Seung J Baek

Biography

Dr. Baek,  after getting his PhD degree at University of Maryland School of Medicine Human Genetics Program in 1998 he joined the research fellow at National Institutes of Health where he trained cancer biology and pharmacology. During his fellowship, Dr. Baek found a protein NAG1 induced by nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs which are known chemopreventive drugs in colorectal cancer. Dr. Baek joined the faculty of The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and pioneered defining the critical target genes in chemoprevention and understanding how anticancer compounds act upon these genes to influence cancer prevention or development Several chemopreventive target genes were identified and characterized in his laboratory including activating transcription factor ATF3 early growth response EGR1 NSAID activated gene NAG1 and other tumor suppressor proteins Interestingly these proteins were also induced by several dietary compounds and PPAR? ligands supporting their role in anticancer antiobesity and antiinflammation activities. His findings have important consequences in the development of new drugs for the prevention of cancer since it may be possible to develop drugs that selectively increase NAG1 and others in tumors and they provide a mechanistic explanation for preventing tumor development. He is currently an Associate Professor at The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and has published more than 70 manuscripts on the molecular targets of several chemopreventive compounds including phytochemicals PPAR? ligands and NSAIDs on colorectal tumorigenesis. Dr. Baek,  after getting his PhD degree at University of Maryland School of Medicine Human Genetics Program in 1998 he joined the research fellow at National Institutes of Health where he trained cancer biology and pharmacology. During his fellowship, Dr. Baek found a protein NAG1 induced by nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs which are known chemopreventive drugs in colorectal cancer. Dr. Baek joined the faculty of The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and pioneered defining the critical target genes in chemoprevention and understanding how anticancer compounds act upon these genes to influence cancer prevention or development Several chemopreventive target genes were identified and characterized in his laboratory including activating transcription factor ATF3 early growth response EGR1 NSAID activated gene NAG1 and other tumor suppressor proteins Interestingly these proteins were also induced by several dietary compounds and PPAR? ligands supporting their role in anticancer antiobesity and antiinflammation activities. His findings have important consequences in the development of new drugs for the prevention of cancer since it may be possible to develop drugs that selectively increase NAG1 and others in tumors and they provide a mechanistic explanation for preventing tumor development. He is currently an Associate Professor at The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and has published more than 70 manuscripts on the molecular targets of several chemopreventive compounds including phytochemicals PPAR? ligands and NSAIDs on colorectal tumorigenesis.

Research Interest

Transcriptional regulation of apoptotic genes,Chemopreventive study using animal models,Post-translational regulation affected by chemopreventive compounds, with respect to Colorectal cancer prevention, ,Anti-obesity,Anti-inflammation.