Faculty

Steve Angus, PhD

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Email sangus@iu.edu

Phone (317) 274-8911

Address

Ped-Heme/Onc Basic Research
R4-468

Indianapolis, IN 46202

Bio

Dr. Angus earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Zoology and Chemistry at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He completed his PhD in Cell Biology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He then trained at Duke University, receiving postdoctoral fellowships from the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute. Before his recruitment to the Department of Pediatrics at IU, Dr. Angus was a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. With his extensive training as a basic scientist in cancer cell signaling, Dr. Angus works collaboratively with IU clinician/scientists to study mechanisms of tumor resistance to targeted kinase inhibitors.

Titles & Appointments

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology

Education

2003 PhD University of Cincinnati

1999 MS Miami University

1997 BA Miami University
Research

Our lab studies dysregulated signaling networks that are characteristic of cancer and disease. Specifically, we use proteomics and genomics to characterize adaptive responses of tumors to targeted kinase inhibitors. Kinases propagate cell signaling cascades and regulate key cellular processes including proliferation, survival, invasion, and metastasis. Due to their profound importance, kinases are frequently mutated, overexpressed, or otherwise deregulated in cancer and disease. Consequently, over 50 kinase inhibitors are FDA approved and used to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. While kinase inhibitors have led to remarkable clinical responses, tumors almost invariably become resistant and bypass targeted therapy.

In the lab, we study the impact of targeted kinase inhibitors on the global kinase signaling network—the functional kinome—using a novel chemical proteomics approach combining multiplexed inhibitor beads and mass spectrometry. We additionally utilize next-generation sequencing to study expression changes, mutations, and copy number changes—all of which can drive therapeutic resistance. We apply these techniques to mammalian cell culture models, in addition to genetically engineered mouse models, patient-derived xenografts, and clinical samples at baseline, early during treatment, and when drug resistance arises. We have collaborative projects studying plexiform neurofibroma (PNF) progression, a hallmark tumor of patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and, as a component of the IU Precision Health Initiative, pediatric sarcoma. Our goal is to extend mechanistic insights regarding kinase regulatory networks to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets to improve patient response.

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