Isaac S. Harris

Isaac S. Harris is an Assistant Professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center's School of Medicine and Dentistry and Wilmot Cancer Institute, where he leads independent research since September 2019. He received his PhD from the University of Toronto under Dr. Tak Mak and pursued postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School with Dr. Joan Brugge.

• Appointments: Department of Biomedical Genetics; Department of Pharmacology and Physiology
• Research Focus: Antioxidant biology in cancer, particularly glutathione (GSH) and redox regulation
• Technologies: Developer of Multifunctional Approach to Pharmacologic Screening (MAPS)

Research Interests: Dr. Harris investigates how cancer cells exploit antioxidant systems like GSH for tumor initiation and progression. His lab combines in vivo mouse models with high-throughput pharmacologic screening to uncover metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer cells. Key projects explore:

• GSH's role in cancer initiation and protein homeostasis
• Redox signaling in tumor microenvironment
• Metabolic compensation pathways in antioxidant-deprived cancers
• Development of novel screening technologies (MAPS)
• Interactions between antioxidant pathways and cell death mechanisms
• Cross-talk between redox regulation and kinase signaling

Publications & Technology: The Harris Lab has published extensively on GSH metabolism in cancer, including breakthrough studies on:

• Deubiquitinase inhibition as a therapeutic strategy
• Redox regulation of Th17 and regulatory T cells
• Cancer cell adaptation to antioxidant depletion
• Development of physiologic medium screening platforms

Lab Members: Current researchers include graduate students Fatemeh Alimohammadi, Gloria Asantewaa, Marco Zocchi, and TashJaé Scales. Alumni include Hayley Chang (MD/PhD student) and technician Leo Schiller.