Chambers, Jeremy
- Associate Professor, Environmental Health Sciences , Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work

Overview
overview
-
Dr. Chambers is a native of West Virginia and a tenured associate professor. He earned his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Clemson University for his research on hexokinase biochemistry and druggability in Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of human African sleeping sickness. During a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Chambers went on to study how tumor-initiating viruses, like human cytomegalovirus, alter cellular metabolism. In his second postdoctoral position in the laboratory of Philip V. LoGrasso at the Scripps Research Institute, he was instrumental to the development and validation of highly selective, brain-penetrant inhibitors of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) as potential therapies for Parkinson’s disease. It was during this time that Dr. Chambers made the critical discovery that localization of JNK species on mitochondria was crucial for the induction of cell death. He specifically demonstrated that selectively inhibiting the interaction between JNK and the outer mitochondrial scaffold protein Sab was instrumental in protecting cells and tissues from toxic exposures.
Upon his arrival at Florida International University, Dr. Chambers established the Laboratory of Mitochondrial Communication with the overarching goals of:
(1) characterizing mechanisms responsible for mitochondria and cellular coordination.
(2) develop effective therapies against neurological disorders and neurotoxin exposures
His research uses state-of-the-art methods in biochemistry, drug discovery, neuroscience, and toxicology integrated with systems biology approaches like proteomics and network analysis. By targeting pathological changes in mitochondria (our cellular power plants), new therapeutics that preserve mitochondrial health could be used to treat human diseases such as cancer and Parkinson’s disease and even offset the effects of aging.
research interests
- Drug discovery, Mitochondria-cell communication, neurotoxins, protein kinases, protein-protein interactions
Scholarly & Creative Works
selected publications
-
Article
-
2020Mapping chemotherapeutic drug distribution in cancer cell spheroids using 2D-TOF-SIMS and LESA-TIMS-MS. ANALYST. 145:7056-7062.Full Text via DOI: 10.1039/c9an02245g Web of Science: 000582413100030
-
2020Identification of HMGA2 inhibitors by AlphaScreen-based ultra-high-throughput screening assays. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 10.Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-75890-0 Web of Science: 000589618700022
-
2020A Novel Interaction of Translocator Protein 18 kDa (TSPO) with NADPH Oxidase in Microglia. MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY. 57:4467-4487.Full Text via DOI: 10.1007/s12035-020-02042-w Web of Science: 000554842100002
-
2019Kinetic Study of DNA Topoisomerases by Supercoiling-Dependent Fluorescence Quenching. ACS OMEGA. 4:18413-18422.Full Text via DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.9b02676 Web of Science: 000495089100048
-
2019Tyrosyl-DNA Phosphodiesterase 1 and Topoisomerase I Activities as Predictive Indicators for Glioblastoma Susceptibility to Genotoxic Agents. CANCERS. 11.Full Text via DOI: 10.3390/cancers11101416 Web of Science: 000498826000013
-
2019Assessment of Mitochondrial Stress in Neurons: Proximity Ligation Assays to Detect Recruitment of Stress-Responsive Proteins to Mitochondria. CELL CULTURE TECHNIQUES, 2ND EDITION. 145:87-118.Full Text via DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9228-7_6 Web of Science: 000486456700008
-
2018Sab concentrations indicate chemotherapeutic susceptibility in ovarian cancer cell lines. BIOCHEMICAL JOURNAL. 475.Full Text via DOI: 10.1042/BCJ20180603 Web of Science: 000450624900010
-
2017Sab is differentially expressed in the brain and affects neuronal activity. BRAIN RESEARCH. 1670:76-85.
-
2017Sab mediates mitochondrial dysfunction involved in imatinib mesylate-induced cardiotoxicity. TOXICOLOGY. 382:24-35.
-
2016Analysis of Chemotherapeutic Drug Delivery at the Single Cell Level Using 3D-MSI-TOF-SIMS. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY. 27:2033-2040.
-
2016Fluorescently labeled circular DNA molecules for DNA topology and topoisomerases. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. 6.
-
2015A rapid and sensitive high-throughput screening method to identify compounds targeting protein-nucleic acids interactions. NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH. 43.
-
2015A trivalent approach for determining in vitro toxicology: Examination of oxime K027. JOURNAL OF APPLIED TOXICOLOGY. 35:219-227.
-
2015Sub-chronic administration of LY294002 sensitizes cervical cancer cells to chemotherapy by enhancing mitochondrial JNK signaling. BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS. 463:538-544.
