DR. DOUGLAS J. DEMETRICK

PhD, MD, Associate Professor, Departments of Pathology, Oncology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology.

Affiliations: Member - Southern Alberta Cancer Research Institute.

Research interests:

1. The role of cytosine methylation in cancer. We are investigating the regulation of activity and specificity of select human cytosine methyltransferases and methylcytosine demethylases in breast cancer.
2. The role of INK4 proteins in cancer. Our laboratory is investigating potential non-overlapping functions of p16-related proteins via in vitro model systems, and novel roles for these proteins in cell regulation.
3. Molecular predictors of cancer progression and treatment response.  Candidates identified from fundamental research themes of cell growth control in hypoxia and genetic markers of cancer progression.  Diagnostic Molecular Biology.

Personnel:

View Pub Med for Recent publications & abstracts

Recent Publications:

• Sar A, Perizzolo M, Stewart D, Mansoor A, DiFrancesco LM, and Demetrick DJ.  Mutation or Polymorphism of the CD20 Gene is Not Associated with the Response to Rituximab in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma Patients.  Leukemia Research 33:792-797. 2009.
• Sar A, Ponjevic D, Nguyen M, Box AH and Demetrick DJ.  Identification and Characterization of JMJD1A/JHDM2A as Upregulated in the Human Cellular Response to Hypoxia.  Cell and Tissue Research.  337:223-234.  2009.
• Zeng J, Al-Hajj R, and Demetrick DJ.  Representative Transcript Sets for Evaluating a Translational Initiation Sites Predictor.  BMC Bioinformatics:10:206. 2009.
• Zwicker K, Chatten C, Gratton K, Demetrick DJ, Serra P, Shameli A, Santamaria P and Bathe O.  Spontaneous autoimmunity sufficiently potent to induce diabetes mellitus is insufficient to protect against insulinoma.  Journal of Immunology.  183:1705 -1714.  2009.
• Lee R, Zhou D, Demetrick DJ, DiFrancesco LM, Fassbender K and Stewart DJ.  Costs Associated with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma Patient Treatment in a Canadian Integrated Cancer Care Centre.  Value in Health, Volume 11, Issue 2, Page 221-230, Mar 2008.
• Brown RA, Zlatescu MC, Forsyth PA, Sevick RA, Demetrick DJ, Schiff D, Cairncross JG and Mitchell JR.  Quantitative Texture Analysis of Imaging Correlates of Molecular Signatures In Human Brain Tumors.  Clinical Cancer Research 14(8):2357-62.  2008. 
• Box AH, Yuen C, Fick GH and Demetrick DJ.  Signalling and Apoptosis Differences Between Hypoxia and Desferoxamine Treatment of Human Epithelial Cells.  Biochemistry and Cell Biology 86:425-436.   2008.
• Zeng J, Al-Hajj R, and Demetrick DJ.   The Effectiveness of Applying Codon Usage Bias for Translational Initiation Sites Prediction.  Proceedings of the BIBM. p121-126.  2008.
• Venditti M, Hay RW, Kulaga A and Demetrick DJ.  Diagnosis of Ectopic Tissue versus Contamination by Genetic Fingerprinting in a Routine Surgical Pathology Specimen. Human Pathology.  38:378-382.  2007.
• Hay R, MacRae E, Barber D, Khalil M, Demetrick D. BRAF mutations in clinical melanocytic lesions and papillary thyroid carcinoma samples using melting curve analysis.  Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.  131:1361-1367.  2007.
• Snowdon V, Hay R and Demetrick DJ.  Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of ‘Acellular’ Laboratory Samples.  American Journal of Clinical Pathology.  128:92-99.  2007.

Contact Information:

The University of Calgary,
Room 302 Heritage Medical Research Building,
3330 Hospital Drive NW,
Calgary, Alberta Canada T2N 4N1
Phone (403) 220-2890
Fax: (403) 283-8727,
E-mail: demetric [at] ucalgary [dot] ca.