Rita Nahta, PhD

Research Program

Cell and Molecular Biology
Phone Number

404-778-3097
Email Address

rnahta@emory.edu

Biography

Rita Nahta, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at the Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Nahta is a member of the Cell and Molecular Biology Research Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.

Education

Dr. Nahta received her PhD from Duke University in Durham, NC. She completed her postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, MA, and then M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX.

Titles & Roles

Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology

Emory University School of Medicine

Research

Dr. Nahta's laboratory focuses on the biological and therapeutic implications of growth factor signaling crosstalk in breast cancer. Significant advances in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer include the development of therapies targeted against specific cancer-causing molecules. However, the success of these mono-targeted therapies is often limited by cross-talk between multiple signaling pathways. One molecule that is overexpressed in about 25% of metastatic breast cancers is the HER2/erbB2 oncogene. Approved treatments for HER2-overexpressing breast cancer include the HER2-targeted antibody trastuzumab and the dual EGFR/HER2 kinase inhibitor lapatinib. While both drugs successfully treat a percentage of HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancers, a significant number of patients show primary or acquired resistance to these treatments.

Dr. Nahta's laboratory is interested in understanding how cross-talk between HER2 and other growth factor signaling pathways affects the biology of HER2-overexpressing breast cancers, including how signaling cross-talk promotes resistance to trastuzumab and lapatinib. By understanding the basic signaling mechanisms contributing to therapeutic resistance, they can identify new molecular targets against which future drugs can be developed.

