Karen Anderson, PhD
Professor of Pharmacology and of Molecular Biophysics and BiochemistryDownloadHi-Res Photo
Cards
Appointments
Pharmacology
Primary
Additional Titles
Co-Leader, Developmental Therapeutics, Yale Cancer Center
Co-Director Therapeutics/Chemotherapy Program
Contact Info
Pharmacology
PO Box 208066, 333 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8066
United States
Appointments
Pharmacology
Primary
Additional Titles
Co-Leader, Developmental Therapeutics, Yale Cancer Center
Co-Director Therapeutics/Chemotherapy Program
Contact Info
Pharmacology
PO Box 208066, 333 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8066
United States
Appointments
Pharmacology
Primary
Additional Titles
Co-Leader, Developmental Therapeutics, Yale Cancer Center
Co-Director Therapeutics/Chemotherapy Program
Contact Info
Pharmacology
PO Box 208066, 333 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8066
United States
About
Titles
Professor of Pharmacology and of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Co-Leader, Developmental Therapeutics, Yale Cancer Center; Co-Director Therapeutics/Chemotherapy Program
Biography
Karen S. Anderson is a Professor of Pharmacology and Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. She is involved in teaching undergraduates and graduate students about drug discovery and structure-based drug design. She also serves as an undergraduate research mentor and is a fellow at Pierson College at Yale serving as a undergraduate freshman advisor. Dr. Anderson's research utilizes mechanistic enzymology and structure-based drug design. Her work focuses on understanding how enzymes, playing critical roles in such diseases as cancer and infectious diseases, including AIDS, work at a molecular level. She uses that information to develop new drug therapies. She has trained over 50 undergraduates, graduate students, M.D./Ph.D. students and postdoctoral students who have gone on to graduate school and medical school as well as successful careers in academia and industry and who are involved in biomedical research.
Appointments
Pharmacology
ProfessorPrimaryMolecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Anderson Lab
- Biochemistry, Quantitative Biology, Biophysics and Structural Biology (BQBS)
- Developmental Therapeutics
- Investigative Medicine Program
- Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
- Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and Physiology
- Pharmacology
- Primary Faculty
- Structural Biology
- Virology Laboratories
- Yale Cancer Center
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale CTAP
- Yale Ventures
- Yale-UPR Integrated HIV Basic and Clinical Sciences Initiative
Education & Training
- Senior Research Specialist
- Biorational Herbicide Design, Monsanto Co. (1989)
- PhD
- Ohio State University (1982)
Research
Overview
Our research is directed toward understanding molecular mechanism of clinically important antimicrobial, anticancer, and antiviral molecular targets with the ultimate goal of developing more effective therapies. Key enzyme targets for the development of therapeutics include: KDO8P synthase (an important target for new antibacterials) and a bifunctional thymidylate synthase-dihydrofolate reductase (TS-DHFR) enzyme from parasites (a target for new antiparasitic drugs).
Also ongoing are studies to understanding the molecular mechanisms of normal and aberrant protein signaling and the effects of selectively guided anticancer drugs such as Iressa and Gleevec. Important molecular targets include EGFR, HER-2, PDGFRb, and c-kit receptor tyrosine kinases. Another area of focus involves investigating the mechanisms of HIV reverse transcriptase as well as drug resistance and toxicity that may ultimately aid in the design of better therapeutic agents for the treatment of AIDS.
Also ongoing are studies to understanding the molecular mechanisms of normal and aberrant protein signaling and the effects of selectively guided anticancer drugs such as Iressa and Gleevec. Important molecular targets include EGFR, HER-2, PDGFRb, and c-kit receptor tyrosine kinases. Another area of focus involves investigating the mechanisms of HIV reverse transcriptase as well as drug resistance and toxicity that may ultimately aid in the design of better therapeutic agents for the treatment of AIDS.
Medical Research Interests
Anti-Retroviral Agents; HIV Reverse Transcriptase; Molecular Biology; Multifunctional Enzymes; Pharmacology
ORCID
0000-0003-3433-0780- View Lab Website
Anderson Lab Homepage
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Frequent collaborators of Karen Anderson's published research.
Publications Timeline
A big-picture view of Karen Anderson's research output by year.
Research Interests
Research topics Karen Anderson is interested in exploring.
