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Faculty Detail     Name JAMES MACDOWELL MARKERT   Campus Address FOT 1060 Zip 3410 Phone 205-975-6985 E-mail markert@uab.edu Other websites

Faculty Appointment(s) Appointment Type Department Division Rank Primary  Surgery   Surgery - Neurosurgery Professor Secondary  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology Professor Secondary  Pediatrics   Pediatrics Chair Office Associate Professor Center  Comprehensive Cancer Center  Comprehensive Cancer Center Professor Center  General Clinical Research Center  Comprehensive Neuroscience Center Professor Center  General Clinical Research Center  Ctr for Clinical & Translational Sci Professor Center  Ctr for Glial Bio in Med  Ctr for Glial Bio in Med Professor Center  General Clinical Research Center  Minority Health & Research Center Professor Center  Neurology   Neuro-Oncology Center Professor

Graduate Biomedical Sciences Affiliations Cancer Biology  Cell, Molecular, & Developmental Biology  Immunology  Integrative Biomedical Sciences  Medical Scientist Training Program  Neuroscience

Biographical Sketch  James MacDowell Markert, Jr. received an AB degree from Harvard University then his MD and MPH from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He subsequently completed a Neurosurgical residency at University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. During his residency, he returned to Harvard University where he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Neuro-Oncology. Upon completion of his neurosurgical residency, he traveled to the University of Chicago as a Research Associate in Molecular Virology. Subsequently, he came to UAB where he currently serves as Associate Professor of Neurosurgery. In 2000, he received a secondary appointment in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics; in 2002, in the Department of Pediatrics; and in 2007, Cell Biology. He also holds appointments in the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and Gene Therapy Center and the MHRC.

Society Memberships Organization Name Position Held Org Link AANS      American Academy of Neurological Surgery      CNS      Joint Section on Tumors--AANS/CNS      Society of Neuro-Oncology

Research/Clinical Interest Title Engineering Herpes Simplex Viruses for the Therapy of Cancer Description The main research objectives of our laboratory are to study and develop novel therapies for the treatment of brain tumors as well as studying the molecular and cellular characteristics of these tumors. Specifically, we are studying treatments for a group of tumors known as malignant gliomas. Much of our laboratory work is focused on the development of herpes simplex virus type I based vectors for treatment of gliomas. These vectors are conditionally replicating and destroy the tumors through oncolysis. Additionally, they can be used as gene therapy vehicles to add an additional tumoricidal affect. We have constructed genetically-engineered herpes simplex viruses that express a wide variety of cytokines and chemokines as well as cell surface antigens, suicide genes, and anti-angiogenic compounds as well as other proteins with antitumor effects. After construction, these viruses are tested in a variety of in vitro and in vivo models. Ultimately, we plan to take these anti-tumor viruses into clinical trials for the treatment of malignant tumors. One such virus, G207, has been studied at UAB in previous trials; a new trial in conjunction with radiation will begin soon. A second virus, M002, was created in our lab and expresses IL-12. M002 has received approval for clinical testing and is being produced by the NCI via the RAID mechanism. We are also developing other methods of increasing the efficacies of these viruses to increase their oncolytic efficacy, spread and persistence in tumor tissue. With the success of these agents in glioma, our area of interest has expanded to include other neoplasms, such as breast, pancreatic, colon, and melanoma.

Selected Publications  Publication PUBMEDID Berdiev BK, Xia J, McLean LA, Markert JM, Gillespie GY, Mapstone TB, Naren AP, Jovov B, Bubien JK, Ji HL, Fuller CM, Kirk KL, Benos DJ. Acid-sensing ion channels in malignant gliomas. J Biol Chem. 2003 Feb 12  12584187  Chung SM, Advani SJ, Bradley JD, Kataoka Y, Vashistha K, Yan SY, Markert JM, Gillespie GY, Whitley RJ, Roizman B, Weichselbaum RR. The use of a genetically engineered herpes simplex virus (R7020) with ionizing radiation for experimental hepatoma. Gene Ther. 2002 Jan;9(1):75-80.  11850725  Markert JM, Fuller CM, Gillespie GY, Bubien JK, McLean LA, Hong RL, Lee K, Gullans SR, Mapstone TB, Benos DJ. Differential gene expression profiling in human brain tumors. Physiol Genomics. 2001 Feb 7;5(1):21-33.  11161003  Markert JM, Medlock MD, Rabkin SD, Gillespie GY, Todo T, Hunter WD, Palmer CA, Feigenbaum F, Tornatore C, Tufaro F, Martuza RL. Conditionally replicating herpes simplex virus mutant, G207 for the treatment of malignant glioma: results of a phase I trial. Gene Ther. 2000 May;7(10):867-74.  10845725  Parker JN, Gillespie GY, Love CE, Randall S, Whitley RJ, Markert JM. Engineered herpes simplex virus expressing IL-12 in the treatment of experimental murine brain tumors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2000 Feb 29;97(5):2208-13.  10681459  Markert JM, Gillespie GY, Weichselbaum RR, Roizman B, Whitley RJ. Genetically engineered HSV in the treatment of glioma: a review. Rev Med Virol. 2000 Jan-Feb;10(1):17-30. Review.  10654002  Bradley JD, Kataoka Y, Advani S, Chung SM, Arani RB, Gillespie GY, Whitley RJ, Markert JM, Roizman B, Weichselbaum RR. Ionizing radiation improves survival in mice bearing intracranial high-grade gliomas injected with genetically modified herpes simplex virus. Clin Cancer Res. 1999 Jun;5(6):1517-22.  10389941  Andreansky S, He B, van Cott J, McGhee J, Markert JM, Gillespie GY, Roizman B, Whitley RJ. Treatment of intracranial gliomas in immunocompetent mice using herpes simplex viruses that express murine interleukins. Gene Ther. 1998 Jan;5(1):121-30.  9536273  Markert JM, Malick A, Coen DM, Martuza RL. Reduction and elimination of encephalitis in an experimental glioma therapy model with attenuated herpes simplex mutants that retain susceptibility to acyclovir. Neurosurgery. 1993 Apr;32(4):597-603.  8386343  Martuza RL, Malick A, Markert JM, Ruffner KL, Coen DM. Experimental therapy of human glioma by means of a genetically engineered virus mutant. Science. 1991 May 10;252(5007):854-6.  1851332

Keywords glioma, gene therapy, brain tumors, herpes simplex, cancer therapy, immunotherapy, anti-angiogenic therapy

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