Onur Kanisicak , PhD

Bachelor of Science: Istanbul University Istanbul, Turkey, 2003 (Biomedical Sciences)

Master of Science in Genetics: University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut, 2005 (Genetics)

Ph.D: University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut, 2011 (Genetics and Genomics)

Post Doctoral Fellowship: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Cincinnati, 2017 (Cardiovascular Bio.)

Kanisicak Laboratory conducts cutting-edge studies in the field of cellular biology and regenerative medicine with a particular interest in fibrogenesis in cardiovascular diseases using transgenic mouse models. The significance of fibroblasts in tissue homeostasis, repair, and disease is a new frontier and currently a highly innovative area of investigation as we still do not fully understand how these cells function within the heart and other organs. There are many striking weaknesses in the field surrounding fundamental questions on fibroblast biology, such as their lineage plasticity, exact function as mediators of fibrosis, and the cellular interplay between fibroblasts and other cells that affect wound healing and regeneration. Our research program has the overall goal to identify therapeutic targets to prevent organ fibrosis and to promote regeneration through pharmaceuticals, stem cells, and cell therapies.

Grant: #18CDA34110117 Investigators:Kanisicak, Onur 07-01-2018 -06-30-2021 American Heart Association - National Chapter Deactivating cardiac fibroblasts mediate reverse remodeling upon injury resolution Role:PI $77,000.00 Awarded Level:Private Non-Profit

Grant: #R01HL148598 Investigators:Kanisicak, Onur; Wang, Yi-Gang 08-20-2020 -07-31-2025 National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Regulators of extracellular matrix production during cardiac development and disease Role:PI $401,562.00 Awarded Level:Federal

Grant: #CCHMC Billing Agreement Investigators:Ivey, Malina; Kanisicak, Onur 06-01-2020 -05-31-2021 National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Understanding Cardiovascular Disease Mechanisms Role:PI 60076.00 Hold Level:Federal

Grant: #R01AI159078 Investigators:Askew, David; Kanisicak, Onur 09-21-2021 -08-31-2026 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Aspergillus fumigatus infection and fibrosis Role:Collaborator 405000.00 Awarded Level:Federal

Grant: #R56HL147898 Investigators:Kanisicak, Onur; Zimmermann, Nives 09-20-2021 -08-31-2022 National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Mechanisms of eosinophil-associated heart disease Role:Collaborator 422982.00 Awarded Level:Federal

Grant: #R01HL166326 Investigators:Kanisicak, Onur; Tranter, Michael 06-01-2023 -05-31-2027 National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Functional and mechanistic delineation of HuR-Wisp1 signaling on myofibroblast activity Role:Collaborator 718773.00 Awarded Level:Federal

Peer Reviewed Publications

Maliken, Bryan D; Kanisicak, Onur; Karch, Jason; Khalil, Hadi; Fu, Xing; Boyer, Justin G; Prasad, Vikram; Zheng, Yi; Molkentin, Jeffery D (2018. ) Gata4-Dependent Differentiation of c-Kit+ Derived Endothelial Cells Underlies Artefactual Cardiomyocyte Regeneration in the Heart.Circulation, , More Information

Fu, Xing; Khalil, Hadi; Kanisicak, Onur; Boyer, Justin G; Vagnozzi, Ronald J; Maliken, Bryan D; Sargent, Michelle A; Prasad, Vikram; Valiente-Alandi, Iñigo; Blaxall, Burns C; Molkentin, Jeffery D (2018. ) Specialized fibroblast differentiated states underlie scar formation in the infarcted mouse heart.The Journal of clinical investigation, , More Information

van Berlo, Jop H; Kanisicak, Onur; Maillet, Marjorie; Vagnozzi, Ronald J; Karch, Jason; Lin, Suh-Chin J; Middleton, Ryan C; Marbán, Eduardo; Molkentin, Jeffery D (2018. ) van Berlo et al. reply.Nature, , 555 (7697 ) ,E18 More Information

