Stephen Skapek, M.D.

Medical School	Duke University (1988)
Residency	Wilford Hall Medical Center (1991), Pediatrics
Fellowship	Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (1994), Pediatric Hematology/oncology

• Cancer
• Hematology/Oncology
• Pediatrics
• Skin (Melanoma & Sarcoma) Cancer

• Primary Interests
• Childhood Blood Disease
• Childhood Cancer
• Rhabdomyosarcoma

• Elucidating molecular mechanisms for Arf-dependent regulation of vascular involution during eye development and tumor angiogenesis.
• Studying the molecular basis for how persistent expression of cyclin D1 in mouse photoreceptors and pinealocytes disrupts normal eye development and leads to tumor formation as a novel model for retinoblastoma and pineoblastoma.
• Treatment of children with aggressive fibromatosis using minimally-toxic therapy.
• Understanding molecular and genetic mechanisms for coordinating the initiation of differentiation with cell proliferation arrest in skeletal myoblasts and determining whether the manipulation of these programs alters the biology of rhabdomyosarcoma-derived cells.

Featured Publications

p18Ink4cand p53 act as tumor suppressors in Cyclin D1-driven primitive neuroectodermal tumor.

Saab R, Rodriguez-Galindo C, Matmati K, Rehg J, Baumer SH, Khoury JD, Billups C, Neale G, Helton KJ, Skapek SX. Cancer Research 2009 9 440-8

Expression of the Arf tumor suppressor gene is controlled by Tgf2 during development

Anderson-Freeman NE, Zheng Y, McCalla-Martin AC, Zheng Y, Treanor LM, Zhao YD, Garfin PM, He TC, Mary MN, Thornton JD, Anderson C, Gibbons M, Saab R, Baumer SH, Cunningham J, and Skapek SX Development 2009 136 2081-2089

Arf-dependent regulation of Pdgf signaling in perivascular cells in the developing eye

Silva RLA, Martin AC, Thornton JD, Rehg JE, Berwistle D, Zindy F, and Skapek SX The EMBO Journal 2005 24 2803-2814

The Arf tumor suppressor gene promotes hyaloid vascular regression during mouse eye development

McKeller RN, Fowler JL, Cunningham JJ, Warner NW, Smeyne RJ, Zindy F, and Skapek SX Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 2002 99 3848-3853

Inhibition of myogenic differentiation in proliferating myoblasts by cyclin D1-dependent kinase

Skapek SX, Rhee J, Spicer DB, Lassar AB Science 1995 267 1022-1024

• American Cancer Society
  Research Scholar Award (2004)
• G and P Foundation for Cancer Research
  Medical Research Award (1999)
• NIH
  Clinical Investigator Development Award (K08) (1994)
• United States Air Force
  Achievement Medal (1992)

• American Association for Cancer Research
• American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
• Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
• Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group
• Pediatric Oncology Group/Children’s Oncology Group