
Vanessa Jensen, DVM, DACLAM
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, Division of Basic Sciences
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Department Chair, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Professor, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
1995 | Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA, DVM, Veterinary Medicine |
1991 | Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA, BS, Biomedical Science |
Postgraduate Training
1996-1997 | Postdoctoral Research Associate, Immunology and Microbiology, The University of Iowa School of Medicine, Iowa City, IA |
Board Certifications
2009 | Diplomate of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, 2006 - 2015
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Department Chair ad interim, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2018 - 2019
Director of Research Animal Support Facility for the Cancer Center Support Grant Core, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2018 - Present
Deputy Department Chair, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2017 - 2018
Co-Director of Education, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2016 - Present
Section Chief, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2015 - Present
Residency Program Director, The Gulf Coast Consortium Veterinary Training Program, Houston, 2015 - 2018
Chief of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, 2012 - 2015
Chief Executive Officer of Preceptor Site, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, 2007 - 2015
Chief of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, 2006 - 2012
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Advisor, Lone Star College Veterinary Technology Program Advisory Committee, Tomball, TX, 2007 - Present
Institutional Committee Activities
Attending Veterinarian and voting member, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, 2018 - Present
Chair, Program Income Advisory Committee, 2018 - Present
Voting Member, Institutional Biosafety Committee, 2015 - 2021
Alternate Voting Member, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, 2015 - 2018
Voting Member, Texas Veterinary Medical Association Welfare Committee, 2015 - Present
Training Program Director, Gulf Coast Consortium Postdoctoral Veterinary Training Program in Laboratory Animal Medicine and Science Advisory Committee, 2014 - 2015
Voting Member, Radiation Safety Committee, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2012 - 2015
Primary Advisor, Gulf Coast Consortium Postdoctoral Veterinary Training Program in Laboratory Animal Medicine and Science Advisory Committee, 2012 - 2014
Attending Veterinarian, Voting Member, Animal Welfare Committee (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee), The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2011 - 2015
Member, Animal Care Communications Crisis Management Leadership Committee, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2011 - 2015
Voting Member, Animal Welfare Committee (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee), The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2008 - 2015
Voting Member, Institutional Biosafety Committee, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 2006 - 2012
Voting Member, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, University of Wisconsin Medical School, 2003 - 2006
Consultantships
Attending Veterinarian, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, 2014 - 2020
Attending Veterinarian, Nanospectra Biosciences Inc, Houston, TX, 2012 - Present
Ad Hoc Consultant, Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care – International, Frederick, MD, 2012 - Present
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Yan X, Zhang X, Wang L, Zhang R, Pu X, Wu S, Li L, Tong P, Wang J, Meng QH, Jensen VB, Girard L, Minna JD, Roth JA, Swisher SG, Heymach JV, Fang B. Inhibition of Thioredoxin/Thioredoxin Reductase Induces Synthetic Lethality in Lung Cancers with Compromised Glutathione Homeostasis. Cancer Res 79(1):125-132, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30401714.
- Mamenko M, Zaika O, Tomilin V, Jensen VB, Pochynyuk O. Compromised regulation of the collecting duct ENaC activity in mice lacking AT1areceptor. J Cell Physiol 233(9):7217-7225, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29574718.
- Gopalakrishnan V, Spencer CN, Nezi L, Reuben A, Andrews MC, Karpinets TV, Prieto PA, Vicente D, Hoffman K, Wei SC, Cogdill AP, Zhao L, Hudgens CW, Hutchinson DS, Manzo T, Petaccia de Macedo M, Cotechini T, Kumar T, Chen WS, Reddy SM, Szczepaniak Sloane R, Galloway-Pena J, Jiang H, Chen PL, Shpall EJ, Rezvani K, Alousi AM, Chemaly RF, Shelburne S, Vence LM, Okhuysen PC, Jensen VB, Swennes AG, McAllister F, Marcelo Riquelme Sanchez E, Zhang Y, Le Chatelier E, Zitvogel L, Pons N, Austin-Breneman JL, Haydu LE, Burton EM, Gardner JM, Sirmans E, Hu J, Lazar AJ, Tsujikawa T, Diab A, Tawbi H, Glitza IC, Hwu WJ, Patel SP, Woodman SE, Amaria RN, Davies MA, Gershenwald JE, Hwu P, Lee JE, Zhang J, Coussens LM, Cooper ZA, Futreal PA, Daniel CR, Ajami NJ, Petrosino JF, Tetzlaff MT, Sharma P, Allison JP, Jenq RR, Wargo JA. Gut Microbiome Modulates Response to anti-PD-1 Immunotherapy in Melanoma Patients. Science 359(6371):97-103, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29097493.