Accornero, Federica; Schips, Tobias G; Petrosino, Jennifer M; Gu, Shan-Qing; Kanisicak, Onur; van Berlo, Jop H; Molkentin, Jeffery D (2017. ) BEX1 is an RNA-dependent mediator of cardiomyopathy.Nature communications, , 8 (1 ) ,1875 More Information

Karch, Jason; Schips, Tobias G; Maliken, Bryan D; Brody, Matthew J; Sargent, Michelle A; Kanisicak, Onur; Molkentin, Jeffery D (2017. ) Autophagic cell death is dependent on lysosomal membrane permeability through Bax and Bak.eLife, , 6 , More Information

Goldberg-Smith, Pam (2017. ) Onur Kanisicak: From Toy Tinkerer to Scientific Innovator.Circulation research, , 121 (11 ) ,1219-1220 More Information

Kanisicak, Onur; Vagnozzi, Ronald J; Molkentin, Jeffery D (2017. ) Identity Crisis for Regenerative Cardiac cKit+ Cells.Circulation research, , 121 (10 ) ,1130-1132 More Information

Kanisicak, Onur; Khalil, Hadi; Ivey, Malina J; Karch, Jason; Maliken, Bryan D; Correll, Robert N; Brody, Matthew J; J Lin, Suh-Chin; Aronow, Bruce J; Tallquist, Michelle D; Molkentin, Jeffery D (2016. ) Genetic lineage tracing defines myofibroblast origin and function in the injured heart.Nature communications, , 7 ,12260 More Information

Tjondrokoesoemo, Andoria; Schips, Tobias G; Sargent, Michelle A; Vanhoutte, Davy; Kanisicak, Onur; Prasad, Vikram; Lin, Suh-Chin J; Maillet, Marjorie; Molkentin, Jeffery D (2016. ) Cathepsin S Contributes to the Pathogenesis of Muscular Dystrophy in Mice.The Journal of biological chemistry, , 291 (19 ) ,9920-8 More Information

Khalil H, Kanisicak O, Prasad V, Correll RN, Fu X, Schips T, Vagnozzi RJ, Liu R, Huynh T, Lee SJ, Karch J, Molkentin JD. (2017. ) Fibroblast-specific TGF-β-Smad2/3 signaling underlies cardiac fibrosis.J Clin Invest., , 127(10):3770-3783 (10 ) ,3770-3783 More Information

He L, Huang X, Kanisicak O, Li Y, Wang Y, Li Y, Pu W, Liu Q, Zhang H, Tian X, Zhao H, Liu X, Zhang S, Nie Y, Hu S, Miao X, Wang QD, Wang F, Chen T, Xu Q, Lui KO, Molkentin JD, Zhou B. (2017. ) Preexisting endothelial cells mediate cardiac neovascularization after injury.J Clin Invest., , 127(8):2968-2981 (8 ) ,2968-2981 More Information

Vanhoutte D, Schips TG, Kwong JQ, Davis J, Tjondrokoesoemo A, Brody MJ, Sargent MA, Kanisicak O, Yi H, Gao QQ, Rabinowitz JE, Volk T, McNally EM, Molkentin JD. (2016. ) Thrombospondin expression in myofibers stabilizes muscle membranes.Elife, , 26;5 (26 ) ,e17589 More Information

Tjondrokoesoemo A, Schips T, Kanisicak O, Sargent MA, Molkentin JD. (2016. ) Genetic overexpression of Serpina3n attenuates muscular dystrophy in mice.Hum Mol Genet., , 15;25(6):1192-202 (6 ) ,1192-202 More Information

Brody MJ, Schips TG, Vanhoutte D, Kanisicak O, Karch J, Maliken BD, Blair NS, Sargent MA, Prasad V, Molkentin JD. (2015. ) Dissection of Thrombospondin-4 Domains Involved in Intracellular Adaptive Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Responsive Signaling.Mol Cell Biol. , , 36 (1 ) ,2-12 More Information

Karch J, Kanisicak O, Brody MJ, Sargent MA, Michael DM, Molkentin JD. (2015. ) Necroptosis Interfaces with MOMP and the MPTP in Mediating Cell Death.PLoS One., , 10 (6 ) ,e0130520 More Information

