Janice Santiago-O'Farrill, PhD
Department of Invest. Cancer Therapeutics, Division of Cancer Medicine Division
About Dr. Janice Santiago-O'Farrill
For
the last 10 years, as a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow and Instructor, I
have been working on understanding mechanisms of cancer cells drug resistance
such as autophagy, after chemotherapy. As a graduate student, my work in the
laboratory of Dr. Eugenie S. Kleinerman documented for the first time a role
for autophagy in the resistance of osteosarcoma cells to conventional
chemotherapy. In 2015, I completed the
requirements for my doctoral degree and wanted to expand on my graduate studies
of autophagy and tumor resistance and decided to join Dr. Robert Bast’s
laboratory as a postdoctoral fellow. My studies as postdoctoral fellow focused on
the regulation of autophagy and tumor dormancy in ovarian cancer and as an instructor,
I am excited to continue building on my research portfolio. Specifically, I
will work on the discovery of the distinct vulnerabilities of autophagic;
dormant cancer cells, identification of underexplored mechanisms that induce
chemotherapy resistance and development of therapies targeting newly identified
resistance pathways.
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Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Instructor, Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Instructor, Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2015 | University of Texas Health Science Center, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, Texas, US, Cancer Biology, Ph.D |
| 2013 | University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR, Pharmaceutical Sciences, M.S |
| 2008 | University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, PR, General Sciences, BS |
Postgraduate Training
| 2015-2020 | Postdoctoral Fellowship, Experimental Therapeutics, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas |
Experience & Service
Other Professional Positions
Graduate Research Assistant, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2011 - 2015
Summer Cancer Research Trainee,, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houiston, TX, 2009 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2015 | AACR Minority Scholar in Cancer Research Award, AACR |
| 2014 | Ancillary Training Program Scholarship, National Institute of General Medical Sciences |
| 2014 | Keystone Symposia, National Institute of General Medical Sciences |
| 2014 | First Place Research Award-University of Puerto Rico, School of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy |
| 2013 | Honors, School of Pharmacy, University of Puerto Rico |
| 2013 | Travel Award, The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences |
| 2009 | Funding for CRC investigators, Clinical Trial Workshop, University of Puerto Rico, Funding for CRC investigators |
| 2009 | Travel Award, Purdue University, Big Ten + Grad Expo Scholarship |
| 2008 - 2010 | Cancer Research Training Program Stipend Award, University of Puerto Rico/MD Anderson Cancer Center Partnership |
| 2008 | Cum Laude, University of Puerto Rico |
| 2008 | Travel Award, University of Puerto Rico, Research Centers in Minority Institutions |
| 2006 - 2007 | National Smart Grant Scholarship, University of Puerto Rico |
Professional Memberships
Selected Presentations & Talks
Local Presentations
- 2014. Is it survival or death? Understanding the role of autophagy in osteosarcoma. Conference. Is it survival or death? Understanding the role of autophagy in osteosarcoma. Houston, TX, US.
- 2013. The role of autophagy in Gemcitabine-Induced Cytotoxicity in Osteosarcoma. Conference. The role of autophagy in Gemcitabine-Induced Cytotoxicity in Osteosarcoma. Houston, TX, US.
Regional Presentations
- 2014. HSP27 as a potential factor to determine the fate of Gemcitabine-induced autophagy in osteosarcoma: survival vs. death. Conference. HSP27 as a potential factor to determine the fate of Gemcitabine-induced autophagy in osteosarcoma: survival vs. death. Smithville, TX, US.
- 2009. Role of HER2-AKT signaling in regulating COP9 signalosome Subunit 6 and p53. Conference. Role of HER2-AKT signaling in regulating COP9 signalosome Subunit 6 and p53. San Juan, PR, US.
Formal Peers
- 2018. Autophagy inhibition sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to PARP. Invited. Houston, TX, US.
- 2015. “HSP27 as a potential factor to determine the fate of Gemcitabine-Induced. Invited. Houston, TX, US.
- 2014. “Is it survival or death? Understanding the role of autopaghy in Osteosarcoma. Invited. Houston, US.
- 2014. HSP27 as a potential factor to determine the fate of Gemcitabine-induced autophagy in osteosarcoma:survial vs death. Invited. Smithville, TX, US.
- 2013. The role of autophagy in Gemcitabine-Induced. Invited. Houston, TX, US.
- 2009. Role of HER2-AKT signaling in regulating COP9. Invited, US.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2023 - 2024 |
| Title: | he role of DIRAS3 in dormancy of ovarian cancer____ |
| Funding Source: | MD Anderson Cancer Center Dept. of Experimental Therapeutics Departmental Research Grant |
| Role: | PI |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Santiago-O'Farrill, J, Bollu, AB, Yang, H, Orellana, VR, Pina, MA, Zhang, X, Liu, J, Bast Jr, RC, Lu, Z. Crizotinib Enhances PARP Inhibitor Efficacy in Ovarian Cancer Cells and Xenograft Models by Inducing Autophagy. Molecular Cancer Research 22(9):840-851, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38780897.