Publications

Title/Journal	Authors	Publication Date
Using Online Cancer Genomics Databases to Provide Teaching Resources for Pharmacy Education. American journal of pharmaceutical education	D Pasupuleti, T Nguyen, R Nahta	11/01/2022
Phosphatase magnesium-dependent 1 δ (PPM1D), serine/threonine protein phosphatase and novel pharmacological target in cancer. Biochemical pharmacology	R Nahta, RC Castellino	02/01/2021
Correction: Growth differentiation factor 15 mediates epithelial mesenchymal transition and invasion of breast cancers through IGF-1R-FoxM1 signaling. Oncotarget	BF Peake, SM Eze, L Yang, RC Castellino, R Nahta	11/03/2020
Evaluation of PD-L1, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, and CD8+ and FOXP3+ immune cells in HER2-positive breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant therapies. Breast cancer research and treatment	J Zhao, J Meisel, Y Guo, R Nahta, KL Hsieh, L Peng, Z Wei, R O'Regan, X Li	10/01/2020
Clinicopathologic Factors Associated With Response to Neoadjuvant Anti-HER2-Directed Chemotherapy in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer. Clinical breast cancer	JL Meisel, J Zhao, A Suo, C Zhang, Z Wei, C Taylor, R Aneja, U Krishnamurti, Z Li, R Nahta, R O'Regan, X Li	02/01/2020
Inhibition of mutant PPM1D enhances DNA damage response and growth suppressive effects of ionizing radiation in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. Neuro-oncology	MP Akamandisa, K Nie, R Nahta, D Hambardzumyan, RC Castellino	06/10/2019
Targeting forkhead box M1 transcription factor in breast cancer. Biochemical pharmacology	RM O'Regan, R Nahta	08/01/2018
ABP 980: promising trastuzumab biosimilar for HER2-positive breast cancer. Expert opinion on biological therapy	E Paplomata, R Nahta	03/01/2018
Growth differentiation factor 15 mediates epithelial mesenchymal transition and invasion of breast cancers through IGF-1R-FoxM1 signaling. Oncotarget	BF Peake, SM Eze, L Yang, RC Castellino, R Nahta	11/07/2017
ERRF sensitizes ERBB2-positive breast cancer cells to lapatinib treatment likely by attenuating MCL1 and ERBB2 expression. Oncotarget	L Qi, B Zhang, S Zhang, X Ci, Q Wu, G Ma, A Luo, L Fu, JL King, R Nahta, JT Dong	05/30/2017
WIP1 modulates responsiveness to Sonic Hedgehog signaling in neuronal precursor cells and medulloblastoma. Oncogene	J Wen, J Lee, A Malhotra, R Nahta, AR Arnold, MC Buss, BD Brown, C Maier, AM Kenney, M Remke, V Ramaswamy, MD Taylor, RC Castellino	10/20/2016
PPM1D/WIP1 in medulloblastoma. Oncoscience	MP Akamandisa, R Nahta, RC Castellino	01/01/2016
Designing a broad-spectrum integrative approach for cancer prevention and treatment. Seminars in cancer biology	KI Block, C Gyllenhaal, L Lowe, A Amedei, ARMR Amin, A Amin, K Aquilano, J Arbiser, A Arreola, A Arzumanyan, SS Ashraf, AS Azmi, F Benencia, D Bhakta, A Bilsland, A Bishayee, SW Blain, PB Block, CS Boosani, TE Carey, A Carnero, M Carotenuto, SC Casey, M Chakrabarti, R Chaturvedi, GZ Chen, H Chen, S Chen, YC Chen, BK Choi, MR Ciriolo, HM Coley, AR Collins, M Connell, S Crawford, CS Curran, C Dabrosin, G Damia, S Dasgupta, RJ DeBerardinis, WK Decker, P Dhawan, AME Diehl, JT Dong, QP Dou, JE Drew, E Elkord, B El-Rayes, MA Feitelson, DW Felsher, LR Ferguson, C Fimognari, GL Firestone, C Frezza, H Fujii, MM Fuster, D Generali, AG Georgakilas, F Gieseler, M Gilbertson, MF Green, B Grue, G Guha, D Halicka, WG Helferich, P Heneberg, P Hentosh, MD Hirschey, LJ Hofseth, RF Holcombe, K Honoki, HY Hsu, GS Huang, LD Jensen, WG Jiang, LW Jones, PA Karpowicz, WN Keith, SP Kerkar, GN Khan, M Khatami, YH Ko, O Kucuk, RJ Kulathinal, NB Kumar, BS Kwon, A Le, MA Lea, HY Lee, T Lichtor, LT Lin, JW Locasale, BL Lokeshwar, VD Longo, CA Lyssiotis, KL MacKenzie, M Malhotra, M Marino, ML Martinez-Chantar, A Matheu, C Maxwell, E McDonnell, AK Meeker, M Mehrmohamadi, K Mehta, GA Michelotti, RM Mohammad, SI Mohammed, DJ Morre, V Muralidhar, I Muqbil, MP Murphy, GP Nagaraju, R Nahta, E Niccolai, S Nowsheen, C Panis, F Pantano, VR Parslow, G Pawelec, PL Pedersen, B Poore, D Poudyal, S Prakash, M Prince, L Raffaghello, JC Rathmell, WK Rathmell, SK Ray, J Reichrath, S Rezazadeh, D Ribatti, L Ricciardiello, RB Robey, F Rodier, HPV Rupasinghe, GL Russo, EP Ryan, AK Samadi, I Sanchez-Garcia, AJ Sanders, D Santini, M Sarkar, T Sasada, NK Saxena, RE Shackelford, HMC Shantha Kumara, D Sharma, DM Shin, D Sidransky, MD Siegelin, E Signori, N Singh, S Sivanand, D Sliva, C Smythe, C Spagnuolo, DM Stafforini, J Stagg, PR Subbarayan, T Sundin, WH Talib, SK Thompson, PT Tran, H Ungefroren, MG Vander Heiden, V Venkateswaran, DS Vinay, PJ Vlachostergios, Z Wang, KE Wellen, RL Whelan, ES Yang, H Yang, X Yang, P Yaswen, C Yedjou, X Yin, J Zhu, M Zollo	12/01/2015
