Associate Professor of Oncology 
Department of Cell Stress Biology
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Elm and Carlton Streets, BLSC L3-317
Buffalo, New York 14263
Tel. 716-845-3374
FAX. 716-845-3944
Email: Mikhail.Nikiforov@Roswellpark.org

Dr. Nikiforov joined the staff of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in 2007. He completed his PhD in Genetics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, IL after receiving his masters and bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from the Department of Virology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.

He completed his postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Rochester and Princeton University and since 2004 worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Michigan. He is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research and Society of Investigative Dermatology.

Research Interests

Molecular mechanisms of oncogene-mediated transformation and senescence of melanocytic cells. Role of nucleotide metabolism in oncogenic transformation, genomic instability and senescence.  Mechanisms regulating stability of the oncoprotein C-MYC in melanocytic cells.

Selected Publications

1. Nikiforov M.A., Kotenko I., Petrenko O., Beavis A., Valenick L., Lemischka I., Cole M.D. Complementation of Myc-dependent cell proliferation by cDNA expression library screening. Oncogene 19: 4828-4831, 2000.
2. Nikiforov M.A., Chandriani S., Petrenko O., O'Connell B., Kotenko I., Beavis A., Sedivy J.M., Cole M.D. Functional screening for Myc-induced genes reveals serine hydroxymethyltransferase, a major source of one-carbon unit for cell metabolism. Molecular and Cellular Biology 22: 5793-5800, 2002.
3. Nikiforov M.A., Chandriani S., Park J., Kotenko I., Matheos D., Johnsson A., McMahon S.B., Cole M.D. TRRAP-dependent and TRRAP-independent transcriptional activation by Myc family proteins. Molecular and Cellular Biology 22: 5054-5063, 2002.
4. Nikiforov M.A., Popov N., Kotenko I., Henriksson M., Cole M.D. The Myc and Mad1 basic domains are functionally equivalent. Journal of Biological Chemistry 278 (13): 11094-11099, 2003.
5. Cole M.D., Nikiforov M.A. Transcriptional activation by the Myc oncoprotein. In “The Myc/Max/Mad Transcription Factor Network”, Eisenman, R.N. (Ed.) Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology 302:33-50, 2006.
6. Denoyelle C., Abou-Rjaily G., Bengtson A.L., Miller T.P., Tang W.H., Nikiforov M.A., Kaufman R. J., Soengas M. Anti-oncogenic role of the endoplasmic reticulum differentially activated by mutations in the MAPK pathway. Nature Cell Biology 8(10):1053-63, 2006.
7. Nikiforov M.A., Riblett M., Tang W.H., Gratchouck V., Hari M., Fernandez Y., Verhaegen M., Jakubowiak A.J., Soengas M.S. Tumor cell-selective regulation of NOXA by c-MYC in response to proteasome inhibition. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 104(49):19488-19493, 2007.
8. Wang H., Mannava S., Grachtchouk V., Zhuang D., Soengas M.S., Gudkov A.V., Prochownik E.V., Nikiforov M.A. c-Myc depletion inhibits proliferation of human tumor cells at various stages of the cell cycle. Oncogene 27(13):1905-1915, 2008.
9. Zhuang D., Mannava S., Grachtchouk V., Patil S., Prochownik EV., Giordano T. J., Shtil A.A., Berman A.E., Soengas MS., Nikiforov, M.A. C-MYC is required for continous suppression of oncogene-induced senescence in melanoma cells. Oncogene. In Press.
10. Mannava S., Grachtchouk V., Wheeler L.J., Im M., Zhuang D., Slavina E.G., Mathews C.K., Shewach D.S., Nikiforov M.A. Direct role of nucleotide metabolism in C-MYC-dependent preoliferation of melanoma cells. Cell Cycle. In Press.