- Timofeeva N, Ayres ML, Baran N, Santiago-O'Farrill JM, Bildik G, Lu Z, Konopleva M, Gandhi V. Preclinical investigations of the efficacy of the glutaminase inhibitor CB-839 alone and in combinations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Front Oncol 13:1161254, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37228498.
- Lu Z, Mao W, Yang H, Santiago-O'Farrill JM, Rask PJ, Mondal J, Chen H, Ivan C, Liu X, Liu CG, Xi Y, Masuda K, Carrami EM, Chen M, Tang Y, Pang L, Lakomy DS, Calin GA, Liang H, Ahmed AA, Vankayalapati H, Bast RC. SIK2 inhibition enhances PARP inhibitor activity synergistically in ovarian and triple-negative breast cancers. J Clin Invest 132(11), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35642638.
- Blessing AM, Santiago-O'Farrill JM, Mao W, Pang L, Ning J, Pak D, Bollu LR, Rask P, Iles L, Yang H, Tran S, Elmir E, Bartholomeusz G, Langley R, Lu Z, Bast RC. Elimination of dormant, autophagic ovarian cancer cells and xenografts through enhanced sensitivity to anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibition. Cancer 126(15):3579-3592, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32484926.
- Santiago-O'Farrill JM, Weroha SJ, Hou X, Oberg AL, Heinzen EP, Maurer MJ, Pang L, Rask P, Amaravadi RK, Becker SE, Romero I, Rubio MJ, Matias-Guiu X, Santacana M, Llombart-Cussac A, Poveda A, Lu Z, Bast RC. Poly(adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase inhibitors induce autophagy-mediated drug resistance in ovarian cancer cells, xenografts, and patient-derived xenograft models. Cancer 126(4):894-907, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31714594.
- Hollomon MG, Patterson L, Santiago-O'Farrill J, Kleinerman ES, Gordon N. Knock down of Fas-Associated Protein with Death Domain (FADD) Sensitizes Osteosarcoma to TNFα-induced Cell Death. J Cancer 11(7):1657-1667, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32194778.
- Livingston JA, Wang WL, Tsai JW, Lazar AJ, Leung CH, Lin H, Advani S, Daw N, Santiago-O'Farrill J, Hollomon M, Gordon NB, Kleinerman ES. Analysis of HSP27 and the Autophagy Marker LC3B+ Puncta Following Preoperative Chemotherapy Identifies High-Risk Osteosarcoma Patients. Mol Cancer Ther 17(6):1315-1323, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29592877.
- Santiago-O'Farrill JM, Kleinerman ES, Hollomon MG, Livingston A, Wang WL, Tsai JW, Gordon NB. Phosphorylated heat shock protein 27 as a potential biomarker to predict the role of chemotherapy-induced autophagy in osteosarcoma response to therapy. Oncotarget 9(2):1602-1616, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29416717.
- Zhou J, Alfraidi A, Zhang S, Santiago-O'Farrill JM, Yerramreddy Reddy VK, Alsaadi A, Ahmed AA, Yang H, Liu J, Mao W, Wang Y, Takemori H, Vankayalapati H, Lu Z, Bast RC. A Novel Compound ARN-3236 Inhibits Salt-Inducible Kinase 2 and Sensitizes Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines and Xenografts to Paclitaxel. Clin Cancer Res 23(8):1945-1954, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 27678456.
- Ö U, Segaliny A, Botter S, Santiago JM, Mutsaers AJ. Preclinical mouse models of osteosarcoma. Bonekey Rep 4:670, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25987985.
- Santiago-O'Farrill, J, Gordon, N. Autophagy in osteosarcoma. Advances in experimental medicine and biology 804:147-160, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24924173.
- Hollomon MG, Gordon N, Santiago-O'Farrill JM, Kleinerman ES. Knockdown of autophagy-related protein 5, ATG5, decreases oxidative stress and has an opposing effect on camptothecin-induced cytotoxicity in osteosarcoma cells. BMC Cancer 13:500, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24160177.
- Irwin ME, Nelson LD, Santiago-O'Farrill JM, Knouse PD, Miller CP, Palla SL, Siwak DR, Mills GB, Estrov Z, Li S, Kornblau SM, Hughes DP, Chandra J. Small molecule ErbB inhibitors decrease proliferative signaling and promote apoptosis in philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. PLoS One 8(8):e70608, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23936456.
