Austin M. Guo, Ph.D., has more than 20 years of experience in the areas of 20-HETE, cancer, and angiogenesis and has published 17 original research papers on these subjects. Dr. Guo has extensive training in cell culturing, in vitro and in vivo models to study angiogenesis, immune-fluorescent microscopy, immunoassay, and various molecular techniques. Over the past 13 years, he has gained additional experience working with stem cells, small animal models and have acquired experience in flow cytometry. Dr. Guo has fostered collaborations both internally and externally with several world-renowned scientists in the field of eicosanoid research, stem cell biology, and vascular biology. Aside from his continued passion in translational research, Dr. Guo is currently a full-time educator who is extensively involved in course teaching across the SOM, dental and the graduate schools. His major administrative function involves directing the Women in Scientific Entrepreneurship-Summer Trainee in Academic Research (WISE-STAR) program and the Master’s degree program in two-year Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences (iBMS). Additionally, Dr. Guo has extensively served on many academic and leadership committees at NYMC both at SOM and the GSBMS.

Areas of Expertise

• Cancer biology
• Angiogenesis
• Eicosanoids

Education

• B.S., Biotechnology, St. Cloud State University
• Ph.D., Cancer Biology, Wayne State University

Honors and Awards

• POLM/Elsevier Young Investigator Award
• NIEHS travel awards

Research

Dr. Guo's research interests are centered on the area of vascular pathophysiology, particularly the study of the mechanisms of a bioactive lipid known as 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE)'s effect on pathological angiogenesis. Currently, his lab is specifically focused on understanding the role of Cytochrome P450 4A-derived eicosanoids 20-HETE, in the regulation of ischemia-induced angiogenesis. Dr. Guo's lab has demonstrated that the CYP4A/20-HETE axis regulates ischemic angiogenesis via its collective actions on EC, EPC as well as inflammatory neutrophils. They found that 20-HETE level is markedly upregulated in ischemic tissue. Inhibition of 20-HETE synthesis or antagonizing 20-HETE actions decreases ischemia-induced compensatory neovascularization in vivo. Recent works from the group further identified that inflammatory neutrophils and their associated Myeloperoxidase and Hypochlorous acid significantly contribute to the increase 20-HETE production in ischemic tissue, potentially a novel therapeutic target. Stemming from their studies in the role of the CYP4A-20-HETE axis in regulation of angiogenic processes, they are also interested in the regulation of cancer growth by the CYP4A/F-20-HETE system, potentially via a tumor-mediated angiogenesis-dependent mechanism. Pharmacological inhibitors of 20-HETE synthases and 20-HETE antagonists have been shown to decrease the growth of some cancers both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting the CYP4A-20-HETE axis may also be a novel target for treating some cancers.

Publications

• Li K, Yu XH, Maskey AR, et. al. "Cytochrome P450 3A4 suppression by epimedium and active compound kaempferol leads to synergistic anti-inflammatory effect with corticosteroid." Frontiers in pharmacology, 13(), (2023) 1042756. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1042756
• Chen X, Liu Y, Wang Y, et. al. "CYP4F2-Catalyzed Metabolism of Arachidonic Acid Promotes Stromal Cell-Mediated Immunosuppression in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer." Cancer research, 82(21), (2022) 4016-4030. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-21-4029
• Azcona JA, Tang S, Berry E, et. al. "Neutrophil-Derived Myeloperoxidase and Hypochlorous Acid Critically Contribute to 20-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic Acid Increases that Drive Postischemic Angiogenesis." The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics, 381(3), (2022) 204-216. doi: 10.1124/jpet.121.001036
• Chen L, Tang S, Zhang FF, et. al. "CYP4A/20-HETE regulates ischemia-induced neovascularization via its actions on endothelial progenitor and preexisting endothelial cells." American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology, 316(6), (2019) H1468-H1479. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00690.2018
• Han X, Zhao X, Lan X, et. al. "20-HETE synthesis inhibition promotes cerebral protection after intracerebral hemorrhage without inhibiting angiogenesis." Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 39(8), (2019) 1531-1543. doi: 10.1177/0271678X18762645
• Jain M, Gamage NH, Alsulami M, et. al. "Intravenous Formulation of HET0016 Decreased Human Glioblastoma Growth and Implicated Survival Benefit in Rat Xenograft Models." Scientific reports, 7(), (2017) 41809. doi: 10.1038/srep41809
• Berry E, Liu Y, Chen L, et. al. "Eicosanoids: Emerging contributors in stem cell-mediated wound healing." Prostaglandins & other lipid mediators, 132(), (2017) 17-24. doi: 10.1016/j.prostaglandins.2016.11.001

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Teaching Responsibilities

• M1/M2 SOM Integrated Curriculum
• Dental Pharmacology
• Graduate Pharmacology