William Jorgensen
Barbara Burtness, MD
Brett Lindenbach, PhD
Daniel P. Petrylak, MD
Donald Engelman, PhD
Elias Lolis, PhD
105Publications
5,127Citations
HIV Reverse Transcriptase
Anti-Retroviral Agents
Publications
2024
Prodrug nanotherapy demonstrates in vivo anticryptosporidial efficacy in a mouse model of chronic Cryptosporidium infection
Ranjan A, Czyzyk D, Martinez-Traverso G, Sadiqova A, Valhondo M, Schaefer D, Spasov K, Jorgensen W, Vishwanatha J, Riggs M, Castellanos-Gonzalez A, Anderson K. Prodrug nanotherapy demonstrates in vivo anticryptosporidial efficacy in a mouse model of chronic Cryptosporidium infection. RSC Pharmaceutics 2024 PMID: 39372445, PMCID: PMC11447440, DOI: 10.1039/d4pm00093e.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchProof-of-concept studies with a computationally designed Mpro inhibitor as a synergistic combination regimen alternative to Paxlovid
Papini C, Ullah I, Ranjan A, Zhang S, Wu Q, Spasov K, Zhang C, Mothes W, Crawford J, Lindenbach B, Uchil P, Kumar P, Jorgensen W, Anderson K. Proof-of-concept studies with a computationally designed Mpro inhibitor as a synergistic combination regimen alternative to Paxlovid. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2024, 121: e2320713121. PMID: 38621119, PMCID: PMC11046628, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2320713121.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsDirect-acting antiviralsSARS-CoV-2Lack of off-target effectsIn vitro pharmacological profileTreatment of patientsDevelopment of severe symptomsPharmacological propertiesDrug-drug interactionsSARS-CoV-2 infectionProof-of-concept studySARS-CoV-2 M<sup>pro</sup>.Combination regimenImmunocompromised patientsLead compoundsSARS-CoV-2 main proteaseOral doseActive drugTreat infectionsPharmacological profileSARS-CoV-2 MPotential preclinical candidateOff-target effectsPatientsComplete recoveryCapsule formulation
2023
Exploring novel HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors with drug‐resistant mutants: A double mutant surprise
Hollander K, Chan A, Frey K, Hunker O, Ippolito J, Spasov K, Yeh Y, Jorgensen W, Ho Y, Anderson K. Exploring novel HIV‐1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors with drug‐resistant mutants: A double mutant surprise. Protein Science 2023, 32: e4814. PMID: 37861472, PMCID: PMC10659932, DOI: 10.1002/pro.4814.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsHIV drug developmentReverse transcriptaseHIV-1 reverse transcriptaseNew RT inhibitorsDrug-resistant mutantsLifelong treatmentHIV-1 reverseRT inhibitorsClinical isolatesPreclinical candidateResistance mutationsResistant variantsSuccessful managementMolecular cloneFirst-generation inhibitorsDrug developmentV106ASame mutationCandidate compoundsGeneration inhibitorsInhibitorsKey targetCatechol diethersA High-Throughput, High-Containment Human Primary Epithelial Airway Organ-on-Chip Platform for SARS-CoV-2 Therapeutic Screening
Fisher C, Medie F, Luu R, Gaibler R, Mulhern T, Miller C, Zhang C, Rubio L, Marr E, Vijayakumar V, Gabriel E, Quezada L, Zhang C, Anderson K, Jorgensen W, Alladina J, Medoff B, Borenstein J, Gard A. A High-Throughput, High-Containment Human Primary Epithelial Airway Organ-on-Chip Platform for SARS-CoV-2 Therapeutic Screening. Cells 2023, 12: 2639. PMID: 37998374, PMCID: PMC10669988, DOI: 10.3390/cells12222639.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsChip platformHigh-throughput organSARS-CoV-2 infectionHigh throughputScreening applicationsDisease modelingEfficacy of remdesivirNative virusRobust viral replicationSARS-CoV-2Therapeutic screeningPlatformRapid developmentAntiviral effectLung tissuePreclinical modelsEfficacious vaccineHuman donorsViral replicationEffective therapeuticsPlaque assayAntiviral studiesWorldwide pandemicThroughputRT-qPCRCovalent and noncovalent strategies for targeting Lys102 in HIV-1 reverse transcriptase
Prucha G, Henry S, Hollander K, Carter Z, Spasov K, Jorgensen W, Anderson K. Covalent and noncovalent strategies for targeting Lys102 in HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. European Journal Of Medicinal Chemistry 2023, 262: 115894. PMID: 37883896, PMCID: PMC10872499, DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.115894.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsNoncanonical HPV carcinogenesis drives radiosensitization of head and neck tumors
