mechanistic roles of ERCC1 splice variants in modulating cisplatin cytotoxicity. 

Grants, Awards & Scholarships:
2019 Leonard N. Simons Award for Exemplary Research and Scholarly Achievement

2019 Cancer Biology Graduate Research Symposium - 2nd Place - Poster Presentation
2018 Molecular Therapeutics Annual Research Retreat - 2nd Place - Poster Presentation
2018 Cancer Biology Graduate Research Symposium - 1st Place - Poster Presentation
2017 Molecular Therapeutics Annual Research Retreat - 1st Place - Poster Presentation
2017 - 2018 Ruth L. Kirschenstein Research Training Recipient (T32-CA009531) Reappointment, Wayne State University
2016 - 2017 Ruth L. Kirschenstein Research Training Recipient (T32-CA009531), Wayne State University
18th Annual Midwest DNA Repair Symposium, The Ohio State University - 1st Place Poster Presentation
 6th  Annual Cancer Biology Symposium, Wayne State University School of Medicine - 1st Place Poster Presentation
2014 Cancer Biology Director's Award, Wayne State University School of Medicine

Publications:

Joshua R. Heyza, Wen Lei, Donovan Watza, Hao Zhang, Wei Chen, Jessica B. Back, Ann G. Schwartz, Gerold Bepler and Steve M. Patrick. Identification and Characterization of Synthetic Viability with ERCC1 Deficiency in Response to Interstrand Crosslinks in Lung Cancer. Clin Cancer Res. March 5, 2019. DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-18-3094

Joshua R. Heyza*, Sanjeevani Arora*, Hao Zhang, Kayla L. Conner, Wen Lei, Ashley M. Floyd, Rahul R. Deshmukh, Jeffrey Sarver, Christopher J. Trabbic, Paul Erhardt, Tak-Hang Chan, Q. Ping Dou and Steve M. Patrick. Targeting the DNA Repair Endonuclease ERCC1-XPF with Green Tea Polyphenol Epigallocatechin-3-Gallate (EGCG) and Its Prodrug to Enhance Cisplatin Efficacy in Human Cancer Cells. Nutrients 2018;10:1644  *Authors contributed equally

Arora, S.; Heyza, J.R.; Chalfin, E.C.; Ruch, R.J.; Patrick, S.M. Gap Junction Intercellular Communication Positively Regulates Cisplatin Toxicity by Inducing DNA Damage through Bystander Signaling. Cancers 2018;10:368.

Arora, S., Heyza, J., Zhang, H., Kalman-Maltese, V., Tillison, K., Floyd, A., Chalfin, E., Bepler, G., & Patrick, S. (2016). Identification of small molecule inhibitors of ERCC1-XPF that inhibit DNA repair and potentiate cisplatin efficacy in cancer cells. Oncotarget 2016;7:75104-17.

K. Ji, J. Heyza, D. Cavallo-Medved, B.F. Sloane, Pathomimetic Cancer Avatars for Live-Cell Imaging of Protease Activity, Biochimie 2016;122:68-76.

Education:
BS with Honors, Biology, University of Michigan-Flint

Hometown: 
Flint, MI