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Photo of  Amanda R. Wasylishen, PhD

Amanda R. Wasylishen, PhD

Assistant Professor

Cancer Biology | College of Medicine

Education/Credentials
  • Postdoc: University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, (Genetics; Mentor: Dr. Guillermina Lozano)
  • PhD: University of Toronto, (Medical Biophysics; Mentor: Dr. Linda Penn)
  • BSc: Mount Allison University, (Chemistry; Mentor: Dr. Richard Langler)
Contact Information
Research Interests

Pancreas biology and cancers
Neuroendocrine tumors
Epigenetics 
Histone chaperones
Transcriptional regulation
Transposable elements
Genetic models

Peer Reviewed Publications

Fahrmann, Johannes F; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Pieterman, Carolina R C; Irajizad, Ehsan; Vykoukal, Jody; Wu, Ranran; Dennison, Jennifer B; Peterson, Christine B; Zhao, Hua; Do, Kim-Anh; Halperin, Daniel M; Agarwal, Sunita K; Blau, Jenny E; Jha, Smita; Rivero, Jaydira Del; Nilubol, Naris; Walter, Mary F; Welch, James M; Weinstein, Lee S; Vriens, Menno R; van Leeuwaarde, Rachel S; van Treijen, Mark J C; Valk, Gerlof D; Perrier, Nancy D; Hanash, Samir M; Katayama, Hiroyuki 2023. Blood-based Proteomic Signatures Associated With MEN1-related Duodenopancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Progression. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 108 12, 3260-3271

Sun, Chang; Qi, Yuan; Fowlkes, Natalie; Lazic, Nina; Su, Xiaoping; Lozano, Guillermina; Wasylishen, Amanda R 2023. The histone chaperone function of Daxx is dispensable for embryonic development. Cell death & disease, 14 8, 565

Ding, Jie; Li, Xiaolong; Khan, Sabbir; Zhang, Chen; Gao, Feng; Sen, Shayak; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Zhao, Yang; Lozano, Guillermina; Koul, Dimpy; Yung, W K Alfred 2022. EGFR suppresses p53 function by promoting p53 binding to DNA-PKcs: a non-canonical regulatory axis between EGFR and wild-type p53 in glioblastoma. Neuro-oncology, ,

Sun, Chang; Estrella, Jeannelyn S; Whitley, Elizabeth M; Chau, Gilda P; Lozano, Guillermina; Wasylishen, Amanda R 2022. Context matters - Daxx and Atrx are not robust tumor suppressors in the murine endocrine pancreas. Disease models & mechanisms, 15 8,

Fahrmann, Johannes F; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Pieterman, Carolina R C; Irajizad, Ehsan; Vykoukal, Jody; Murage, Eunice; Wu, Ranran; Dennison, Jennifer B; Krishna, Hansini; Peterson, Christine B; Lozano, Guillermina; Zhao, Hua; Do, Kim-Anh; Halperin, Daniel M; Agarwal, Sunita K; Blau, Jenny E; Del Rivero, Jaydira; Nilubol, Naris; Walter, Mary F; Welch, James M; Weinstein, Lee S; Vriens, Menno R; van Leeuwaarde, Rachel S; van Treijen, Mark J C; Valk, Gerlof D; Perrier, Nancy D; Hanash, Samir M 2021. A blood-based polyamine signature associated with MEN1 duodenopancreatic neuroendocrine tumor progression. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, ,

Kim, Michael P; Li, Xinqun; Deng, Jenying; Zhang, Yun; Dai, Bingbing; Allton, Kendra L; Hughes, Tara G; Siangco, Christian; Augustine, Jithesh J; Kang, Ya'an; McDaniel, Joy M; Xiong, Shunbin; Koay, Eugene J; McAllister, Florencia; Bristow, Christopher A; Heffernan, Timothy P; Maitra, Anirban; Liu, Bin; Barton, Michelle C; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Fleming, Jason B; Lozano, Guillermina 2021. Oncogenic KRAS Recruits an Expansive Transcriptional Network through Mutant p53 to Drive Pancreatic Cancer Metastasis. Cancer discovery, 11 8, 2094-2111