Accornero F, Kanisicak O, Tjondrokoesoemo A, Attia AC, McNally EM, Molkentin JD. (2014. ) Myofiber-specific inhibition of TGFβ signaling protects skeletal muscle from injury and dystrophic disease in mice.Hum Mol Genet., , 23 (25 ) ,6903-15 More Information

van Berlo JH, Kanisicak O, Maillet M, Vagnozzi RJ, Karch J, Lin SC, Middleton RC, Marbán E, Molkentin JD. (2014. ) c-kit+ cells minimally contribute cardiomyocytes to the heart.Nature, , 509 (7500 ) ,337-41 More Information

Braitsch CM, Kanisicak O, van Berlo JH, Molkentin JD, Yutzey KE. (2013. ) Differential expression of embryonic epicardial progenitor markers and localization of cardiac fibrosis in adult ischemic injury and hypertensive heart disease.J Mol Cell Cardiol., , 65 (65 ) ,108-19 More Information

Kanisicak O, Mendez JJ, Yamamoto S, Yamamoto M, Goldhamer DJ. (2009. ) Progenitors of skeletal muscle satellite cells express the muscle determination gene, MyoD.Dev Biol., , 332 (1 ) ,131-41 More Information

Yamamoto M, Shook NA, Kanisicak O, Yamamoto S, Wosczyna MN, Camp JR, Goldhamer DJ. (2009. ) A multifunctional reporter mouse line for Cre- and FLP-dependent lineage analysis.Genesis, , 47 (2 ) ,107-14 More Information

Khalil, Hadi; Kanisicak, Onur; Vagnozzi, Ronald J.; Johansen, Anne Katrine; Maliken, Bryan D.; Prasad, Vikram; Boyer, Justin G.; Brody, Matthew J.; Schips, Tobias; Kilian, Katja K.; Correll, Robert N.; Kawasaki, Kunito; Nagata, Kazuhiro; Molkentin, Jeffery D. (2019. ) Cell-specific ablation of Hsp47 defines the collagen-producing cells in the injured heart.JCI insight, , 4 (15 ) ,e128722 More Information

Alam, Perwez; Haile, Bereket; Arif, Mohammed; Pandey, Raghav; Rokvic, Miso; Nieman, Michelle; Maliken, Bryan D; Paul, Arghya; Wang, Yi-Gang; Sadayappan, Sakthivel; Ahmed, Rafeeq P H; Kanisicak, Onur (2019. ) Inhibition of Senescence-Associated Genes Rb1 and Meis2 in Adult Cardiomyocytes Results in Cell Cycle Reentry and Cardiac Repair Post-Myocardial Infarction.Journal of the American Heart Association, , 8 (15 ) ,e012089 More Information

Kanisicak, Onur; Molkentin, Jeffery D (2016. ) Applying Modern Transcriptomics to Interrogate the Human Cardiac Fibroblast.JACC. Basic to translational science, , 1 (7 ) ,603-605 More Information

Wu, Zhichao; Liang, Jialiang; Huang, Wei; Jiang, Lin; Paul, Christian; Gao, Xiang; Alam, Perwez; Kanisicak, Onur; Xu, Meifeng; Wang, Yigang (2020. ) Immunomodulatory effects of mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of cardiac allograft rejection.Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.), , 1535370220978650 More Information

Alam, Perwez; Maliken, Bryan D; Ivey, Malina J; Jones, Shannon M; Kanisicak, Onur (2020. ) Isolation, Transfection, and Long-Term Culture of Adult Mouse and Rat Cardiomyocytes.Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE, , (164 ) , More Information

Evdokiou, Alexander; Kanisicak, Onur; Gierek, Stephanie; Barry, Amanda; Ivey, Malina J; Zhang, Xiang; Bodnar, Richard J; Satish, Latha (2020. ) Characterization of Burn Eschar Pericytes.Journal of clinical medicine, , 9 (2 ) , More Information

Research - UC Cardiovascular Diseases Center
231 Albert Sabin Way
Cincinnati  Ohio, 45267-0542
Phone: 513-558-2029
onur.kanisicak@uc.edu