Schrank T, Kothari A, Weir W, Stepp W, Rehmani H, Liu X, Wang X, Sewell A, Li X, Tasoulas J, Kim S, Yarbrough G, Xie Y, Flamand Y, Marur S, Hayward M, Wu D, Burtness B, Anderson K, Baldwin A, Yarbrough W, Issaeva N. Noncanonical HPV carcinogenesis drives radiosensitization of head and neck tumors. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2023, 120: e2216532120. PMID: 37523561, PMCID: PMC10410762, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2216532120.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsNF-κB-related genesEstrogen receptor alpha expressionDeintensification of therapyTreatment-related morbidityTumor-infiltrating CD4Receptor alpha expressionHPV carcinogenesisRadiosensitization of headOncogenic subtypesPIK3CA alterationsHNSCC tumorsPatient outcomesNeck tumorsT cellsTreatment responseHNSCC cellsTherapeutic intensityAtypical featuresIndependent cohortAlpha expressionNF-κBActive tumorTNF receptorTumorsPatient dataTackling FGFR3-driven bladder cancer with a promising synergistic FGFR/HDAC targeted therapy
Wang Z, Muthusamy V, Petrylak D, Anderson K. Tackling FGFR3-driven bladder cancer with a promising synergistic FGFR/HDAC targeted therapy. Npj Precision Oncology 2023, 7: 70. PMID: 37479885, PMCID: PMC10362036, DOI: 10.1038/s41698-023-00417-5.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsBladder cancerBC cellsEarly phase clinical trialsPhase clinical trialsDurable responsesMetastatic diseaseMost patientsFGFR3 alterationsPrevalent malignancyClinical trialsFGFR3 fusionsPreclinical studiesFGFR inhibitorsHDAC inhibitorsFGFR3 expressionEfficient therapyTherapyCancerQuisinostatFGFR3New mechanistic insightsInhibitorsCellsPatientsMalignancyDesign, synthesis, and biological testing of biphenylmethyloxazole inhibitors targeting HIV-1 reverse transcriptase
Carter Z, Hollander K, Spasov K, Anderson K, Jorgensen W. Design, synthesis, and biological testing of biphenylmethyloxazole inhibitors targeting HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2023, 84: 129216. PMID: 36871704, PMCID: PMC10278203, DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2023.129216.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsMeSH Keywords and Concepts
2018
Yale Cancer Center Precision Medicine Tumor Board: one tumour, multiple targets
Stewart T, Finberg K, Walther Z, Sklar JL, Hafez N, Eder JP, Anderson K, Wilson F, Goldberg SB. Yale Cancer Center Precision Medicine Tumor Board: one tumour, multiple targets. The Lancet Oncology 2018, 19: 1567-1568. PMID: 32956641, DOI: 10.1016/s1470-2045(18)30759-9.Peer-Reviewed Case Reports and Technical NotesCitationsAltmetricAPOBEC as an Endogenous Mutagen in Cancers of the Head and Neck
Sasaki T, Issaeva N, Yarbrough W, Anderson K. APOBEC as an Endogenous Mutagen in Cancers of the Head and Neck. Current Cancer Research 2018, 275-292. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-78762-6_10.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsDiverse physiological processesFamily of cytidineApolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptideEnzyme catalytic polypeptideU conversionBioinformatics studiesEndogenous mutagensAPOBEC3 functionGenomic DNAPhysiological processesCatalytic polypeptideEditing mechanismBioinformatics dataAPOBEC activityHuman cancersTarget nucleotidesProduction of neoantigensAPOBEC3 proteinsDiverse cancersSquamous cell carcinomaHuman papillomavirus expressionTherapeutic avenuesProteinStructural evidenceDNA
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
honor Enzymes, Coenzymes, & Metabolic Pathways Gordon Research Conference - Chair
National AwardDetails01/01/2001United Stateshonor Enzymes, Coenzymes, & Metabolic Pathways Gordon Research Conference - Cochair
National AwardDetails01/01/2000United Stateshonor Yale Cancer Breast Cancer Initiative Research Award
National AwardYale UniversityDetails01/01/1996United Stateshonor East Tennessee State University Alumni Award
National AwardEast Tennessee State UniversityDetails01/01/1992United Stateshonor Dean's Young Faculty Award
National AwardYale UniversityDetails01/01/1991United States
News
News
- April 23, 2024
A Better COVID Treatment for the Immunocompromised?
- April 15, 2024
Treatments Found in Translational Science
- July 31, 2023
Researchers Develop a New Way to Classify HPV-Associated Head and Neck Cancers
- July 13, 2021Source: News Wise
Scientists Repurpose Cancer and Seizure Medications to Aid in the Fight against COVID-19
Get In Touch
Contacts
Academic Office Number
Lab Number
Office Fax Number
Mailing Address
Pharmacology
PO Box 208066, 333 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8066
United States
Administrative Support
Locations
Department of Pharmacology
Academic Office
Sterling Hall of Medicine, B-Wing
333 Cedar Street, Ste B350b
New Haven, CT 06510
Events
May 20258Thursday
Yale Only Angela Gronenborn