ISTVAN PETAK, M.D., Ph.D.

DATE: January 10, 2006 
 

HOME ADDRESS:  Gereben 2/a, Budapest, Hungary 1125 
 

WORK ADDRESS:  Semmelweis University

      I. Dep. of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research

Email: petak@kkk.org.hu, Mobil: +06-30-5411063

ACADEMIC DEGREES: 
 

M.D. (08/1995) "Cytokine networks of the immune system."

Semmelweis University of Medicine, Budapest, Hungary,  
 

PH.D. (05/2000) "Role of death receptors in cancer therapy."

School of Ph.D Studies, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary,  
 

PRESENT POSITION 
 

11/01/2004-present Senior Research Scientist/Associate Professor, Ist. Institute of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research Semmelweis University, Hungary, 
 

11/01/2004-present Head of Molecular Therapeutics Laboratory, Ist. Institute of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research Semmelweis University, Hungary, 
 

08/01/2005-present Scientific Director, Rational Drug Design Cooperation Research Center, Budapest, Hungary 
 

08/01/2003-present Founder/Scientific Director, KPS Biotechnology and Healthcare Services Ltd. 
 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 
 

08/2002-10/2004 Zoltan Magyary Scholar

Ist. Institute of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research Semmelweis University, Hungary, 
 

02/1998/-08/2002 Postdoctoral Research Associate

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, Department of Hematology and Oncology and Devision of Molecular Therapeutics 
 

09/1995-02/1998 Ph.D. Fellow

Ist. Institute of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research Semmelweis University, Hungary,  
 

GRANT SUPPORT (Principal Investigator) 
 

Hungarian National Science Foundation: OTKA T 046665 "Changes in death receptor signaling during malignant transformation and progression." 2004-2007  
 

Hungarian Ministry of Health: ETT 145/2003 "Death reseptors in the gene therapy of malignant diseases" 2003-2005 
 

Bilateral technical transfare grant Hungary-Italy TET I-48 "In vitro gene therapy with death ligands." 2004-2007 
 

Terry Fox Run Foundation: "A new Viral Vector and Gene Therapy Laboratory"  
 

Hungarian Ministry of Economy and Commerce: Spin off Grant for KPS Biotechnology 2004-2005 
 

AWARDS AND HONORS 
 

Zoltán Magyary Scholarship (2002)

I. Institute of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research, Semmelweis University 
 

Fulbright Scholarship (1998)

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, USA 
 

German Academic Exchange Service Scholarship (1997)

(DAAD) Technical University of Aachen, Germany 
 

TEMPUS Scholarship (1995)

Parma University Hospital, Italy 
 

TEMPUS Scholarship (1994)

Jule Verne University, Amiens, France 
 

Hungarian Medical Students Association Scholarships: Experimental Oncology, Lubjana, Slovenia (1994) Surgery, Cairo, Egypt (1994) Orthopedics, Munchen, Germany (1993), 
 

PUBLICATIONS (Cum. IF: 120,374, Independent citations: 220<) 
 

1. A Sebestyen, R Mihalik, I Petak, L Kopper: Modulation of Apoptosis signalling in etoposide-treated lymphoma cells. Anticancer Res. 1997 Jul-Aug;17(4A):2609-14. IF: 1.045 
 

2. R Mihalik, F Uher, I Petak, A Sebestyen, L Kopper: Regulation of differentiation, proliferation and Drug induced apoptosis in HT 58 lymphoma cells. Pathology Oncology Research, 3, 100-105, 1997. 
 

3. A Marton, R Mihalik, A Bratincsak, V Adleff, I Petak, M Vegh, P I Bauer, P Krajcsi: Apoptotic cell death induced by inhibitors of energy conservation. European J. Biochemistry, 250, 467-475, 1997. IF: 3.442 
 

4. L Kopper, I Petak, A Sebestyen: Molecular Genetic Basis of Cancer Development. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 824, 1-8, 1997. IF: 1.381 
 

5. I Petak, R Mihalik, PI Bauer, H Suli-Vargha, A Sebestyen, L Kopper: BCNU is a caspase-mediated inhibitor of Drug-induced apoptosis. Cancer Research, 1998 Feb 15;58(4):614-8 IF:8.37 
 

6. DM Tillman, I Petak, JA Houghton: A Fas-dependent component in 5-fluorouracil/leucovorin-induced cytotoxicity in colon carcinoma cells. Clin Cancer Res 1999 Feb;5(2):425-30 IF: 3.442 
 

