Pharm.D., University of Texas Health Science Center–San Antonio, 1991

Ph.D., University of Texas Health Science Center–Houston, 2001

The long term objective of my research project is to elucidate the role of stem cells in normal mammary gland development and tumorigenesis. Mammary stem cells are a population of self-renewing, multipotent progenitor cells that can give rise to mammary specific alveolar, myoepithelial, and luminal cells. Mammary stem cells resemble cancer cells in their potential to self-renew for the life of an organism. The long-term self-renewal potential of stem cells makes these cells more susceptible to accumulating mutations that eventually give rise to tumors. The hypothesis of my research is that the mechanisms for self-renewal in normal mammary stem cells are similar to those employed by cancer cells. The specific aims of my proposal are to find markers for the identification and localization of stem cells within normal mammary gland and mammary tumors, to find novel genes and signaling pathways essential for the self-renewal of stem cells, and to determine the mechanism by which normal self-renewal pathways may be disrupted in mammary tumors. A combination of Stem Cell Antigen-1 (Sca-1), Hoechst staining, and Breast Cancer Resistance Protein-1 (BCRP-1) antibody will be utilized to enrich for a population of self-renewing, multipotent progenitors and to localize stem cells within the mammary gland and tumors. Cancer and normal stem cells will then be studied by subtractive hybridization, microarray analysis, and real time PCR to find additional novel mammary specific stem cell markers and to elucidate novel genes involved in their self-renewal.

Chen MS, Woodward WA, Behbod F, Peddibhotla S, Alfaro MP, Buchholz TA, Rosen JM
WNT/ß-catenin mediates radiation resistance of Sca1+ progenitors in an immortalized mammary gland cell line
JCS. 2007: 120(3):468-477. [PDF]

Woodward WA, Chen MS, Behbod F, Alfaro MP, Buchholz TA, Rosen JM
WNT/ß-catenin mediates radiation resistance of mouse mammary progenitor cells
PNAS. 2007; 104(2):618-623. [PDF] [Supp. Fig.] [Erratum]

Behbod F, Xian W, Shaw CA, Hilsenbeck SG, Tsimelzon A, Rosen JM.
Transcriptional Profiling of Mammary Gland Side Population Cells.
Stem Cells. 2006; [PDF] [Supp. Fig]

Woodward WA, Chen MS, Behbod F and Rosen JM.
On mammary stem cells
J Cell Sci. 2005 Aug 15;118(Pt 16):3585-94. Commentary. [PDF]

Behbod F and Rosen JM.
Will cancer stem cells provide new therapeutic targets?
Carcinogenesis, 2005 Apr; 26(4): 703-711. Review. [PDF]

Welm B, Behbod F, Goodell MA, Rosen JM.
Isolation and characterization of functional mammary gland stem cells.
Cell Prolif. 2003 Oct;36 Suppl 1:17-32. Review. [PDF]

Behbod F, Nagy ZS, Stepkowski SM, Karras J, Johnson CR, Jarvis WD, Kirken RA.
Specific inhibition of Stat5a/b promotes apoptosis of IL-2-responsive primary and tumor-derived lymphoid cells.
J Immunol. 2003 Oct 15;171(8):3919-27.

Stepkowski SM, Erwin-Cohen RA, Behbod F, Wang ME, Qu X, Tejpal N, Nagy ZS, Kahan BD, Kirken RA.
Selective inhibitor of Janus tyrosine kinase 3, PNU156804, prolongs allograft survival and acts synergistically with cyclosporine but additively with rapamycin.
Blood. 2002 Jan 15;99(2):680-9.

Stepkowski SM, Nagy ZS, Wang ME, Behbod F, Erwin-Cohen R, Kahan BD, Kirken RA.
PNU156804 inhibits Jak3 tyrosine kinase and rat heart allograft rejection.
Transplant Proc. 2001 Nov-Dec;33(7-8):3272-3.

Lichtenberger LM, Romero JJ, de Ruijter WM, Behbod F, Darling R, Ashraf AQ, Sanduja SK.
Phosphatidylcholine association increases the anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity of ibuprofen in acute and chronic rodent models of joint inflammation: relationship to alterations in bioavailability and cyclooxygenase-inhibitory potency.
J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2001 Jul;298(1):279-87.

Wang M, Kirken R, Behbod F, Erwin-Cohen R, Stepkowski SM, Kahan BD.
Inhibition of Jak3 tyrosine kinase by PNU156804 blocks rat heart allograft rejection.
Transplant Proc. 2001 Feb-Mar;33(1-2):201.

Kirken RA, Erwin-Cohen R, Behbod F, Wang M, Stepkowski SM, Kahan BD. Related Articles, Links
Tyrphostin AG490 selectively inhibits activation of the JAK3/STAT5/MAPK pathway and rejection of rat heart allografts.
Transplant Proc. 2001 Feb-Mar;33(1-2):95.

Behbod F, Erwin-Cohen RA, Wang ME, Trawick BW, Qu X, Verani R, Kahan BD, Stepkowski SM, Kirken RA.
Concomitant inhibition of Janus kinase 3 and calcineurin-dependent signaling pathways synergistically prolongs the survival of rat heart allografts.
J Immunol. 2001 Mar 15;166(6):3724-32.

Kirken RA, Erwin RA, Taub D, Murphy WJ, Behbod F, Wang L, Pericle F, Farrar WL.
Tyrphostin AG-490 inhibits cytokine-mediated JAK3/STAT5a/b signal transduction and cellular proliferation of antigen-activated human T cells.
J Leukoc Biol. 1999 Jun;65(6):891-9.

Kamisaki Y, Wada K, Bian K, Balabanli B, Davis K, Martin E, Behbod F, Lee YC, Murad F.
An activity in rat tissues that modifies nitrotyrosine-containing proteins.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 Sep 29;95(20):11584-9.

Kelly PA, Gruber SA, Behbod F, Kahan BD.
Sirolimus, a new, potent immunosuppressive agent.
Pharmacotherapy. 1997 Nov-Dec;17(6):1148-56. Review.