The Shapiro Family Laboratory of Viral Oncology and Aging Research (Park’s Branch)

Park Lab
Photo of Dr. No-Hee Park

Principal Investigator:

No-Hee Park, D.M.D., Ph.D.

About

The Shapiro Family Laboratory of Viral Oncology and Aging Research is shared by four PIs (Drs. No-Hee Park, Mo K. Kang, Reuben Kim and Ki-Hyuk Shin). Although Drs. Kang, Kim and Shin used to work with Dr. Park, they became independent scientists with own research projects. Thus this website will only describe the research activities of Dr. No-Hee Park. 

Dr. Park has investigated the mechanisms of head and neck (oropharyngeal) cancer development, particularly the role of “high risk” human papillomaviruses (HPVs) in the development of human oral and pharyngeal cancers. His laboratory has documented the mechanisms of the immortalization of normal human oral keratinocytes, activation of telomerase, and chromosomal instability by “high risk” HPVs and their oncogenes. Also Dr. Park developed many cell lines for studying in vitro multistep carcinogenesis process (the progression of human normal oral epithelial cells to premalignant and malignant cancer cells), and these cell lines have been widely used for studying the mechanisms of cancer development by many cancer biologists in the world. More recently Dr. Park initiated a research project to investigate the role of severe periodontitis (severe gum disease) on the development of atherosclerosis (a vascular wall cancer) and Alzheimer disease using mouse models. As Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) is main bacteria responsible for periodontitis, he is investigating the effect of chronic Pg infection on the development of periodontitis, atherosclerosis and dementia in mice by collaborating with UCLA microbiologist, vascular biologist, and neuropathologist. Dr. Park and his colleagues also identified high presence of several oncogenes (responsible of the development of cancer, e.g., CD47 and other oncoproteins associated with cell cycle progression) from the atherosclerotic plaques in mice, whose expression level was highly enhanced in arterial wall by systemic inflammation, such as periodontitis. Thus his laboratory is investigating the mechanisms of the benign tumor development in the arterial wall in both in vivo and in vitro settings. He also plans to prevent the Pg-induced atherosclerosis and dementia using anti-Pg monoclonal antibody in laboratory animals.

Current Projects and Grants

Current Research projects:

  1.  “Effect of Pg on the development of periodontitis, atherosclerosis and dementia in mice”
  2.  “Chronic inflammation and vascular wall cancer development”

Present Extramural and Intramural Research Funds:

  1. Extramural Support from the Keystone Bio for the project entitled “Effect of Monoclonal Antibody against Porphyromonas gingivalis on the development of atherosclerosis in mice with severe periodontitis
  2. Intramural research support from the UCLA Chancellor’s Office a project regarding viral oncology.

Publications

  • Kim, H., Christensen, R., Kang, M., Park, Noh-Hyun, Sapp, P. and Park, N.-H.: Elevated Expression of hTERT is Associated with Dysplastic Cell Transformation during Human Oral Carcinogenesis in Situ. Clinical Cancer Res. 7:3079-3086, 2001. PMID:11595698
  • Kang X, W Chen, RH Kim, M Kang and N-H Park: Regulation of the hTERT promoter activity by MSH2, the hnRNPs K and D, and GRHL2 in human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells. Oncogene 28:565-574, 2009. PMID:19015635
  • Chen W, Dong Q, Shin K-H, Kim RH, Oh JE, Park N-H, and Kang MK: Grainyhead-like 2 Enhances the Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Gene Expression by Inhibiting DNA Methylation at the 5’-CpG Island in Normal Human Keratinocytes. J Biol Chem. 285:40852-
  • Oh J-E, Kim RH, Shin K-H, Park N-H and Kang MK: ΔNp63α triggers Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Confers Stem Cell Properties in Normal Human Keratinocytes. J Biol Chem. 286:38757-38767, 2011. PMID:22880709
  • Ye L, Z Fan, B Yu, J Chang, KA Hezaimi, X Zhou, N-H Park, C-Y Wang: Histone Demethylases KDM4B and KDM6B Promote Osteogenic Differentiation of Human MSCs. Cell Stem Cell 11:50-61, 2012. PMID:22770241
  • Yu B, Chang J, Liu Y, Li J, Kevork K, Al-Hezaimi K, Graves DT, Park N-H, Wang CY: Non-canonical Wnt4 prevents skeletal aging and inflammation by inhibiting NF-κB. Nature Medicine, 20:1009-1017, 2014. Doi: 10.1038/nm.3586. Epub 2014. PMID:25108526
  • Kim RH, Bae S, Williams D, Oh J-E, Lee r, Lieberman MB, Shin K-H, Kang MK and Park N-H: Regulation of p53 during senescence in normal human keratinocytes. Aging Cell 14:838-846, 2015.
  • Perez RE, Shen H, Duan L, Kim RH, Kim T, Park N-H and Maki CG: Modeling the Etiology of P53-Mutated Cancer Cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 291:10131-10147, 2016. PMID: 27022024
  • Perez RE, Shen H, Duan L, Kim RH, Kim T, Park N-H and Maki CG: Modeling the Etiology of P53-Mutated Cancer Cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 291:10131-10147, 2016. PMID: 27022024
  • Kim T, Kim S, Song M, Lee C, Yagita H, Williams DW, Sung EC, Hong C, Shin K-H, Kang MK, Park N-H and Kim RH: Removal of pre-existing periodontal inflammatory condition before tooth extraction ameliorates MRONJ-like lesion in mice. Am J Pathol, 188:2318-23
  • Suh J, Kim S, Bostrom KI, Wang C-Y, Kim Reuben, Park N-H: Ligature-induced Periodontitis Exacerbates Atherosclerosis Partly via Endothelial Mesenchymal Transition in Mice. Int J Oral Science, 1:21 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41368-019-0054-1, 2019. PMID: 312