7. R Mihalik, P Bauer, I Petak, P Krajcsi, A Marton, E Kun, L Kopper: Interaction of cytocidal Drugs and the inhibition of caspase-3 by 3-nitrosobenzamide. Int J Cancer 1999 Sep 9;82(6):875-9 IF: 3.545 
 

8. Z Szegedi, J Takacs, B Szende, Z Vadasz, A Horvath, E Gulyas, G Toth, I Petak, J Bocsi, G Keri: A specifically radiolabeled somatostatin analog with strong antitumoractivity induces apoptosis and accumulates in the cytosol and the nucleus of HT29 human colon carcinoma cells. Endocrine 1999 Feb;10(1):25-34 IF: 1.533 
 

9. Mihalik R, Barna G, Uher F, Peták I, JA Houghton, Kopper L: Az etopozid kiválthat kaszpázfüggő és –független aktív sejthalált: egy három szakaszos model (in Hungarian). Magyar Onkológia 1999 43:94-99 
 

10. I Petak, DM Tillman, F Harwood, A Gibson, JA Houghton: A Fas receptor szerepe a colon carcinóma sejtek DNS-károsodás okozta sejthalálában (In Hungarian). Magyar Onkológia 1999 43:101-109 
 

11. FG. Harwood, S Kasibhatla, I Petak, R Vernes, DR. Green and JA. Houghton: Regulation of FasL by NF-kB and AP-1 in Fas-dependent thymineless death of human colon carcinoma cells. J Biol Chem. 2000 Apr 7;275(14):10023-9. IF: 7.368 
 

12. I Petak, DM Tillman, FG Harwood, R Mihalik, JA Houghton: Fas –dependent and –independent mechanisms of cell death following DNA damage in human colon carcinoma cells. Cancer Research, 2000 May 15;60(10):2643-50. IF: 8.46 
 

13. I Petak, L Douglas, DM Tillman, R Vernes, JA Houghton : Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma Cell Lines are Resistant to Fas- and highly sensitive to TRAIL- induced Apoptosis. Clin Cancer Res. 2000 Oct;6(10):4119-27. IF: 4.643 
 

14. I Petak, DM Tillman, JA Houghton: P53-dependence of Fas induction and acute apoptosis in response to 5-fluorouracil-leucovorin in human colon carcinoma cell lines Clin Cancer Res. 2000 Nov;6(11):4432-41. IF: 4.643 
 

15. I Petak, Houghton JA : Shared pathways: death receptors and cytotoxic Drugs in cancer therapy. Pathol Oncol Res. 2001;7(2):95-106. Review. 
 

16. A Totth , A Sebestyen, G Barna, K Nagy, A Gondor,J Bocsi, R Mihalik, I Petak, J Houghton, L Kopper: TGF beta 1 induces caspase-dependent but death-receptor independent apoptosis in lymphoid cells. Anticancer Res. 2001 Mar-Apr;21(2A):1207-12. IF: 1.33 
 

17. LS Schwartzberg, I Petak, C Stewart, PK Turner, J Ashley, DM Tillman, L Douglas, M Tan, C Billups, R Mihalik, A Weir, K Tauer, S Shope, and JA Houghton: Modulation of the Fas Signaling Pathway by Interferon-gamma in Therapy of Colon Cancer: Phase I Trial and Correlative Studies of Interferon-gamma, 5-Fluorouracil and Leucovorin. Clinical Cancer Research 2002 Aug;8(8):2488-98 IF: 5.991 
 

18. Petak I, Danam RP, Tillman DM, Vernes R, Howell SR, Berczi L, Kopper L, Brent TP, Houghton JA. Hypermethylation of the gene promoter and enhancer region can regulate Fas expression and sensitivity in colon carcinoma. Cell Death Differ. 2003 Feb;10(2):211-7. IF: 5.701  
 

19. Petak I, Vernes R, Szucs KS, Anozie M, Izeradjene K, Douglas L, Tillman DM, Phillips DC, Houghton JA. A caspase-8-independent component in TRAIL/Apo-2L-induced cell death in human rhabdomyosarcoma cells. Cell Death in Human Rhabdomyosarcoma Cells. Cell Death Differ. 2003 Jun;10(6):729-39. IF: 5.701 
 

20. Timar J, Ladanyi A, Petak I, Jeney A, Kopper L. Molecular Pathology of Tumor Metastasis III. Pathol Oncol Res. 2003;9(1):49-72. 
 

