Wallace S Ip

Wallace Ip, Professor of Cancer and Cell Biology received his undergraduate and graduate education at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was a postdoctoral fellow at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Washington University. He joined the University of Cincinnati as a faculty member in 1985. He serves as Director of the Center for Biological Microscopy in addition to his research activities. The Ip laboratory's studies focus on a disease called neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), whose clinical manifestation is nervous system tumors called schwannomas and meningiomas. Loss of the NF2 gene product, merlin, leads to tumor formation; thus merlin is a classic tumor suppressor. Merlin is related to a family of molecules (the ERM family) that link the actin cytoskeleton to the plasma membrane. They have recently discovered that merlin is largely localized to specialized plasma membrane microdomains called lipid rafts, where numerous signal transduction events are known to occur. They have now identified a number of merlin interacting partners within lipid rafts, and are studying how they modulate merlin function. These studies should allow merlin to be placed in the context of the vast and complex signal transduction network that regulates cell growth.

B. Sc.: Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL, 1971 (Biology)

Ph.D.: Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL, 1977 (Cell Biology)

Postdoc: SUNY Downstate Med Ctr Brooklyn, NY, 1981 (Cell Biology)

Postdoc: Washington Univ Sch Med St. Louis, MO, 1982 (Cell Biology)

Our studies focus on the protein product of the neurofibromatosis type II (NF2) gene. This protein, merlin, belongs to a family of molecules that link the cytoskeleton to the plasma membrane (the ERM family). Interestingly, it is the only member of this family that functions as a tumor suppressor - loss of merlin leads to formation of nervous system tumors called schwannomas and meningiomas. We recently discovered that merlin is largely localized to lipid rafts, specialized plasma membrane microdomains that serve as physical platforms for signal transduction. This is the first tumor suppressor molecule known to reside in lipid rafts, and its residence appears to be constitutive, i.e., regardless of whether merlin is in the active, growth suppressive conformation or the inactive, growth permissive conformation. Current efforts in the lab are centered around identifying merlin's interacting partners, and the signaling pathways in which merlin participates.

1982 -1985 Research Associate, Dept of Physiology and Biophysics, Washington Univ. Sch of Med, St. Louis, MO.

1985 -1989 Assistant Professor, Dept of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Univ. of Cincinnati Coll of Med, Cincinnati, OH.

1989 -1997 Associate Professor, Dept of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy (formerly Anatomy and Cell Biology), Univ. of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH

1989 -To Present Faculty, Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Univ. of Cincinnati Coll of Med, Cincinnati, OH

1990 -To Present Faculty, Physician Scientist Training Program, Univ. of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH

1994 -To Present Faculty, Graduate Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, Univ. of Cincinnati Coll of Med, Cincinnati, OH

1997 - Professor, Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy (Dept. of Cell and Cancer Biology as of 2006), Univ. of Cincinnati Coll of Med, Cincinnati, OH

1997 -To Present Director, Center for Biological Microscopy, Univ. of Cincinnati Coll of Med, Cincinnati, OH

2003 -To Present Director, Recruitment and Admissions, Graduate Program in Cell and Cancer Biology, Univ. of Cincinnati Coll of Med, Cincinnati, OH

Grant: #R01 CA78524-01 to –10 Investigators:Wallace Ip, P.I. 04-01-1999 -05-31-2010 NIH - NCI Structure, Function and Regulation of Merlin Active

Investigators:Timmy Mani, PI. 07-01-2008 -06-30-2010 Young Investigator Award, Children’s Tumor Foundation The Role of Phosphoinositide Binding in Merlin Function. Role:Sponsor Active Type:Fellowship

Investigators:Sohaib Khan, P.I. NIH – NCI Regulation of Cell Growth and Differentiation Role:Investigator/mentor Active

Grant: #NF043043 02-01-2005 -01-31-2009 CDMRP NFRP Investigator Initiated Research Award, Department of Defense (Army) Regulation of Merlin Function Role:PI Completed

Grant: #CDMRP NFRP IDEA Award NF020037 05-01-2003 -11-30-2006 Department of Defense (Army) Merlin, Lipid Rafts and Growth Regulation Role:PI Completed

Grant: #R01 AR35973-01 to -13 07-01-1988 -06-30-2001 NIH - NIAMS Intermediate Filaments: Structure, Assembly and Function Role:PI Completed

