Education

• Research Fellow in Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
• Research Instructor, Tulane University Medical School, Dept. of Medicine, Section of Experimental Medicine and Research Associate at the VA Medical Center, Endocrine, Polypeptide and Cancer Institute, New Orleans, LA, U.S.A
• Residency in Anatomic Pathology, Aretaieion University Hospital, Athens, Greece
• Ph.D., Medical School, University of Athens, Greece
• M.D., Medical School, University of Athens, Greece
• B.S., Dept. of Biology, University of Athens, Greece

Research

As a pathologist by training I possess considerable expertise in clinical and experimental pathology primarily related to the characterization of xenograft and transgenic/mutant mouse cancer models and animal models of non-neoplastic conditions such as autoimmune, metabolic diseases and tissue regeneration models. My postdoctoral training at Tulane University in the group of the Nobel laureate Prof. A.V. Schally also offered me the opportunity to perform bench research in experimental and neuroendocrine oncology/pathology. Among the topics of my research are the characterization of mouse models for cancer, stromal-tumor interaction, inflammation, autoimmune disorders such as pemphigus vulgaris and metabolic conditions such as diabetes and obesity. Recently, I have studied the significance of using deer mice as an alternative model for human breast cancer studies. I am also actively involved in research projects related to markers’ analysis of human cancers.

Selective publications:

• Mohammed AD, Mohammed Z, Roland MM, Chatzistamou I, Jolly A, Schoettmer LM, Arroyo M, Kakar K, Tian Y, Patterson A, Nagarkatti M, Nagarkatti P, Kubinak JL. Defective humoral immunity disrupts bile acid homeostasis which promotes inflammatory disease of the small bowel. Nat. Commun. 13(1):525 doi:10.1038/s41467-022-28126-w, Jan 26; 2022.
• Naderi A, Soltanmaohammadi E, Kaza V, Barlow S, Chatzistamou I, Kiaris H. Persistent effects of pair bonding in lung cancer cell growth in monogamous Peromyscus californicus. Elife May 7;10:e64711, 2021.
• Zhang Y, Lim C, Sikirzhytski V, Naderi A, Chatzistamou I and Kiaris H. The propensity to endoplasmic reticulum stress in deer mouse fibroblasts predicts skin inflammation and body weight gain. Disease Models & Mechanisms. Dis Model Mech. Oct 1;14(10):dmm049113. doi: 10.1242/dmm.0491, 2021
• Horvath S, Haghani A, Zoller JA, Naderi A, Soltanmohammadi E, Farmaki E, Kaza V, Chatzistamou I,Kiaris H. Methylation studies in Peromyscus: aging, altitude adaptation, and monogamy. GeroScience 2021.
• Naik H, Sonju JJ, Singh S, Chatzistamou I, Shrestha L, Gauthier T, Jois S. Lipidated Peptidomimetic Ligand-Functionalized HER2 targeted liposome as Nano-Carrier designed for Doxorubicin delivery in cancer therapy. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). Mar 6;14(3):221. doi: 10.3390/ph14030221, 2021
• Becker W, Alrafas HR, Wilson K, Miranda K, Culpepper C, Chatzistamou I, Cai G, Nagarkatti M, Nagarkatti PS. Activation of cannabinoid receptor 2 prevents colitis-associated colon cancer through myeloid cell de-activation upstream of IL-22 production. iScience. 27;23(9):101504, 2020
• Milovic A, Bassam K, Shao H, Chatzistamou I, Tufts DM, Diuk-Wasser M, Barbour AG. Lactobacilli and other gastrointestinal microbiota of Peromyscus leucopus, reservoir host for agents of Lyme disease and other zoonoses in North America. PLoS One. Aug 20;15(8):e0231801, 2020
• Zhang Y, Chatzistamou I, Kiaris H. Coordination of the unfolded protein response during hepatic steatosis identifies CHOP as a specific regulator of hepatocyte ballooning. Cell Stress Chaperones. Jun 23, 2020
• Farmaki E, Kaza V, Chatzistamou I, Kiaris H. CCL8 promotes postpartum breast cancer by recruiting M2 macrophages. iScience 23 (6):101217, 2020
• Feng M, Kim J, Field K, Reid C, Chatzistamou I, Shim M. Aspirin ameliorates the long-term adverse effects of doxorubicin through suppression of cellular senescence. FASEB BioAdvances, 1:579-590, 2019
• Chatzistamou I, Farmaki E, Kaza V, Kiaris H. The value of outbred rodent models in cancer research. Trends in Cancer. 4(7)487-496; 2019
• Kiaris H, Chatzistamou I. Inhibition of tumor growth by agonists of growth hormone-releasing hormone. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 115(47): 11876-11878; 2018