El Beaino, Marc; Liu, Jiayong; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Pourebrahim, Rasoul; Migut, Agata; Bessellieu, Bryan J; Huang, Ke; Lin, Patrick P 2020. Loss of Stag2 cooperates with EWS-FLI1 to transform murine Mesenchymal stem cells. BMC cancer, 20 1, 3

Moyer, Sydney M; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Qi, Yuan; Fowlkes, Natalie; Su, Xiaoping; Lozano, Guillermina 2020. p53 drives a transcriptional program that elicits a non-cell-autonomous response and alters cell state in vivo. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117 38, 23663-23673

Wasylishen, Amanda R; Sun, Chang; Chau, Gilda P; Qi, Yuan; Su, Xiaoping; Kim, Michael P; Estrella, Jeannelyn S; Lozano, Guillermina 2020. Men1 maintains exocrine pancreas homeostasis in response to inflammation and oncogenic stress. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117 12, 6622-6629

Wasylishen, Amanda R; Sun, Chang; Moyer, Sydney M; Qi, Yuan; Chau, Gilda P; Aryal, Neeraj K; McAllister, Florencia; Kim, Michael P; Barton, Michelle C; Estrella, Jeannelyn S; Su, Xiaoping; Lozano, Guillermina 2020. Daxx maintains endogenous retroviral silencing and restricts cellular plasticity in vivo. Science advances, 6 32, eaba8415

Aryal, Neeraj K; Pant, Vinod; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Parker-Thornburg, Jan; Baseler, Laura; El-Naggar, Adel K; Liu, Bin; Kalia, Awdhesh; Lozano, Guillermina; Arur, Swathi 2019. Constitutive Dicer1 phosphorylation accelerates metabolism and aging in vivo. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116 3, 960-969

Aryal, Neeraj K; Pant, Vinod; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Rimel, Bobbie J; Baseler, Laura; El-Naggar, Adel K; Mutch, David G; Goodfellow, Paul J; Arur, Swathi; Lozano, Guillermina 2019. Dicer1 Phosphomimetic Promotes Tumor Progression and Dissemination. Cancer research, 79 10, 2662-2668

Pant, Vinod; Xiong, Shunbin; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Larsson, Connie A; Aryal, Neeraj K; Chau, Gilda; Tailor, Ramesh C; Lozano, Guillermina 2019. Transient enhancement of p53 activity protects from radiation-induced gastrointestinal toxicity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116 35, 17429-17437

Samdani, Rashmi T; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Halperin, Daniel M; Dasari, Arvind; Yao, James C; Rashid, Asif; Estrella, Jeannelyn S 2019. Loss of Menin Expression by Immunohistochemistry in Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: Comparison Between Primary and Metastatic Tumors. Pancreas, 48 4, 510-513

Aryal, Neeraj K; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Lozano, Guillermina 2018. CRISPR/Cas9 can mediate high-efficiency off-target mutations in mice in vivo. Cell death & disease, 9 11, 1099

Tonnessen-Murray, Crystal; Ungerleider, Nathan A; Rao, Sonia G; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Frey, Wesley D; Jackson, James G 2018. p53 Mediates Vast Gene Expression Changes That Contribute to Poor Chemotherapeutic Response in a Mouse Model of Breast Cancer. Translational oncology, 11 4, 930-940

Wasylishen, Amanda R; Estrella, Jeannelyn S; Pant, Vinod; Chau, Gilda P; Lozano, Guillermina 2018. Daxx Functions Are p53-Independent In Vivo. Molecular cancer research : MCR, 16 10, 1523-1529

Aryal, Neeraj K; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Pant, Vinod; Riley-Croce, Maurisa; Lozano, Guillermina 2017. Loss of digestive organ expansion factor (Diexf) reveals an essential role during murine embryonic development that is independent of p53. Oncotarget, 8 61, 103996-104006

Li, Lin; Liang, Shoulei; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Zhang, Yanqin; Yang, Xueli; Zhou, Bingzheng; Shan, Luling; Han, Xiuxin; Mu, Tianyang; Wang, Guowen; Xiong, Shunbin 2016. PLA2G16 promotes osteosarcoma metastasis and drug resistance via the MAPK pathway. Oncotarget, 7 14, 18021-35