21. Geller J, Petak I, Szucs KS, Nagy K, Tillman DM, Houghton JA. Interferon-gamma-induced sensitization of colon carcinomas to ZD9331 targets caspases, downstream of Fas, independent of mitochondrial signaling and the inhibitor of apoptosis survivin. Clin Cancer Res. 2003 Dec 15;9(17):6504-15. IF: 5.991  
 

22. Turner PK, Houghton JA, Petak I, Tillman DM, Douglas L, Schwartzberg L, Billups CA, Panetta JC, Stewart CF. Interferon-gamma pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in patients with colorectal cancer. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol. 2004 Mar;53(3):253-60. IF: 1.928  
 

23. Mihalik R, Gergely Imre G, Petak I, Szende B, Kopper L. Cathepsin B-independent abrogation of cell death by CA-074-OMe. Cell Death and Differentiation 2004 Aug 6 IF: 5.701  
 

24. Dobos J, Timar J, Bocsi J, Burian Zs, Nagy K, Barna G, Petak I, Ladanyi A. In vitro and in vivo antitumor effect of 2-Methoxyestradiol on human melanoma. International Journal of Cancer 2004 Jul 15 IF: 4.056 
 

25. James I. Geller, Kinga Szekely-Szucs, Istvan Petak, Belinda Doyle, and Janet A. Houghton. P21Cip1 Is a Critical Mediator of the Cytotoxic Action of Thymidylate Synthase Inhibitors in Colorectal Carcinoma Cells. Cancer Research 64, 6296–6303, September 1, 2004 IF 8.46 
 

26. Varkondi E, Schafer E, Bokonyi G, Gyokeres T, Orfi L, Petak I, Pap A, Szokoloczi O, Keri G, Schwab R. Comparison of Elisa-based tyrosine kinase assays for screening EGFR inhibitors. J Recept Signal Transduct Res. 2005;25(1):45-56. IF: 1.093 
 

27. Nagy K, Petak I, Imre G, Barna G, Gezane-Csorba M, Sebestyen A, Houghton JA, Mihalik R, Kopper L. Proteasome inhibitors abolish cell death downstream of caspase activation during anti-microtubule Drug-induced apoptosis in leukemia cells. Anticancer Res. 2005 Sep-Oct;25(5):3321-6. IF: 1.395 
 

28. O'Kane H, Watson C, Johnston S, Petak I, Watson RW, Williamson K Targeting death receptors in bladder, prostate and renal cancer. The Journal of Urology. 2005 Accepted for publication. IF: 3,713 
 

29. Schwab R, Pinter F, Moldavy J, Papay J, Strausz J, Kopper L, Keri G, Pap A, Petak I, Oreskovich K, Mangel L. Modern treatment of lung cancer: case 1. Amplification and mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor in metastatic lung cancer with remission from gefitinib. J Clin Oncol. 2005 Oct 20;23(30):7736-8 IF: 9.8 
 

30. Barna G, Sebestyen A, Weischede S, Petak I, Mihalik R, Formelli F, Kopper L. Different ways to induce apoptosis by fenretinide and all-trans-retinoic acid in human B lymphoma cells. Anticancer Res. 2005 Nov-Dec;25(6B):4179-85 IF: 1.395 
 

31. Schwab R, Petak I, Pinter F, Szabo E, Kanya M, Tamasi A, Varkondi E, Almasi A, Szokoloczi O, Papay J, Moldvay J, Keri G, Kopper L. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR): therapeutic target in the treatment of lung adenocarcinomas Orv Hetil. 2005 Nov 13;146(46):2335-42.  
 

32. Szokoloczi O, Schwab R, Petak I, Orfi L, Pap A, Eberle AN, Szuts T, Keri1 G. TT232, A Novel Signal Transduction Inhibitory Compound in the Therapy of Cancer and Inflammatory Diseases. J Recept Signal Transduct Res. 2005;25(4):217-235. IF: 1.093 
 

33. Petak I, Houghton JA, Kopper L. Molecular Targeting of Cell Death Transduction Pathways in Cancer. Current Signal Transduction Therapy, 2006. 1.1

MEMBERSHIPS

American Association for Cancer Research

European Association for Cancer Research

European Medical Association

European Medical Student Association President of the Hungarian Division 1992-1995

American Association for Advancment of Sciences

Society of Hungarian Oncologists

Society of Hungarian Pathologists