Lab Members

Collaborators

List of collaborators within UCLA:

  • Dr. Reuben Kim (UCLA Dentistry)
  • Dr. Mo K. Kang (UCLA Dentistry)
  • Dr. Ki-Hyuk Shin (UCLA Dentistry)
  • Dr. Kristina Böstrom (UCLA Cardiology)
  • Dr. Harry Vinters (UCLA Neuropathology)
  • Dr. Hung Ton-That (UCLA Dentistry)
  • Dr. Julie Chang (UCLA Dentistry)

List of Present Lab Members:

  • Dr. Reuben Kim, Co-PI and collaborator
  • Dr. Yasuhiko Bando, Visiting Project Scientists
  • Dr. Sung Hee (Vikky) Lee, Postdoctoral Student
  • Ms. Sharon Kim, Graduate Student/Laboratory Technician
  • Ms. Berta Traverdi, Research dental student

Selected Alumni (Graduate Students, Postdoctoral Fellow, and Visiting Scholars) of Park’s laboratory:

  • Dr. Mo K. Kang, Professor and Chair of Endodontics, UCLA School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA
  • Dr. Reuben Kim, Professor and Chair of Restorative Dentistry, UCLA School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA
  • Dr. Ki-Hyuk Shin, Adjunct Professor, UCLA School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA
  • Dr. Kasey Li, Clinical Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA
  • Dr. Dai il Paik, Professor Emeritus, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
  • Dr. Joon-Bong Park, Professor and Dean Emeritus, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea
  • Dr. Jong Suk Oh, Professor Emeritus, Chonam University College of medicine, Kwangjoo, Korea
  • Dr. Eui-Woong Lee, Professor and Dean Emeritus, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
  • Dr. Kyongsoon Kim, Professor, Myongji University College of Art and Sciences, Seoul, Korea
  • Dr. Noh-Hyun Park, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology and the former Vice President for Research,   Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
  • Dr. Byung-Moo Min, Professor, Seoul National University, South Korea
  • Dr. Jeong-Hwa Baek, Professor and Chair, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Korea
  • Dr. Sheng-Lin Li, Professor Peking University School of Stomatology, Beijing, China
  • Dr. Kwang-Sung Ahn, Professor, Seoul National University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
  • Dr. Kyung-Li Kang, Professor, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea
  • Dr. John Tannyhill, Program Director, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
  • Dr. Ayako Kameta, Professor, Nippon Dental University, Niigata, Japan
  • Dr. Jae-il Lee, Professor and Dean Emeritus, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Korea
  • Dr. Yong-Moo Lee, Professor & Cahir, Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul Korea
  • Dr. F. Kyle Yip, Assistant Professor of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, USC, Los Angeles, CA
  • Dr. Ann Pucar, Professor, Belgrade University School of Dentistry, Belgrade, Servia
  • Dr. Hyung Jeong Kim, Professor. Seoul National University School of Dentistry, Seoul, Korea
  • Dr. JinSook Suh, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, San Francisco, California
  • Dr. Yasuhiko Bando, Associate Professor, Meikai University

Opportunities

We can provide an opportunity to a limited number of Predoctoral students, dental students and residents for research my this laboratory.  However, the candidates needs passion, commitment, and proper background in molecular biology and small animal handling/research.

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