-
2013A Small Molecule Bidentate-Binding Dual Inhibitor Probe of the LRRK2 and JNK KinasesFull Text via DOI: 10.1021/cb3006165 Web of Science: 000323363000014
-
2013Inhibition of JNK Mitochondrial Localization and Signaling Is Protective against Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in RatsFull Text via DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M112.406777 Web of Science: 000314845000029
-
2011Selective Inhibition of Mitochondrial JNK Signaling Achieved Using Peptide Mimicry of the Sab Kinase Interacting Motif-1 (KIM1)Full Text via DOI: 10.1021/cb200062a Web of Science: 000294081900006
-
2011Small Molecule c-jun-N-Terminal Kinase Inhibitors Protect Dopaminergic Neurons in a Model of Parkinson's DiseaseFull Text via DOI: 10.1021/cn100109k Web of Science: 000289762200003
-
2011Quercetin, a fluorescent bioflavanoid, inhibits Trypanosoma brucei hexokinase 1Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2010.10.011 Web of Science: 000286643300016
-
2010Glutamine Metabolism Is Essential for Human Cytomegalovirus InfectionFull Text via DOI: 10.1128/JVI.02123-09 Web of Science: 000273853200021
-
2010Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, X-ray Structure, and Pharmacokinetics of Aminopyrimidine c-jun-N-terminal Kinase (JNK) InhibitorsFull Text via DOI: 10.1021/jm901351f Web of Science: 000273268300035
-
2008Assembly of heterohexameric trypanosome hexokinases reveals that hexokinase 2 is a regulable enzymeFull Text via DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M802124200 Web of Science: 000256232000008
-
2008The anti-trypanosomal agent lonidamine inhibits Trypanosoma brucei hexokinase 1Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.molbiopara.2007.12.013 Web of Science: 000254570800010
-
2008Residues in an ATP binding domain influence sugar binding in a trypanosome hexokinaseFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2007.10.192 Web of Science: 000251663100004
-
2006Activity of a second Trypanosoma brucei hexokinase is controlled by an 18-amino-acid C-terminal tailFull Text via DOI: 10.1128/EC.00146-06 Web of Science: 000243175500008
-
Meeting Abstract
-
2019Tight Binding of Natural Polyphenols to the Intrinsically Disordered Mammalian High Mobility Group Protein At-Hook 2. BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL. 482A-482A.Web of Science: 000460779802421
-
2018THE c-Jun N-TERMINAL KINASE (JNK) IS A CRUCIAL COMPONENT OF MAINTENANCE IN GLIOBLASTOMA STEM-LIKE CELLS.. NEURO-ONCOLOGY. 247-247.Web of Science: 000460646301378
-
2017A novel splice variant of Sab (SH3BP5) alters mitochondrial physiology.. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL.Web of Science: 000426664300567
-
2017Alterations in outer mitochondrial signaling promote organelle and neuronal dysfunction.. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL.Web of Science: 000426664300568
-
2017TDP1/TOP1 RATIO AS A PREDICTIVE INDICATOR FOR THE RESPONSE OF GLIOBLASTOMA CANCER CELLS TO IRINOTECAN TREATMENT. NEURO-ONCOLOGY. 74-75.Web of Science: 000415152501122
-
2016
-
2016Sab-mediated signaling regulates mitochondrial fission. FASEB JOURNAL.Web of Science: 000406444002472
-
2015Identification of novel chemotherapies targeting mitochondrial-cell communication. FASEB JOURNAL.Web of Science: 000361722705237
-
-
Other Scholarly Work
-
2010Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, X-ray Structure, and Pharmacokinetics of Aminopyrimidine c-jun-N-terminal Kinase (JNK) Inhibitors (vol 53, pg 419, 2010). 1882-1882.Full Text via DOI: 10.1021/jm1000425 Web of Science: 000274581200044
-
-
Preprint
-
Review
-
2019Phosphoregulation on mitochondria: Integration of cell and organelle responses. CNS NEUROSCIENCE & THERAPEUTICS. 837-858.Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/cns.13141 Web of Science: 000471705700004
-
assignee for patent
Research
principal investigator on
- Acetylcholinesterase Complex Protein-Protein Interactions as Drug Targets Against Organophosphate-induced Neurotoxicity. awarded by Environmental Health Sciences 2021 - 2023
- Targeting JNK signaling in patient-derived glioblastoma stem cells awarded by Baptist Health South Florida 2018 - 2021
- Mitochondrial outer membrane signaling as therapeutic targets for Parkinson's disease. awarded by Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson 2016 - 2019
- SH3BP5 levels indicate ovarian cancer susceptibility to conventional therapies - Jacquie Liggett Fellowship - Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper, Inc. (H.O.W.) Program awarded by Palm Healthcare Foundation 2014 - 2015
Contact
full name
- Jeremy Chambers
Identifiers
ORCID iD
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6143-3091 (confirmed)
visualizations
Recent publications and grants in Scholars@FIU
publication subject areas
Citation index-derived subject areas the researcher has published in