Roger Chammas, Ph.D.
Roger Chammas, Ph.D.
Research Focus
Melanoma incidence is increasing worldwide. While in early stages, melanomas are potentially curable, in advanced stages, adequate management is still a challenge. In high income countries, the standard care for advanced stage melanoma is enrollment in novel clinical protocols. In middle income countries, such as Brazil, treatment options are suboptimal and still rely on chemotherapeutic agents. Development of chemoresistance in melanomas is one of the reasons for the poor results of commonly used chemotherapeutic regimens. In the past years, I have been studying the mechanisms of malignant transformation of melanocytes into melanomas and have evaluated different aspects of the development of chemoresistance and distribution of drugs within the melanoma microenvironment that may interfere at least in part with the responses to treatment. This approach serves as a platform for identification of plausible targets for combination therapy at the preclinical and clinical level. My long term objective is to define the timing for combination therapeutic strategies that increase the effectiveness of low-cost chemotherapeutic regimens that may be widely applied in low/middle income populations.
Positions and Employment
2006 – Director, Division of Animal Research at Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
2009 – Full Professor, Dept. Radiology and Oncology, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
2011 – Chair, Center for Translational Research in Oncology, Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
2015 – President, Director Board, Instituto do Câncer do Estado de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
2016-2019 – Member of the Latin America Subcommittee for International Affairs of the American Association for Cancer Research
2016 – Adjunct Professor, Department of Chemistry, Niversity of North Carolina at Charlotte
Other Experience and Professional Memberships
1991 – Life Member, Association of Union of International Cancer Control (UICC) Fellows
1995 – Member, American Association for Cancer Research
1997 – Member, Society for Glycobiology
2004 – Member of the Brazilian Society of Cell Biology, serving as its deputy president (2004-2008)
2007 – Chair of the Graduate Program of Oncology at Universidade de São Paulo
2008 – Coordinator for Health Sciences, Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), São Paulo, Brazil
2009 – Editor for Plos One, Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research and Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências
2015 – Organizer of the International School on Immunological Biotherapies, Concepts and Development (University Pierre & Marie Curie, France; Mount Sinai Hospital, USA and University of São Paulo, Brazil) www.is-ibcd.upmc.fr
Honors and Awards
1982 – Cunha Bueno Award, for performance in Math and Sciences, São Paulo, Brazil
1988 – Rockfeller Foundation Award, for best performance in Basic Sciences of Medicine, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
1991 – ICRETT Award, Union for International Cancer Control, Geneve, CH
1994 – AACR Best Poster Presentation Award
1995 – TriSocieties’ Award Best Presentation Award
1998 – The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) Research Grant Award
2011 – Yamagiwa-Yoshida Award, Union for International Cancer Control, Genev, CH
2013 – Member elected, Brazilian Academy of Sciences
2014 – Jabuti Award, Brazilian Chamber of Literature, for best publication in Health Sciences
US Patents and Patents Applications
- Nantel F, Chammas R, Sirois P, Battistini BJ. Use of an acylated nonapeptide for treatment of cancer and metastases, and treatment or prevention of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. US2007015715-A1, US7932228-B2.
- Chammas R, Machado de Melo FH, Butera-Wadsworth DA, Moura da Silva AM. Hybrid molecule for e,g. chronic infectious and degenerative diseases diagnosis comprises a galectin-3 and alkaline phosphatase conjugation for use as a molecular marker. BR200501095-A.