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Po H. Ear, PhD

Assistant Professor of Surgery - Surgical Oncology and Endocrine Surgery

Introduction

Cancer cells are metabolically active and require a high turnover of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and the reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) to repair damaged DNA and sustain cellular reactions. My research focuses on understanding the impact of NADPH on serotonin biosynthesis in neuroendocrine tumors (NET), identifying druggable targets in the serotonin pathway for cancer treatment, and development of patient-derived organoid (PDO) and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of NET. Few pancreas and small bowel NET cell lines are available for research. My group has pioneered the field of 3-D NET PDO cultures (PMID: 31657801) for precision medicine and understanding tumor biology. We are developing novel dynamic assays for studying NET PDO heterogeneity and their responses to anti-cancer drug treatments. These tools can potentially be applied to other cancer PDO models such as pancreas, prostate, and esophageal cancers.

Current Positions

  • Assistant Professor of Surgery - Surgical Oncology and Endocrine Surgery

Education

  • BSc in Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
  • MSc in Biochemistry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
  • PhD in Biochemistry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada

Graduate Program Affiliations

Research Interests

  • Neuroendocrine, pediatric, and other rare cancers

Selected Publications

  • Shilyansky, J.S., Chan, C.J., Xiao, S., Gribovskaja-Rupp, I., Quelle, D.E., Howe, J.R., Dillon, J.S. and Ear, P.H., (2024). GLP-1R agonist promotes proliferation of neuroendocrine neoplasm cells expressing GLP-1 receptors. Surgery, p.108943. doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2024.09.052
  • Hien Ear, P., Marinoni, I., Dayton, T., Guenter, R., Quelle, D. E., Battistella, A., Buishand, F. O., Chittaranjan, S., Du, Y.-C. N., Marques, I., Pellegata, N., Sadowski, S. M., Tirosh, A., April-Monn, S., Aurilia, C., Jaskula-Sztul, R., Jesús, M., Moreno, B., Donati, S., English, K. A., …Schrader, J. (2024). White paper formatted for Endocrine Oncology NET models meeting 2024 White Paper: the current state of neuroendocrine tumour research models and our future aspirations. Endocrine Oncology, doi.org/10.1530/EO-24-0055
  • Ear, P. H., Marinoni, I., Dayton, T., Guenter, R., Quelle, D., Battistella, A., Buishand, F. O., Chittaranjan, S., Du, Y. N., Marques, I., Pellegata, N., Sadowski, S. M., Tirosh, A., April-Monn, S., Aurilia, C., Jaskula-Sztul, R., Baena Moreno, M. J., Donati , S., English, K. A., Hernandez Llorens, M. A., Hodgetts, H., Marini, F., Martins, M., Palmini, G., Soldevilla, B., Schrader, J., Thakker, R. V., & Lines, K. E. (2024). NET models meeting 2024: the current state of neuroendocrine tumour research models and our future aspirations. Endocrine Oncology (published online ahead of print 2024), EO-24-0055. Retrieved Dec 18, 2024, from doi.org/10.1530/EO-24-0055
  • Chang, J., Suraju, M. O., Tran, C. G., Chan, C. H., Ear, P. H., Howe, J. R., & Sherman, S. K. (2024). Association Between Female Sex and Better Survival in Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors. Journal of Surgical Research, 302, 53-63. doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2024.07.012
  • Catherine G. Tran, Luis C. Borbon, Dane H. Tow, Jonathan Shilyansky, Guiying Li, James Egan, Scott K. Sherman, Ellen Abusada, Jing Tang, Ramaswamy govindan, Ryan C. Fields, Terry A. Braun, Carlos HF Chan, Chandrikha Chandrasekharan, Douglas Spitz, Dawn E. Quelle, Andrew M. Bellizzi, James R. Howe, Po Hien Ear; (2024). Abstract 3578: A systematic NEN spheroid drug screen reveals a novel drug resistance mechanism in small bowel NETs. Cancer Res 15 March 2024; 84 (6_Supplement): 3578. doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.AM2024-3578
  • Po Hien Ear, Min Hu, Jonathan S. Shilyansky, Naomi H. Fei, Sam Coleman, Rebecca Hoyd, Caroline E. Wheeler, Kelsey L. Steckly, Michelle L. Churchman, Nicholas Denko, Rebecca D. Dodd, Sheetal Hardikar, Ning Jin, Qin Ma, Martin D. McCarter, Abdul Rafeh Naqash, Afaf E. Osman, Gregory Riedlinger, Lary A. Robinson, Bryan P. Schneider, Eric A. Singer, Ahmad A. Tarhini, Gabriel Tinoco, Cornelia M. Ulrich, Yousef Zakharia, Daniel Spakowicz, Aik Choon Tan, Carlos H. Chan; (2024). Abstract 7615: Epithelial-mesenchymal-transition gene signature changes and poor oncological outcome in Candida-positive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Cancer Res 15 March 2024; 84 (6_Supplement): 7615. doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.AM2024-7615
  • Majid Momeny, Vahid Khalaj, Solmaz AghaAmiri, Po Hien Ear, Servando Hernandez Vargas, Sukhen Ghosh, Ali Azhdarinia; (2024). Abstract 5953: DUSP6 is a novel target in neuroendocrine tumors. Cancer Res 15 March 2024; 84 (6_Supplement): 5953. doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.AM2024-5953
  • Jonathan Shilyansky, Casandro J. Chan, Kristen L. Coleman, Mariah Leidinger, Sharathkumar Bhagavathi, Anjali Sharathkumar, Po Hien Ear; (2024).Abstract 146: Development of a novel pediatric patient-derived xenograft model with THPO and NDUFB3 mutations. Cancer Res 15 March 2024; 84 (6_Supplement): 146. doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.AM2024-146
  • Borbon, L.C., Sherman, S.K., Breheny, P.J., Ear, P.H., et al. (2024).Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy Improves Survival in Patients Who Progress After Resection of Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors. Ann Surg Oncol (2024). doi.org/10.1245/s10434-024-16463-7
  • Tow DH, Tran CG, Borbon LC, Ridder M, Li G, Kaemmer CA, Abusada E, Mahalingam AH, Sadanandam A, Chandrasekaran C, Dillon J, Spitz DR, Quelle DE, Chan CHF, Bellizzi A, Howe JR, Ear P. H. (2023). Inhibition of serotonin biosynthesis in neuroendocrine neoplasm suppresses tumor growth in vivo. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 Apr 8:2023.04.07.536013. DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.07.536013. PMID: 37066322; PMCID: PMC10104152.