Evasion of anti-growth signaling: A key step in tumorigenesis and potential target for treatment and prophylaxis by natural compounds. Seminars in cancer biology	ARMR Amin, PA Karpowicz, TE Carey, J Arbiser, R Nahta, ZG Chen, JT Dong, O Kucuk, GN Khan, GS Huang, S Mi, HY Lee, J Reichrath, K Honoki, AG Georgakilas, A Amedei, A Amin, B Helferich, CS Boosani, MR Ciriolo, S Chen, SI Mohammed, AS Azmi, WN Keith, D Bhakta, D Halicka, E Niccolai, H Fujii, K Aquilano, SS Ashraf, S Nowsheen, X Yang, A Bilsland, DM Shin	12/01/2015
Anti-Tumor Effects of Peptide Therapeutic and Peptide Vaccine Antibody Co-targeting HER-1 and HER-2 in Esophageal Cancer (EC) and HER-1 and IGF-1R in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). Vaccines	J Overholser, KH Ambegaokar, SM Eze, E Sanabria-Figueroa, R Nahta, T Bekaii-Saab, PT Kaumaya	07/06/2015
Assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment: the challenge ahead. Carcinogenesis	WH Goodson, L Lowe, DO Carpenter, M Gilbertson, A Manaf Ali, A Lopez de Cerain Salsamendi, A Lasfar, A Carnero, A Azqueta, A Amedei, AK Charles, AR Collins, A Ward, AC Salzberg, A Colacci, AK Olsen, A Berg, BJ Barclay, BP Zhou, C Blanco-Aparicio, CJ Baglole, C Dong, C Mondello, CW Hsu, CC Naus, C Yedjou, CS Curran, DW Laird, DC Koch, DJ Carlin, DW Felsher, D Roy, DG Brown, E Ratovitski, EP Ryan, E Corsini, E Rojas, EY Moon, E Laconi, F Marongiu, F Al-Mulla, F Chiaradonna, F Darroudi, FL Martin, FJ Van Schooten, GS Goldberg, G Wagemaker, GN Nangami, GM Calaf, G Williams, GT Wolf, G Koppen, G Brunborg, HK Lyerly, H Krishnan, H Ab Hamid, H Yasaei, H Sone, H Kondoh, HK Salem, HY Hsu, HH Park, I Koturbash, IR Miousse, AI Scovassi, JE Klaunig, J Vondráček, J Raju, J Roman, JP Wise, JR Whitfield, J Woodrick, JA Christopher, J Ochieng, JF Martinez-Leal, J Weisz, J Kravchenko, J Sun, KR Prudhomme, KB Narayanan, KA Cohen-Solal, K Moorwood, L Gonzalez, L Soucek, L Jian, LS D'Abronzo, LT Lin, L Li, L Gulliver, LJ McCawley, L Memeo, L Vermeulen, L Leyns, L Zhang, M Valverde, M Khatami, MF Romano, M Chapellier, MA Williams, M Wade, MH Manjili, ME Lleonart, M Xia, MJ Gonzalez, MV Karamouzis, M Kirsch-Volders, M Vaccari, NB Kuemmerle, N Singh, N Cruickshanks, N Kleinstreuer, N van Larebeke, N Ahmed, O Ogunkua, PK Krishnakumar, P Vadgama, PA Marignani, PM Ghosh, P Ostrosky-Wegman, PA Thompson, P Dent, P Heneberg, P Darbre, P Sing Leung, P Nangia-Makker, QS Cheng, RB Robey, R Al-Temaimi, R Roy, R Andrade-Vieira, RK Sinha, R Mehta, R Vento, R Di Fiore, R Ponce-Cusi, R Dornetshuber-Fleiss, R Nahta, RC Castellino, R Palorini, R Abd Hamid, SA Langie, SE Eltom, SA Brooks, S Ryeom, SS Wise, SN Bay, SA Harris, S Papagerakis, S Romano, S Pavanello, S Eriksson, S Forte, SC Casey, S Luanpitpong, TJ Lee, T Otsuki, T Chen, T Massfelder, T Sanderson, T Guarnieri, T Hultman, V Dormoy, V Odero-Marah, V Sabbisetti, V Maguer-Satta, WK Rathmell, W Engström, WK Decker, WH Bisson, Y Rojanasakul, Y Luqmani, Z Chen, Z Hu	06/01/2015
Mechanisms of environmental chemicals that enable the cancer hallmark of evasion of growth suppression. Carcinogenesis	R Nahta, F Al-Mulla, R Al-Temaimi, A Amedei, R Andrade-Vieira, SN Bay, DG Brown, GM Calaf, RC Castellino, KA Cohen-Solal, A Colacci, N Cruickshanks, P Dent, R Di Fiore, S Forte, GS Goldberg, RA Hamid, H Krishnan, DW Laird, A Lasfar, PA Marignani, L Memeo, C Mondello, CC Naus, R Ponce-Cusi, J Raju, D Roy, R Roy, EP Ryan, HK Salem, AI Scovassi, N Singh, M Vaccari, R Vento, J Vondráček, M Wade, J Woodrick, WH Bisson	06/01/2015
FAK activation is required for IGF1R-mediated regulation of EMT, migration, and invasion in mesenchymal triple negative breast cancer cells. Oncotarget	L Taliaferro-Smith, E Oberlick, T Liu, T McGlothen, T Alcaide, R Tobin, S Donnelly, R Commander, E Kline, GP Nagaraju, L Havel, A Marcus, R Nahta, R O'Regan	03/10/2015
Systemic therapy for early-stage HER2-positive breast cancers: time for a less-is-more approach? Cancer	E Paplomata, R Nahta, RM O'Regan	02/15/2015
Insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor signaling increases the invasive potential of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-overexpressing breast cancer cells via Src-focal adhesion kinase and forkhead box protein M1. Molecular pharmacology	E Sanabria-Figueroa, SM Donnelly, KC Foy, MC Buss, RC Castellino, E Paplomata, L Taliaferro-Smith, PT Kaumaya, R Nahta	02/01/2015
