Pamela Hershberger

Pamela Hershberger

PhD

Special Interests:

Chemoprevention of aerodigestive malignancies Elucidating the effects of e-cigarettes and tobacco smoke exposure on the airway epithelium Novel approaches to exploiting vitamin D metabolites in lung cancer treatment
Credentials

Positions

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • Associate Professor of Oncology
  • Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics
  • Member, Experimental Therapeutics Graduate Program
  • Member, Developmental Therapeutics Cancer Center Support Grant Program
  • Member, Lung Disease Site Research Group
  • Member, Roswell Park Cancer Institute Scientific Review Committee
  • Director, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics Faculty Writing Group
  • Member, Roswell Park Cancer Institute Retreat Planning Committee

Background

Education and Training:

  • Post-doctoral, Institute for Molecular Virology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
  • Post-doctoral, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
  • PhD - Department of Biochemistry - Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH

Fellowship:

  • University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
  • University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA

Professional Memberships:

  • American Association for Cancer Research
Research

Research Overview:

Work within my laboratory focuses on the prevention and treatment of lung cancer. Specifically, we seek to establish and understand the role of vitamin D metabolites in delaying lung tumor development and progression. Ongoing projects are designed to: (1) establish the role of dietary vitamin D3 in preventing lung cancer; (2) exploit vitamin D-mediated suppression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition to prevent failure of molecularly targeted agents in lung cancer; and (3) identify novel strategies for overcoming vitamin D resistance in molecularly defined subsets of lung cancer.

We also collaborate with investigators at the University of Buffalo to ascertain the effects of vitamin D3 intake on inspiratory muscle strength and exercise tolerance and the University of Pittsburgh to define the interplay between tobacco smoke exposure, vitamin D signaling, and inflammation-related lung diseases. To accomplish our research objectives, we employ cell culture models, contemporary genomic technologies, animal models, and innovative clinical trial designs.

Work in my laboratory is supported by NIH/NCI and the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation.

Publications

Key Publications

Parise RA, Egorin MJ, Kanterewicz B, Taimi M, Petkovich M, Lew AM, Chuang SS, Nichols M, El-Hefnawy T, and Hershberger PA. CYP24, the enzyme that catabolizes the anti-proliferative agent vitamin D, is increased in lung cancer. Int. J. Cancer 2006; 119:1819-1828.

Srinivasan M, Parwani AV, Hershberger PA, Lenzner DE, Weissfeld JL. Vitamin D Receptor Expression and Overall Survival in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Prognostic and Therapeutic Implications. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 2011, 123(1-2):30-6.

Zhang Q, Kanterewicz B, Buch S, Petkovich M, Parise R, Beumer J, Lin Y, Diergaarde B, Hershberger PA. CYP24 inhibition preserves 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 anti-proliferative signaling in lung cancer cells. Mol Cell Endocrinol, 2012, 355:153-61.

Beumer JH, Parise RA, Kanterewicz B, Petkovich M, D’Argenio DZ, Hershberger PA. A local effect of CYP24 inhibition on lung tumor xenograft exposure to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 is revealed using a novel LC-MS/MS assay. Steroids, 2012, 77:477-83.

Zhang Q, Kanterewicz B, Shoemaker S, Hu Q, Liu S, Atwood K, Hershberger PA. Differential response to 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1α,25(OH)2D3) in non-small cell lung cancer cells with distinct oncogene mutations. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2013, 136:264-70.

Upadhyay SK, Verone A, Shoemaker S, Qin M, Liu S, Campbell M, Hershberger PA. 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) signaling capacity and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): Implications for use of 1,25(OH)2D3 in NSCLC treatment. Cancers (Basel). 2013, 5(4):1504-21.