EDUCATION
D.V.M. (Veterinary Medicine) 1998, Addis Ababa University, Faculty of
     Veterinary Medicine, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia
M.Sc. (Veterinary Pathology) 2001, Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary
     Medicine, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Ph.D. (Molecular Medicine) 2004, Medical School of Hannover, Institute of
     Pathology, Hannover, Germany
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2004-2006, Department of Pathology, Health Sciences
     Center, University of New Mexico
Postdoctoral Fellow, 2006-2008, Lung Cancer Program, Lovelace Respiratory
     Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM

EMPLOYMENT

HONORS
University Fellowship Program (UFP-NUFFIC), The Netherlands
RAC Postdoctoral Fellow Award, University of New Mexico

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
The American Association for Cancer Research
The American Society of Cell Biology

AREAS OF RESEARCH
The focus of Dr. Tessema’s current research is to identify and characterize markers for diagnosis and targets for treatment of lung cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, among both men and women. It claims more lives than colon, prostate, lymph and breast cancer combined. Because lung cancer is asymptomatic in the early stages, it is not often discovered until at an advanced stage where the outlook for recovery is very poor. Therefore, success of lung cancer therapy and patient survival is greatly dependent on early diagnosis. Dr. Tessema's research goal is to identify markers that detect the emergence of cancer at the earliest possible time. Such markers can also be used as targets for cancer prevention and therapy and could also help to predict the disease outcome. Using a genome-wide transcriptome array, several hundred novel genes that are aberrantly regulated by methylation have been discovered. The presence of tumor-specific aberrant methylation has been validated for a subset of these genes. Currently the remaining genes are being validated and the role of selected genes in malignant transformation characterized.

ACCESS THIS AUTHOR'S PUBLICATIONS IN PUBMED

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

1. Tessema, M. Z., S. E. Van Tongeren and G. M. Dorrestein: Liposarcoma in a Nutria (Myocator coypus). Eur. J. Vet. Pathol. 3: 121-124, 2000.

    

2. Mathewos, Z., A. Getachew and J. Yilma: Observations on the Effect of Concurrent, Natural Bovine Trypanosome and Fasciola Infections in Kone Area, Western Ethiopia. Rev. Med. Vet. 152: 851-858, 2001.

    

3. Tessema, M. Z., A. P. Koets, V. P. Rutten and E. Gruys: How does Mycobacterium Avium subsp. Paratuberculosis Resist Intracellular Degradation? Vet. Q. 23(4): 153-162, 2001.

    

4. Tessema, M., F. Länger, J. Dingemann, A. Ganser, H. Kreipe and U. Lehmann: Aberrant Methylation and Impaired Expression of the p^15INK4b Cell Cycle Regulatory Gene in Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia (CMML). Leukemia 17(5): 910-918, 2003.

    

5. Bock, O., M. Tessema, E. Serinsöz, R. von Wasielewski, G. Büsche and H. Kreipe: Aberrant Expression of Insulin-like Growth Factor-2 (IGF-2) in Philadelphia Chromosome Negative Chronic Myeloproliferative Disorders. Leuk. Res. 28(11): 1145-1151, 2004.

    

6. Länger, F., J. Stickel, M. Tessema, H. Kreipe and U. Lehmann: Overexpression of Delta-like (Dlk) in a Subset of Myelodysplastic Syndrome Bone Marrow Trephines. Leuk. Res. 28(10): 1081-1083, 2004.

    

7. Tessema, M., U. Lehmann and H. Kriepe: Cell Cycle and No End. Virchows Arch. 444(4): 313-323, 2004. [Invited review]

    

8. Stein, M.-P., C. Cao, M. Tessema, Y. Feng, E. Romero, A. Welford and A. Wandinger-Ness: Interaction and Functional Analyses of Human VPS34/p150 Phosphatidylinositol 3 Kinase Complex with Rab7. Methods Enzymol. 403: 628-649, 2005.

    

9. Tessema, M., F. Länger, O. Bock, A. Seltsam, K. Metzig, B. Hasemeier, H. Kreipe and U. Lehmann: Down-regulation of the IGF-2/H19 Locus During Normal and Malignant Hematopoiesis is Independent of the Imprinting Pattern. Int. J. Oncol. 26: 499-507, 2005.

    

10. Mukherjee, S., M. Tessema and A. Wandinger-Ness: Vesicular Trafficking of Tyrosine Kinase Receptors and Associated Proteins in the Regulation of Signaling Proteins and Vascular Function. Circ. Res. 98: 743-756, 2006.

     

11. Tessema, M., P. C. Simons, D. F. Cimino, L. Sanchez, A. Waller, R. G. Posner, A. Wandinger-Ness, E. R. Prossnitz and L. A. Sklar: Glutathione-S-transferase-Green Fluorescent Protein Fusion Protein Reveals Slow Dissociation from High Site Density Beads and Measures Free GSH. Cytometry A 69A: 326-334, 2006.

     

12. Traub, F., K. Sickmann, M. Tessema, L. Wilkens, H. H. Kreipe and K. Kamino: Nephroblastomatosis and Loss of WT1 Expression Associated with Trisomy 13. Virchows Arch. 448: 214-217, 2006.

     

13. Schwartz, S. L., M. Tessema, T. Buranda, O. Pylypenko, A. Rak, P. C. Simons, Z. Surviladze, L. A. Sklar and A. Wandinger-Ness: Flow Cytometry for Real-Time Measurement of Guanine Nucleotide Binding and Exchange by Ras-like GTPases. Anal. Biochem. 381(2): 258-266, 2008.

     

14. Tessema, M., R. Willink, K. Do, Y. Y. Yu, W. Yu, E. O. Machida, M. Brock, L. Van Neste, C. A. Stidley, S. B. Baylin and S. A. Belinsky: Promoter Methylation of Genes in and Around the Candidate Lung Cancer Susceptibility Locus 6q23-25. Cancer Res. 68(6): 1707-1714, 2008.

     

15. Wakamatsu, N., J. B. Collins, J. S. Parker, M. Tessema, N. P. Clayton, T. V. Ton, H. H. Hong, S. Belinsky, T. R. Devereux, R. C. Sills and S. A. Lahousse: Gene Expression Studies Demonstrate that the K-ras/Erk MAP Kinase Signal Transduction Pathway and Other Novel Pathways Contribute to the Pathogenesis of Cumene-Induced Lung Tumors. Toxicol. Pathol. 36(5): 743-752, 2008.