- Prieto MC, Reverte V, Mamenko M, Kuczeriszka M, Veiras LC, Rosales CB, McLellan M, Gentile O, Jensen VB, Ichihara A, McDonough AA, Pochynyuk OM, Gonzalez AA. Collecting Duct Prorenin Receptor Knockout Reduces Renal Function, Increases Na+ Excretion and Mitigates Renal Responses in ANGII Induced Hypertensive Mice. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 313(6):152, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28814438.
- Mamenko MV, Boukelmoune N, Tomilin VN, Zaika OL, Jensen VB, O'Neil RG, Pochynyuk OM. The Renal TRPV4 Channel is Essential for Adaptation to Increased Dietary Potassium. Kidney Int 91(6):1398-1409, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28187982.
- Wafer LN, Jensen VB, Whitney JC, Gomez TH, Flores R, Goodwin BS. Environmental Enrichment Influences Fertility and Fecundity of Zebrafish (Danio rerio). J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 55(3):291-294, 2016. PMID: 27177561.
- Wafer LN, Whitney JC,Jensen VB. Argulus japonicus in Goldfish (Carassius auruatus). Comp Med 65(2):93-95, 2015. PMID: 25926394.
- Mamenko M, Zaika O, Prieto MC, Jensen B, Doris PA, Navar LG, Pochynyuk O. Coordinated Regulation of ENaC Activity in the Distal Nephron by Aldosterone and Ang II. The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB J) 28(1), 2014.
- Mamenko M, Zaika O, Prieto MC, Jensen VB, Doris PA, Navar LG, Pochynyuk O. Chronic Angiotensin II Infusion Drives Extensive Aldosterone-Independent ENaC activation. Hypertension 62(6):1111-1122, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24060890.
- Munger RJ, Jensen VB, Bouldin TW, Peiffer RL. Bilateral Neuroepithelial Choristomas of the Optic Disc in a Cynomolgus Monkey (Macaca Fascicularis): A Case Report. Vet Ophthalmol 5(3):221-226, 2002. PMID: 12236876.
- Jensen VB, Harty JT, Jones BD. Interactions of the Invasive Pathogens Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, and Shigella flexneri with M Cells and Murine Peyer’s Patches. Infect Immun 66(8):3758-3766, 1998. PMID: 9673259.
- Levy DR, Flores R, Garcia GE, Craig SL, Jensen VB. Effects of Extruded Compared with Pelleted Diets on Laboratory Mice Housed in Individually Ventilated Cages and the Cage Environment. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 57(6):686-694. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30185286.
Invited Articles
- Bird NK, Greaver JL, Trimble AL, Stavinoha CI, Work RK, Jensen VB. Efficacy of a Novel Foam E-collar to Promote Comfort and to Inhibit Self-mutilation During Postsurgical Recovery in the Watanabe Rabbits with Potential Use in Rodents. AALAS 2(3):48-50, 2014.
Abstracts
- Helmink B, Harris A, Heffernan T, Andrews M, Cogdill A, Jamal M, Spencer C, Gopalakrishnan V, Gaudreau P, Jenq R, McQuade J, Jensen V, Duran A, Martin L Gershenwald J, Wargo J. Variation of the Gut Microbiome of Complete Responders to Immune Checkpoint Blockade and Healthy Individuals- Implications for Clinical Trial Design. Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 33rd Annual Meeting, 2018.
- Steckler R, Pesek A, Knoblauch J, Rochford J, Jensen VB. The Quatranasia: A Multi-Chamber Euthanasia Unit. 69th American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 2018.
- Barrera A, Duran A, Mitchell J, Tinkey P, Jensen VB. The Dirty Truth: An Electronic Device Sanitation Study. 69th Annual American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 2018. PMID: 30236173.
- Roberts K, Duran AF, Guio J, Gopalakrishnan V, Nezi L, Wargo J, Jensen VB. Keeping the "Known" in Gnotobiotics: A Minimalist Approach. 56th Annual Texas Branch American Association of Laboratory Animal Science, 2018.
- Morrell M, Zhang A, Jensen V, Alvarez C, Schadler K. Exercise Impacts Tumor Vasculature and Metastasis in Ewing Sarcoma. Connective Tissue Oncology Society Annual Meeting, 2017.
- Humphreys AF, Pageon L, Trimble AL, Mendoza A, Schwiebert R, Jensen, VB. Peritoneal Mesothelioma in a Ferret. 52nd Annual Texas Branch American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 2014.
- Bird NK, Greaver JL, Trimble AL, Stavinoha CI, Work RK, Jensen VB. Efficacy of a Novel Foam E-collar to Promote Comfort and to Inhibit Self-Mutilation During Postsurgical Recovery in the Watanabe Rabbit and Rodents. 64th Annual American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, 2013.
Book Chapters
- Craig S, Jensen VB. Animal Models in Cancer Nanotechnology. In: Nanotechnology in Cancer. Elsevier Inc, 45-69, 2016.