- Xue Y, Chen J, Choi HH, Phan L, Chou PC, Zhao R, Yang H, Santiago J, Liu M, Yeung GE, Yeung SC, Lee MH. HER2-Akt signaling in regulating COP9 signalsome subunit 6 and p53. Cell Cycle 11(22):4181-90, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23095642.
Invited Articles
- Santiago-O’Farrill, JM, Lu, Z, Bast, R. Autophagy and Cancer Chemotherapy: Inhibition or Enhancement. Single Cell Biology. e-Pub 2016.
- Castillo-Ramirez, J, Echevarría, I, Santiago, J, Pérez-Torres, M, Rivera-Claudia, M. Synthesis and Characterization of Ferrocene Acetals and Evaluations of Their. Synthesis Journal. e-Pub 2013.
Abstracts
- Lu Z, Mao W, Pang L, Santiago-O’Farrill JM, Yang H, Ahmed A, Vankayalapati H, Bast R. SIK2 inhibitors regulate DNA repair pathway and sensitize ovarian cancer to PARP inhibitors, 2018. e-Pub 2018.
- Santiago-O’Farrill JM, Essien S, Figueroa M, Pang L, Amaravadi R, Lu Z, Bast R. Autophagy protects ovarian cancer cells from olaparib-induced toxicity. American Association, 2017. e-Pub 2017.
- Zhoua J, Alfraidia A, Zhang S, Santiago-O’Farrill JM, Yerramreddy V, Alsaadi A, Ahmed A, Yang H, Liu J, Mao W, Wang Y, Takemori H, Vankayalapati H, Lu Z, Bast RA. A novel compound ARN-3236 inhibits SIK2 and sensitizes ovarian cancer to paclitaxel, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27678456.
- Santiago-O'Farril JM, Hollomon M, Kleinerman ES, and Gordon N. Factor to Determine the Fate of Gemcitabine- Induced Autophagy in Osteosarcoma: Survival vs. Death. American Association for Cancer Research, 2015. e-Pub 2015.
- Santiago-O’Farrill JM, Hollomon, M, Kleinerman, ES, Gordon, N. HSP27 as a. American Association for Cancer Research, 2015. e-Pub 2015.
- Santiago-O’Farrill, JM, Hollomon, M, Kleinerman, ES, Gordon, N. Autophagy as a mechanism implicated in Osteosarcoma resistance to Gemcitabine. American Society of Pediatrics Hematology Oncology(ASPHO), 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Santiago-O’Farrill JM, Hollomon, M, Kleinerman, ES, Gordon, N. The role of Autophagy on Gemcitabine-induced cytoxicity in Osteosarcoma. Keystone Symposia, 2014. e-Pub 2014.
- Gordon, N, Hollomon, M, Chien, H, Santiago-O’Farrill, JM, Kleinerman, ES. The microenvironment plays an important role in the ability of aerosol Gemcitabine and. Global Biotechnology Congress, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Santiago-O’Farrill, JM, Hollomon, M, Kleinerman, ES, Gordon, N. Autophagy as a Mechanism implicated in Osteosarcoma resistance to Gemcitabine. AACR-NCIEORTC Molecular Targets adn Cancer Therapeutics, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Vlaar, CP, Pérez-Torres, M, Miranda M, E, Santiago-O’Farrill, JM. Cyclic thiosulfinates as inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase and breast cancer cell growth. Division of Medicinal Chemistry Scientific 245th National Meeting and Exposition, 2013. e-Pub 2013.
- Santiago JM, Espinosa, S, Vlaar, CP, Pérez-Torres, M. Cytotoxic screening of thioredoxin reductase inhibitors as potential new anti-cancer drugs. XXX Annual Forum of Research and Investigation, 2010. e-Pub 2010.
- Claudio, K, Luciano, E, Santiago, J, Pérez, PhD M, Carvajal A, Pagan M, Ospina C. Chemical Analysis and Biological evaluation of the endemic Plant Simarouba, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Madera-Miranda, E, Espinosa, S, Santiago, J, Pérez-Torres, M, Vlaar, CP. Synthesis of Cyclic Disfulfides as inhibitors of Thioredoxin Reductase. American Association of, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
- Madera, E, Espinosa, S, Santiago, JM, Pérez-Torres, M, Vlaar, CP. Synthesis of Cyclic 1, 2-Disulfide and Cyclic 1, 2- Thiosulfinates as inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase, 2009. e-Pub 2009.
Book Chapters
- Uluçkan Ö, Segaliny A, Botter S, Santiago JM, Mutsaers A. Preclinical Mouse Models of Osteosarcoma. In: IBMS BoneKEy-Nature, 2014.
- Santiago, JM, Gordon, N. Current Advances in osteosarcoma, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. In: Autophagy in Osteosarcoma, 2014.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 22, 2026