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Olcay A. Batuman

Olcay A. Batuman
Olcay A.
Batuman
M.D.
Professor
Departments of Medicine and Anatomy & Cell Biology
State University of New York Downstate Medical Center
Olcay.Batuman@downstate.edu

Multiple Myeloma (MM), the second most common bone marrow cancer, is prevalent in Brooklyn, and remains incurable. Dr. Batuman's laboratory recently showed that increased tumor neovascularization mediated by endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) powerfully enhances tumor progression in MM. More recently, genome-wide comparisons of EPCs and tumor cells obtained from patients, show that these two populations of cells harbor similar patterns of genomic instability suggesting their common origins. Utilizing leading-edge genomic and bioinformatic approaches to characterize MM stem cells, Batuman aims to identify novel and more effective means to suppress tumor progression, prolong survival, and ultimately achieve a cure for this disease. A novel result obtained from genomic studies of MM cells is the similarities between regulation of tumor and retinal angiogenesis, indicating a key role for retinal neovascularization as a biomarker of bone marrow angiogenesis in hematopoietic cancers such as MM. Pursuit of this thesis will also instruct therapeutic strategies that benefit treatment in both disease areas as well as a number of other diseases in which vascular stem cell development is affected.

Select Publications: 

Docate F, Juarez J, Burnett M, Manuia M, Xiaojun G, Shaw D, Smith E, Timucin C, Braunstein M, Batuman O, Mazar A.(2008) Identification of biomarkers for the anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor activity of the Superoxide Dismutase 1 (SOD1) inhibitor Tetrathiomolybdate (ATN-224). 2008, Br J Cancer 98:776-83.

Braunstein, M., Ozcelik, T., Bagislar, S., Vakil, V., Smith, E.L., Dai, K., Akyerli, C.B., Batuman, O.A. (2006). Endothelial progenitor cells display clonal restriction in multiple myeloma. 2006, BMC Cancer;6:161.

Zhang, H., Vakil, V., Braunstein, M., Smith, E.L., Maroney, J., Chen, L., Dai, K., Berenson, J.R., Hussain, M.M., Klueppelberg, U., Norin, A.J., Akman, H.O., Ozcelik, T., Batuman, O.A. (2005). Circulating endothelial progenitor cells in multiple myeloma: implications and significance. Blood 105: 3286-94.