Grant: #DAMD17-03-1-0351-03-A0-S0-E0 Investigators:Ip, Wallace 05-01-2003 -10-31-2006 Department of Defense Merlin, Lipid Rafts and Growth Regulation Role:PI $690,750.00 Closed Level:Federal

Grant: #W81XWH-05-1-0230 Investigators:Ip, Wallace 02-01-2005 -01-31-2009 Department of the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command Regulation of Merlin Function Role:PI $1,446,077.00 Active Level:Federal

Grant: #R01 CA078524 Investigators:Ip, Wallace 08-01-2005 -05-31-2011 National Cancer Institute Structure, Function and Regulation of Merlin Role:PI $1,319,597.00 Closed Level:Federal

Grant: #5-R01-AR-35973-12-A0-S0-E0 Investigators:Ip, Wallace 07-01-1995 -06-30-2000 National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease Intermediate Filaments: Structure, Assembly and Function Role:PI $876,557.00 Closed Level:Federal

Grant: #5-R01-CA-78524-6-A0-S0-E0 Investigators:Ip, Wallace 04-15-1999 -08-01-2005 National Cancer Institute Structure and Function of Merlin Role:PI $1,444,248.00 Closed Level:Federal

Grant: #R21 AR056059 Investigators:Boissy, Raymond; Ip, Wallace; Smulian, Alan 05-01-2008 -04-30-2011 National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease The Composition and Function of BLOC-2 in Melanogenesis Role:Collaborator $367,176.00 Closed Level:Federal

Grant: #2008-01-024 Investigators:Ip, Wallace; Mani, Timmy 07-31-2008 -09-30-2010 Children's Tumor Foundation The Role of Phosphoinositide Binding and Lipid Raft Association in Merlin Function Role:Collaborator $57,000.00 Closed Level:Private Non-Profit

Grant: #3 R01 CA078524-10S1 Investigators:Ip, Wallace 06-01-2009 -09-30-2010 National Cancer Institute Structure, Function and Regulation of Merlin Role:PI $31,382.00 Closed Level:Federal

Grant: #R01 EB010043 Investigators:Co, Carlos; Ho, Chia Chi; Ip, Wallace 02-01-2010 -01-31-2014 National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering BRG/R01: One Way Micropatterns for Cell Self Assembly and Sorting Role:Collaborator $1,340,216.00 Active Level:Federal

Peer Reviewed Publications

Xu, Qin; Chan, Cangel P Y; Cao, Xiao-Yao; Peng, Peng; Mahemuti, Maisumu; Sun, Qi; Cheung, Kwan-Yee; Ip, Wai-Sze; Zhou, Xin-Rong; Hu, Ge-Yang; Zhang, Xiao-Feng; Jielile, Jiasharete; Li, Yao-Dong; Ren, Rong; Glatz, Jan F C; Renneberg, Reinhard (2010. ) Cardiac multi-marker strategy for effective diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction.Clinica chimica acta; international journal of clinical chemistry, , More Information

1978 -1980 Muscular Dystrophy Association Postdoctoral Fellowship

1982 -1985 NIH New Investigator Research Award

1989 -1994 American Heart Association Established Investigator

1991 -1995 NIH Cell Biology and Physiology (CBYI) Study Section, full member

1994 -2000 American Heart Assoc. Natl. Ctr., Cell and Molecular Biology Affiliate Study Group, (co-chair, 1996,1997

1997 ACS Cell Structure and Metastasis Study Section

1997 -2002 NASA Life Sciences Division Cell and Molecular Biology Review Panel (chair, 2000-2002)

1998 NIH NHLBI special emphasis panel (program project grant)

1999 NIH CSR ZRG1 special emphasis panels (instrumentation)

2001 NIH CSR ZRG1 special emphasis panels (instrumentation)

2001 NIH NIDCR special emphasis panel (program project grant)

2005 NIH NINDS special emphasis panel (program project grants)

2007 NIH F04B Biochemical and Biophysical sciences Fellowship review panel

2008 NIH F04B Biochemical and Biophysical sciences Fellowship review panel

2006 -2008 DOD CDMRP neurofibromatosis review panel (2 panels in 2007)

Cytoskeleton,Cell Biology,Tumorigenesis,Protein Structure and Interactions,Cell Motility

American Soc for Cell Biology