School of Graduate Studies

samuel okpechi

Name:

Samuel Chukwudi Okpechi 

Year in Program:

5th year

Department:

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Mentor:

Dr. Suresh K. Alahari

Hometown:

Abia State, Nigeria.

Education:

B.Sc. in Biology and Chemistry; Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO).

Past Research Experience:

Summers of 2012 and 2013:  Louisiana Biomedical Research Network (LBRN) at LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans

I worked on a study that investigated the initiation and progression of asthma and COPD using both in-vitro and in-vivo methodologies. The goal of the project was to elucidate on the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of disease.

Mentor: Dr. Hamid A. Boulares

Summer of 2014: Clinical Translational Research Program (SCTRP) at Harvard Medical School

I worked on a study that investigated the construction of ancestral adeno-associated virus (AAV) using in-silico and bioinformatic methods. The goal of the project was to create novel viral vectors that can be effectively used as safe vehicles for gene therapy purposes without evoking robust immune reaction in humans.

Mentor: Dr. Luk H. Vandenberghe

2015 – 2017:  Research Assistant at the Louisiana Cancer Research Center/LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans

I worked as a team member in two independent clinical trial studies involving patients with (1) systemic sclerosis (SSc) and (2) COPD. The goal of the projects was either to quantify the presence and quantity of cellular microparticles or microvesicles in the plasma of patients or to ascertain the effect of drug following treatment, respectively.

Mentors: Dr. Matthew R. Lammi and Dr. Hamid A. Boulares

Current Research Interest: 

My research study focuses on drug discovery and characterization for breast cancer treatment. Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a clinical subtype of breast cancer that is more proliferative and highly metastatic. Patients in this category harbor cells that lack critical steroid hormone receptors that can be utilized in the delivery of hormone receptor-positive drugs across cellular surfaces. Primarily, my research project is specifically to screen by examining the efficacies and potential mechanism of action of different small molecule therapeutic compounds in reducing the viability and proliferative capacity of TNBC cells. Overall, the objective of my research is to investigate the clinical value of specific drug compounds in the treatment of TNBC patients.

 

Publications

  • Dong S, Yousefi H, Savage IV, Okpechi SC, Wright MK, Matossian MD, Collins-Burow BM, Burow ME, Alahari SK. Ceritinib is a novel triple negative breast cancer therapeutic agent. Mol Cancer. 2022 Jun 29;21(1):138. doi: 10.1186/s12943-022-01601-0. PMID: 35768871; PMCID: PMC9241294.

  • Nguyen K, Yousefi H, Cheng T, Magrath J, Hartono AB, Alzoubi M, Hebert K, Brock CK, Wright MK, Byrne CE, Rivera A, Okpechi SC, Matossian MD, Wathieu H, Elliott S, Mondrinos MJ, Lee SB, Collins-Burow BM, Alahari SK, Drewry DH, Burow ME. Expression of Novel Kinase MAP3K19 in Various Cancers and Survival Correlations. Front Biosci (Landmark Ed). 2022 Jun 17;27(6):196. doi: 10.31083/j.fbl2706196. PMID: 35748272

  • Okpechi SC, Yousefi H, Nguyen K, Cheng T, Alahari NV, Collins-Burow B, Burow ME, Alahari SK. Role of Nischarin in the pathology of diseases: a special emphasis on breast cancer. Oncogene. 2022 Feb;41(8):1079-1086. doi: 10.1038/s41388-021-02150-4. Epub 2022 Jan 22. PMID: 35064214.

  • Nguyen TH, Yousefi H, Okpechi SC, Lauterboeck L, Dong S, Yang Q, Alahari SK. Nischarin Deletion Reduces Oxidative Metabolism and Overall ATP: A Study Using a Novel NISCHΔ5-6 Knockout Mouse Model. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jan 25;23(3):1374. doi: 10.3390/ijms23031374. PMID: 35163298; PMCID: PMC8835720.

  • Onor IO, Hill LM, Famodimu MM, Coleman MR, Huynh CH, Beyl RA, Payne CJ, Johnston EK, Okogbaa JI, Gillard CJ, Sarpong DF, Borghol A, Okpechi SC, Norbert I, Sanne SE, Guillory SG. Association of Serum Magnesium with Blood Pressure in Patients with Hypertensive Crises: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients. 2021; 13(12):4213. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13124213

  • Okpechi SC, Fong JT, Gill SS, Harman JC, Nguyen TH, Chukwurah QC, Onor IO, Alahari SK. Global Sex Disparity of COVID-19: A Descriptive Review of Sex Hormones and Consideration for the Potential Therapeutic Use of Hormone Replacement Therapy in Older Adults. Aging Dis. 2021 Apr 1;12(2):671-683. doi: 10.14336/AD.2020.1211. eCollection 2021 Apr. PMID: 33815890

  • Onor IO, Duchane RM, Payne CJ, Lambert HN, Mitchner DM, Beyl RA, Nguyen AT, Bilbe SE, White AA, Johnson MW, Faciane AI, Kouagou E, Hymel SA, Wates BM, Sanders AD, Vo PCB, Bates JD, Spooner RJ, Gillard CJ, Okogbaa JI, Sarpong DF, Hadgu RM, Okpechi SC, Onor GI Jr, Okoronkwo MC, Naljayan MV, Guillory SG, Sanne SE; CardioRenal Research Group (CRRG). Evaluation of serum calcium differences in hypertensive crises and control patients: A randomly matched case-control study. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2021 Sep;23(9):1767-1775. doi: 10.1111/jch.14268. Epub 2021 Jul 22. PMID: 34291559

