I worked at Genentech as a postdoc from 1987-1989 and then returned as Senior Scientist in 1999. Since returning in 1999, I have headed the Tumor Antigen Project in an effort to identify tumor cell markers that will serve as targets for therapeutic antibodies.

• My Focus

  My current projects include the identification of antigens that are expressed on the surface of human cancer cells. The overall goal of this project is to raise antibodies to these antigens that will ultimately serve as therapeutics in the treatment of cancer.

  As an extension of this project, my lab has been analyzing gene expression patterns that result from the treatment of human tumors and cell lines with standard care chemotherapeutic agents. We also work on the Wnt signaling pathway, in which defects are common in human colorectal cancer.

• Publications

  • A Novel Tankyrase Small-molecule Inhibitor Suppresses APC Mutation-driven Colorectal Tumor Growth

    Cancer Research, 2013, ISSN: 0008-5472

    Lau, Ted; Chan, Emily; Callow, Marinella; Waaler, Jo; Boggs, Jason; Blake, Robert A; Magnuson, Steven; Sambrone, Amy; Schutten, Melissa; Firestein, Ron; Machon, Ondrej; Korinek, Vladimir; Choo, Edna; Diaz, Dolores; Merchant, Mark; Polakis, Paul; Holsworth, Daniel D; Krauss, Stefan; Costa, Mike

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  • Phosphorylation of Dishevelled by Protein Kinase RIPK4 Regulates Wnt Signaling

    Science, 2013, ISSN: 0036-8075

    Huang, Xiaodong; McGann, James C; Liu, Bob Y; Hannoush, Rami N; Lill, Jennie R; Pham, Victoria; Newton, Kim; Kakunda, Michael; Liu, Jinfeng; Yu, Christine; Hymowitz, Sarah G; Hongo, Jo-Anne; Wynshaw-Boris, Anthony; Polakis, Paul; Harland, Richard M; Dixit, Vishva M

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  • HectD1 E3 Ligase Modifies Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) with Polyubiquitin to Promote the APC-Axin Interaction

    The Journal of biological chemistry, 2012, ISSN: 0021-9258

    Tran, Hoanh; Bustos, Daisy; Yeh, Ronald; Rubinfeld, Bonnee; Lam, Cynthia; Shriver, Stephanie; Zilberleyb, Inna; Lee, Michelle W; Phu, Lilian; Sarkar, Anjali A; Zohn, Irene E; Wertz, Ingrid E; Kirkpatrick, Donald S; Polakis, Paul

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  • Differential Effects of Predosing on Tumor and Tissue Uptake of an ¹¹¹In-Labeled Anti-TENB2 Antibody-Drug Conjugate

    Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 2012, ISSN: 0161-5505

    Boswell, C Andrew; Mundo, Eduardo E; Zhang, Crystal; Stainton, Shannon L; Yu, Shang-Fan; Lacap, Jennifer A; Mao, Weiguang; Kozak, Katherine R; Fourie, Aimee; Polakis, Paul; Khawli, Leslie A; Lin, Kedan

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  • An integrated approach to identify normal tissue expression of targets for antibody drug conjugates: case study of TENB2

    British Journal of Pharmacology, 2012, ISSN: 0007-1188

    Boswell, C Andrew; Mundo, Eduardo E; Firestein, Ron; Zhang, Crystal; Mao, Weiguang; Gill, Herman; Young, Cynthia; Ljumanovic, Nina; Stainton, Shannon; Ulufatu, Sheila; Fourie, Aimee; Kozak, Katherine R; Fuji, Reina; Polakis, Paul; Khawli, Leslie A; Lin, Kedan

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  • Reversible modification of APC with K63-linked polyubiquitin regulates the assembly and activity of the β-catenin destruction complex.

    Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2012, ISSN: 0021-9258

    Tran, Hoanh; Polakis, Paul

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  • Drugging Wnt signalling in cancer

    EMBO, 2012, ISSN: 0261-4189

    Polakis, Paul;

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  • The melanosomal protein PMEL17 as a target for antibody drug conjugate therapy in melanoma

    Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2012, ISSN: 0021-9258

    Chen, Youjun; Chalouni, Cecile; Tan, Christine; Clark, Robyn; Venook, Rayna; Ohri, Rachana; Raab, Helga; Firestein, Ron; Mallet, William; Polakis, Paul;

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  • Wnt Signaling in Cancer

    CSH Perspectives in Bbiology, 2012, ISSN:

    Polakis, Paul

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  • Mammary tumor regression elicited by Wnt signaling inhibitor requires IGFBP5

    Cancer Research, 2012, ISSN: 0008-5472

    Liu, Bob Y; Soloviev, Irina; Huang, Xiaodong; Chang, Peter; Ernst, James A; Polakis, Paul; Sakanaka, Chie

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  • Conjugation site modulates the in vivo stability and therapeutic activity of antibody-drug conjugates

