Nadejda Tsankova, MD, PhD Email Nadejda Tsankova
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- Positions
- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR | Pathology
- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR | Neuroscience
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- Specialty
- Anatomic Pathology & Clinical Pathology
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- Language
- English
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- Hospital Affiliation
- The Mount Sinai Hospital
Dr. Tsankova is an Associate Professor in Pathology, Neuroscience, and a member of the Friedman Brain Institute. Her laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms of gliomagenesis in endogenous human-based models. She is also a practicing neuropathologist. Dr. Tsankova received her Ph.D. from UT Southwestern Medical Center, where she trained with Dr. Eric Nestler. Under his guidance, she pioneered the studies of neuroepigenetics in the context of chronic stress/depression. Following the path of a Physician-Scientist, she completed her residency in Anatomic Pathology and fellowship in Neuropathology at Columbia University, where she became intrigued with studying the pathogenesis of human gliomas. She worked in the laboratory of Dr. Fiona Doetsch, where she developed novel techniques to isolate and characterize endogenous neural/glial progenitors from human brain, creating a transitional, human-based system to study epigenetic dysregulation during gliomagenesis. Previously an Assistant Professor at Columbia University and now one at Mount Sinai, Dr. Tsankova also has fruitful and ongoing collaborations with several investigators from the departments of Neurosurgery, Neuroscience, and Psychiatry at both institutions.
Visit Dr. Tsankova's lab page at: http://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/tsankovalab/
Certifications
Neuropathology
Anatomic Pathology
Research Topics
Anti-Tumor Therapy, Brain, Cancer Genetics, Cell Transformation, Chromatin, Stem Cells
Education
MD, University of Texas - Southwestern Medical School
PhD, University of Texas - Southwestern Medical Center
Residency, Pathology/NeuroPath.
Columbia University
Fellowship, Neuropathology
Columbia University
Language
English
2013
Clinical Trials Office Research Pilot Award
Irving Institute
2008
Stembridge Award for Excellence in Pathology
University of Texas
2000
Medical Scientist Training Program Fellowship
1998
Howard Hughes Fellowship for summer research
1998
Presidential Endowed Scholarship
The main research focus of the Tsankova laboratory is to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving aberrant glial proliferation and migration in two debilitating CNS disorders – glioblastoma and epilepsy, focusing on the role of epigenetics and the transcriptional machinery in maintaining these dysfunctional glial phenotypes. Our primary model is human pathological tissue obtained from neurosurgical resections and perpetuated in the form of spheroids or mouse xenografts. Our lab has developed unique techniques for the acute isolation of viable glial/neural populations in such tissues, using novel markers for cell quiescence and activation. The lab is actively characterizing, both functionally and molecularly, novel populations of cancer stem cells and pathologically remodeled glial progenitors, in order to obtain deeper mechanistic insight into the role of glial proliferation and migration in CNS disease as well as to discover superior new targets for treatment of glioblastoma and drug-resistant epilepsy. We are using various techniques, such as ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, single cell and bulk RNA-seq, CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, tissue culture, and orthotopic xenotransplantation, and collaborate with several labs who share our passion for neuro-epigenetics.
Tome-Garcia J, Tejero R, Nudelman G, Yong RL, Sebra R, Wang H, Fowkes M, Magid M, Walsh M, Silva-Vargas V, Zaslavsky E, Friedel RH, Doetsch F, Tsankova NM. Prospective Isolation and Comparison of Human Germinal Matrix and Glioblastoma EGFR Populations with Stem Cell Properties. Stem cell reports 2017 05; 8(5).
Tome-Garcia J, Doetsch F, Tsankova NM. FACS-based Isolation of Neural and Glioma Stem Cell Populations from Fresh Human Tissues Utilizing EGF Ligand. Bio-protocol 2017 Dec; 7(24).
Erfani P, Tome-Garcia J, Canoll P, Doetsch F, Tsankova NM. EGFR promoter exhibits dynamic histone modifications and binding of ASH2L and P300 in human germinal matrix and gliomas. Epigenetics 2015; 10(6).