  • Lammi MR, Ghonim MA, Johnson J, D'Aquin J, Zamjahn JB, Pellett A, Okpechi SC, Romaine C, Pyakurel K, Luu HH, Shellito JE, Boulares AH, deBoisblanc BP. Acute effect of inhaled iloprost on exercise dynamic hyperinflation in COPD patients: A randomized crossover study. Respir Med. 2021 Apr-May;180:106354. doi: 10.1016/j.rmed.2021.106354. Epub 2021 Mar 8. PMID: 33721696

  • Onor IO, Johnston EK, Little NG, Hill LM, Lawal OE, Payne CJ, Coleman MR, Huynh CH, Bilbe SE, Ayyad AA, Jones KJ, Kinnard JD, Dastoori R, Rolland DK, Miller AS, Beyl RA, Gillard CJ, Okogbaa JI, Sarpong DF, Hadgu RM, Borghol A, Okpechi SC, Naljayan MV, Sanne SE, Guillory SG; CardioRenal Research Group (CRRG). Evaluation of serum magnesium differences in hypertensive crises and control patients: A randomly matched case-control study. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2021 Jun;23(6):1229-1238. doi: 10.1111/jch.14244. Epub 2021 May 8. PMID: 33963802

  • Yousefi H, Mashouri L, Okpechi SC, Alahari N, Alahari SK. Repurposing existing drugs for the treatment of COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 infection: A review describing drug mechanisms of action. Biochem Pharmacol. 2021 Jan; 183:114296. doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2020.114296. Epub 2020 Oct 22. PMID: 33191206

  • Lammi MR, Saketkoo LA, Okpechi SC, Ghonim MA, Wyczechowska D, Bauer N, Pyakurel K, Saito S, deBoisblanc BP, Boulares AH. Microparticles in systemic sclerosis: Potential pro-inflammatory mediators and pulmonary hypertension biomarkers. Respirology. 2019 Feb 12. doi: 10.1111/resp.13500. [Epub ahead of print]

  • Okpechi, SC. (2018). Robotics: A Potential Human Adjunct Needed for the Improvement of Global Health Care and Research Development. Pages 136-140. In Newton, D. (2018). Robots: A Reference Handbook. Retrieved from http://publisher.abc-clio.com/9781440858628

  • Heidenberg DJ, Haney NM, Rezk BM, Talwar S, Okpechi SC, Srivastav SK, Honda M, Song B, Swan K, Awadallah S, Anaissie J, Peak T, DeLay KJ, Kadowitz PJ, Sikka SC, Abdel Mageed AB, Hellstrom WJG. Pioglitazone's beneficial effects on erectile function preservation after cavernosal nerve injury in the rat are negated by inhibition of the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor: a preclinical study. Int J Impot Res. 2018 Aug 2. doi: 10.1038/s41443-018-0054-2. [Epub ahead of print]

  • Onor IO, Stirling DL, Williams SR, Bediako D, Borghol A, Harris MB, Darensburg TB, Clay SD, Okpechi SC, Sarpong DF. Clinical Effects of Cigarette Smoking: Epidemiologic Impact and Review of Pharmacotherapy Options. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017 Sep 28;14(10). pii: E1147. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14101147. Review.

  • Okpechi SC, Ghonim MA, Lammi MR. Advances in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Therapy: A Vascular-Targeted Approach. Clin Med Insights: Therapeutics. 2017 June; Volume 9:1-7. DOI: 10.1177/1179559X17719127

  • Al-Khami AA, Ghonim MA, Del Valle L, Ibba SV, Zheng L, Pyakurel K, Okpechi SC, Garay J, Wyczechowska D, Sanchez-Pino MD, Rodriguez PC, Boulares AH, Ochoa AC. Fuelling the mechanisms of asthma: Increased fatty acid oxidation in inflammatory immune cells may represent a novel therapeutic target. Clin Exp Allergy. 2017 Sep;47(9):1170-1184. doi: 10.1111/cea.12947. Epub 2017 Jul 5.

  • El-Bahrawy A, Tarhuni A, Kim H, Subramaniam V, Benslimane I, Abd Elmajeed ZY, Okpechi SC, Ghonim MA, Hemeida R, Abo-Yousef A, El-Sherbiny G, Abdel-Raheem I, Kim J, Naura AS, Boulares H. ApoE deficiency promotes colon inflammation and enhances the inflammatory potential of oxidized-LDL and TNF-α in primary colon epithelial cells. Biosci Rep. 2016 Aug 18. pii: BSR20160195. [Epub ahead of print]

  • Lammi MR, Ghonim MA, Pyakurel K, Naura AS, Ibba SV, Davis CJ, Okpechi SC, Happel KI, deBoisblanc BP, Shellito J, Boulares AH. Treatment with intranasal iloprost reduces disease manifestations in a murine model of previously established COPD. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2016 Feb 5: ajplung.00297.2015. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00297.2015. [Epub ahead of print]

  • Ghonim MA, Pyakurel K, Ibba SV, Wang J, Rodriguez P, Al-Khami AA, Lammi MR, Kim H, Zea AH, Davis C, Okpechi S, Wyczechowska D, Al-Ghareeb K, Mansy MS, Ochoa A, Naura AS, Boulares AH. PARP is activated in human asthma and its inhibition by olaparib blocks house dust mite-induced disease in mice. Clin Sci (Lond). 2015 Dec 1;129(11):951-62. doi: 10.1042/CS20150122. Epub 2015 Jul 23.

Career Goal:

To work as a research scientist either in an academic, private, or government settings. I am passionate and enthusiastic about contributing my skills and talent towards the development of novel therapeutics relevant to the treatment of terminal diseases such as cancer and other debilitating illnesses.

Best Thing about the Program:

I love the fact that the graduate student population is diverse, comprising of people from different ethnic groups and background.

What makes you unique? 

I enjoy the life of an introvert but can play the role of an extrovert if need be.