    Nature Biotechnology, 2012, ISSN: 1087-0156

    Shen, Ben-Quan; Xu, Keyang; Liu, Luna; Raab, Helga; Bhakta, Sunil; Kenrick, Margaret; Parsons-Reponte, Kathryn L; Tien, Janet; Yu, Shang-Fan; Mai, Elaine; Li, Dongwei; Tibbitts, Jay; Baudys, Jakub; Saad, Ola M; Scales, Suzie J; McDonald, Paul J; Hass, Philip E; Eigenbrot, Charles; Nguyen, Trung; Solis, Willy A; Fuji, Reina N; Flagella, Kelly M; Patel, Darshana; Spencer, Susan D; Khawli, Leslie A; Ebens, Allen; Wong, Wai Lee; Vandlen, Richard; Kaur, Surinder; Sliwkowski, Mark X; Scheller, Richard H; Polakis, Paul; Junutula, Jagath R

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  • Ubiquitin Ligase RNF146 Regulates Tankyrase and Axin to Promote Wnt Signaling

    PLoS ONE, {PLoS-ONE}, 2011, vol. 6, no. 7, article number: e22595, 35 refs, eISSN: 1932-6203. Publisher: Public Library of Science, 185 Berry Street, Suite 1300, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA.

    Callow, Marinella G; Tran, Hoanh; Phu, Lilian; Lau, Ted; Lee, James; Sandoval, Wendy N; Liu, Peter S; Bheddah, Sheila; Tao, Janet; Lill, Jennie R; Hongo, Jo Anne; Davis, David; Kirkpatrick, Donald S; Polakis, Paul; Costa, Mike

     View on PubMed

  • An Introduction to Wnt Signaling.

    Goss-KH: Editor, Kahn-M: Editor; Targeting the Wnt Pathway in Cancer, 2011, p. 1-18, Publisher: SPRINGER, 233 SPRING STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10013, UNITED STATES, DOI: doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-8023-6_1, ISBN: 978-1-4419-8022-9(H).

    Polakis, Paul

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  • Wnt Isoform-Specific Interactions with Coreceptor Specify Inhibition or Potentiation of Signaling by LRP6 Antibodies.

    PloS ONE, 2010, ISSN: 1932-6203

    Gong, Y.; Bourhis, E.; Chiu, C.; Stawicki, S.; DeAlmeida, V.; Liu, B.; Phamluong, K.; Cao, T.; Carano, R.; Ernst, J.; Solloway, M.; Rubinfeld, B.; Hannoush, R.; Wu, Y.; Polakis, P.; Costa, M.

  • Conjugation site modulates the stability and biological activity of antibody drug conjugates.

    Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, 2010, ISSN: 0197-016X

    Shen, B.; Xu, K.; Liu, L.; Parsons, K.; Bhakta, S.; Raab, H.; Flagella, K.; Spencer, S.; Kaur, S.; Scheller, R.; Sliwkowski, M.; Polakis, P.; Junutula, J.

  • Early study on LGR5/GPR49 molecule as a potential colon cancer stem cell target for the antibody conjugated drug treatment.

    Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting, 2010, ISSN: 0197-016X

    Mao, W.; Tien, J.; Goldenberg, D.; Stawicki, S.; Vij, R.; Xia, X.; Hongo, J.; Ross, S.; Kozak, K.; Firestein, R.; Wu, Y.; Spencer, S.; Polakis, P.

  • Engineered thio-trastuzumab-DM1 conjugate with an improved therapeutic index to target HER2-positive breast cancer.

    Clinical Cancer Research, 2010, ISSN: 1078-0432

    Junutula, J.; Flagella, K.; Graham, R.; Parsons, K.; Ha, E.; Raab, H.; Bhakta, S.; Nguyen, T.; Dugger, D.; Li, G.; Mai, E.; Lewis Phillips, G.; Hiraragi, H.; Fuji, R.; Tibbitts, J.; Vandlen, R.; Spencer, S.; Scheller, R.; Polakis, P.; Sliwkowski, M.

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  • Stromal Cell-Derived Factor-₁/CXCL₁₂ Contributes to MMTV-Wnt₁ Tumor Growth Involving Gr₁⁺CD₁₁b⁺ Cells

    PLoS ONE, 2010, ISSN: 1932-6203

    Liu, B.Y.; Soloviev, I.; Chang, P.; Lee, J.; Huang, X.; Zhong, C.; Ferrara, N.; Polakis, P.; Sakanaka, C.

  • Preclinical evaluation of carcinoembryonic cell adhesion molecule (CEACAM) 6 as potential therapy target for pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

    Journal of Pathology, 2009, ISSN: 1096-9896

    Strickland, L.A.; Ross, J.; Williams, S.; Ross, S.; Romero, M.; Spencer, S.; Erickson, R.; Sutcliffe, J.; Verbeke, C.; Polakis, P.; van Bruggen, N.; Koeppen, H.

• Education
  • Michigan State University, Department of Biochemistry, Ph.D. – 1984
  • Michigan State University, Department of Biochemistry, Graduate Research Assistant – 1984
  • Michigan State University, Department of Biology, B.S. – 1977