HER-3 peptide vaccines/mimics: Combined therapy with IGF-1R, HER-2, and HER-1 peptides induces synergistic antitumor effects against breast and pancreatic cancer cells. Oncoimmunology	MJ Miller, KC Foy, JP Overholser, R Nahta, PT Kaumaya	11/01/2014
IGF-1R peptide vaccines/mimics inhibit the growth of BxPC3 and JIMT-1 cancer cells and exhibit synergistic antitumor effects with HER-1 and HER-2 peptides. Oncoimmunology	KC Foy, MJ Miller, J Overholser, SM Donnelly, R Nahta, PT Kaumaya	11/01/2014
Resistance to HER2-targeted therapies: a potential role for FOXM1. Breast cancer management	BF Peake, R Nahta	01/01/2014
P38 MAPK contributes to resistance and invasiveness of HER2- overexpressing breast cancer. Current medicinal chemistry	SM Donnelly, E Paplomata, BM Peake, E Sanabria, Z Chen, R Nahta	01/01/2014
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-targeted therapies in breast cancer. Expert opinion on biological therapy	R Nahta	07/01/2013
Mechanisms of Adipocytokine-Mediated Trastuzumab Resistance in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Cell Lines. Current pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine	SE Griner, KJ Wang, JP Joshi, R Nahta	03/01/2013
Growth differentiation factor 15 stimulates rapamycin-sensitive ovarian cancer cell growth and invasion. Biochemical pharmacology	SE Griner, JP Joshi, R Nahta	01/01/2013
MEK inhibition increases lapatinib sensitivity via modulation of FOXM1. Current medicinal chemistry	SS Gayle, RC Castellino, MC Buss, R Nahta	01/01/2013
Catalytic deoxyribozyme-modified nanoparticles for RNAi-independent gene regulation. ACS nano	K Yehl, JP Joshi, BL Greene, RB Dyer, R Nahta, K Salaita	10/23/2012
Therapeutic implications of estrogen receptor signaling in HER2-positive breast cancers. Breast cancer research and treatment	R Nahta, RM O'Regan	08/01/2012
New developments in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer. Breast cancer (Dove Medical Press)	R Nahta	05/01/2012
Pharmacologic inhibition of mTOR improves lapatinib sensitivity in HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells with primary trastuzumab resistance. Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry	SS Gayle, SL Arnold, RM O'Regan, R Nahta	02/01/2012
Deciphering the role of insulin-like growth factor-I receptor in trastuzumab resistance. Chemotherapy research and practice	R Nahta	01/01/2012
Pharmacological strategies to overcome HER2 cross-talk and Trastuzumab resistance. Current medicinal chemistry	R Nahta	01/01/2012
Molecular Mechanisms of Trastuzumab-Based Treatment in HER2-Overexpressing Breast Cancer. ISRN oncology	R Nahta	01/01/2012
Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15)-mediated HER2 phosphorylation reduces trastuzumab sensitivity of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells. Biochemical pharmacology	JP Joshi, NE Brown, SE Griner, R Nahta	11/01/2011
Targeting Bcl-2 in Herceptin-Resistant Breast Cancer Cell Lines. Current pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine	A Crawford, R Nahta	09/01/2011
Evolving strategies for overcoming resistance to HER2-directed therapy: targeting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. Clinical breast cancer	R Nahta, RM O'Regan	11/01/2010
In vitro evaluation of pan-PI3-kinase inhibitor SF1126 in trastuzumab-sensitive and trastuzumab-resistant HER2-over-expressing breast cancer cells. Cancer chemotherapy and pharmacology	T Ozbay, DL Durden, T Liu, RM O'Regan, R Nahta	03/01/2010
Personalizing HER2-targeted therapy in metastatic breast cancer beyond HER2 status: what we have learned from clinical specimens. Current pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine	R Nahta, S Shabaya, T Ozbay, DL Rowe	12/01/2009
Modulation of the BRCA1 Protein and Induction of Apoptosis in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cell Lines by the Polyphenolic Compound Curcumin. Breast cancer : basic and clinical research	DL Rowe, T Ozbay, RM O'Regan, R Nahta	09/02/2009
Nordihydroguaiaretic acid, a cytotoxic insulin-like growth factor-I receptor/HER2 inhibitor in trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer. Molecular cancer therapeutics	DL Rowe, T Ozbay, LM Bender, R Nahta	07/01/2008
A novel unidirectional cross-talk from the insulin-like growth factor-I receptor to leptin receptor in human breast cancer cells. Molecular cancer research : MCR	T Ozbay, R Nahta	06/01/2008
Her2 cross talk and therapeutic resistance in breast cancer. Frontiers in bioscience : a journal and virtual library	LM Bender, R Nahta	05/01/2008