Pekmezci M, Stevers M, Phillips JJ, Van Ziffle J, Bastian BC, Tsankova NM, Kleinschmidt-DeMasters BK, Rosenblum MK, Tihan T, Perry A, Solomon DA. Multinodular and vacuolating neuronal tumor of the cerebrum is a clonal neoplasm defined by genetic alterations that activate the MAP kinase signaling pathway. Acta neuropathologica 2018 Mar; 135(3).
Tsankov AM, Akopian V, Pop R, Chetty S, Gifford CA, Daheron L, Tsankova NM, Meissner A. A qPCR ScoreCard quantifies the differentiation potential of human pluripotent stem cells. Nature biotechnology 2015 Nov; 33(11).
Zou H, Feng R, Huang Y, Tripodi J, Najfeld V, Tsankova NM, Jahanshahi M, Olson LE, Soriano P, Friedel RH. Double minute amplification of mutant PDGF receptor α in a mouse glioma model. Scientific reports 2015 Feb; 5.
Sosunov AA, Wu X, Tsankova NM, Guilfoyle E, McKhann GM, Goldman JE. Phenotypic heterogeneity and plasticity of isocortical and hippocampal astrocytes in the human brain. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 2014 Feb; 34(6).
Darbinyan A, Major EO, Morgello S, Holland S, Ryschkewitsch C, Monaco MC, Naidich TP, Bederson J, Malaczynska J, Ye F, Gordon R, Cunningham-Rundles C, Fowkes M, Tsankova NM. BK virus encephalopathy and sclerosing vasculopathy in a patient with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia and immunodeficiency. Acta neuropathologica communications 2016 07; 4(1).
Odia Y, Varma H, Tsankova NM. Biphasic IDH1 phenotype in a diffusely infiltrating glioma: implications for pathogenesis, treatment and prognosis. Clinical neuropathology; 34(5).
Tsankova NM, Bevan C, Jobanputra V, Ko YC, Mayer EW, Lefkowitch JH, Mansukhani M, Rowland LP, Bhagat G, Tanji K. Peripheral T-cell lymphoma emerging in a patient with aggressive polymyositis: molecular evidence for neoplastic transformation of an oligoclonal T-cell infiltrate. Acta neuropathologica 2013 Oct; 126(4).
Tsankova NM, Canoll P. Advances in genetic and epigenetic analyses of gliomas: a neuropathological perspective. Journal of neuro-oncology 2014 Sep; 119(3).
Yong RL, Tsankova NM. Emerging interplay of genetics and epigenetics in gliomas: a new hope for targeted therapy. Seminars in pediatric neurology 2015 Mar; 22(1).
Mitchell A, Roussos P, Peter C, Tsankova N, Akbarian S. The future of neuroepigenetics in the human brain. Progress in molecular biology and translational science 2014; 128.
Tsankova N, Renthal W, Kumar A, Nestler EJ. Epigenetic regulation in psychiatric disorders. Nature reviews. Neuroscience 2007 May; 8(5).
Tsankova NM, Berton O, Renthal W, Kumar A, Neve RL, Nestler EJ. Sustained hippocampal chromatin regulation in a mouse model of depression and antidepressant action. Nature neuroscience 2006 Apr; 9(4).
Berton O, McClung CA, Dileone RJ, Krishnan V, Renthal W, Russo SJ, Graham D, Tsankova NM, Bolanos CA, Rios M, Monteggia LM, Self DW, Nestler EJ. Essential role of BDNF in the mesolimbic dopamine pathway in social defeat stress. Science (New York, N.Y.) 2006 Feb; 311(5762).
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Dr.Tsankova did not report having any of the following types of financial relationships with industry during 2017 and/or 2018: consulting, scientific advisory board, industry-sponsored lectures, service on Board of Directors, participation on industry-sponsored committees, equity ownership valued at greater than 5% of a publicly traded company or any value in a privately held company. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences.
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