Goard, Carolyn A; Chan-Seng-Yue, Michelle; Mullen, Peter J; Quiroga, Ariel D; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Clendening, James W; Sendorek, Dorota H S; Haider, Syed; Lehner, Richard; Boutros, Paul C; Penn, Linda Z 2014. Identifying molecular features that distinguish fluvastatin-sensitive breast tumor cells. Breast cancer research and treatment, 143 2, 301-12

Kalkat, Manpreet; Chan, Pak-Kei; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Srikumar, Tharan; Kim, Sam S; Ponzielli, Romina; Bazett-Jones, David P; Raught, Brian; Penn, Linda Z 2014. Identification of c-MYC SUMOylation by mass spectrometry. PloS one, 9 12, e115337

Wasylishen, A R; Kalkat, M; Kim, S S; Pandyra, A; Chan, P-K; Oliveri, S; Sedivy, E; Konforte, D; Bros, C; Raught, B; Penn, L Z 2014. MYC activity is negatively regulated by a C-terminal lysine cluster. Oncogene, 33 8, 1066-72

Xiong, Shunbin; Tu, Huolin; Kollareddy, Madhusudhan; Pant, Vinod; Li, Qin; Zhang, Yun; Jackson, James G; Suh, Young-Ah; Elizondo-Fraire, Ana C; Yang, Peirong; Chau, Gilda; Tashakori, Mehrnoosh; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Ju, Zhenlin; Solomon, Hilla; Rotter, Varda; Liu, Bin; El-Naggar, Adel K; Donehower, Lawrence A; Martinez, Luis Alfonso; Lozano, Guillermina 2014. Pla2g16 phospholipase mediates gain-of-function activities of mutant p53. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111 30, 11145-50

Wasylishen, Amanda R; Chan-Seng-Yue, Michelle; Bros, Christina; Dingar, Dharmendra; Tu, William B; Kalkat, Manpreet; Chan, Pak-Kei; Mullen, Peter J; Huang, Ling; Meyer, Natalie; Raught, Brian; Boutros, Paul C; Penn, Linda Z 2013. MYC phosphorylation at novel regulatory regions suppresses transforming activity. Cancer research, 73 21, 6504-15

Wasylishen, A R; Stojanova, A; Oliveri, S; Rust, A C; Schimmer, A D; Penn, L Z 2011. New model systems provide insights into Myc-induced transformation. Oncogene, 30 34, 3727-34

Luoto, Kaisa R; Meng, Alice X; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Zhao, Helen; Coackley, Carla L; Penn, Linda Z; Bristow, Robert G 2010. Tumor cell kill by c-MYC depletion: role of MYC-regulated genes that control DNA double-strand break repair. Cancer research, 70 21, 8748-59

Wong, W Wei-Lynn; Boutros, Paul C; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Guckert, Kristal D; O'Brien, Erin M; Griffiths, Rebecca; Martirosyan, Anna R; Bros, Christina; Jurisica, Igor; Langler, Richard F; Penn, Linda Z 2010. Characterization of the apoptotic response of human leukemia cells to organosulfur compounds. BMC cancer, 10 , 351

Beheshti Zavareh, Reza; Lau, Ken S; Hurren, Rose; Datti, Alessandro; Ashline, David J; Gronda, Marcela; Cheung, Pam; Simpson, Craig D; Liu, Wei; Wasylishen, Amanda R; Boutros, Paul C; Shi, Hui; Vengopal, Amudha; Jurisica, Igor; Penn, Linda Z; Reinhold, Vern N; Ezzat, Shereen; Wrana, Jeff; Rose, David R; Schachter, Harry; Dennis, James W; Schimmer, Aaron D 2008. Inhibition of the sodium/potassium ATPase impairs N-glycan expression and function. Cancer research, 68 16, 6688-97

Caldwell, Sharon L; Langler, Richard F; Ryan, Daniel A; Wasylishen, Amanda R 2008. Synthesis of the first alpha-mercaptoketal and an antifungal ketodisulfide Journal of Sulfur Chemistry , 29 2, 163-170