Professor Emeritus
Ph.D., University of Hawaii (Biochemistry)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Baylor College of Medicine (Cell and Molecular Biology)
Office: 501-686-8128
E-mail: simmenfranka@uams.edu
Affiliations
Faculty Member, The Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute
Co-Director, M2 GI and Nutrition Module, College of Medicine
Research Interests
My laboratory worked in the areas of molecular endocrinology, molecular nutrition, and animal models of disease. Work in the laboratory over the last decade focused on 1) molecular mechanisms of action of select dietary factors and obesity in colon cancer 2) molecular physiology of Malic Enzyme 1 (ME1), and 3) characterization of Krüppel-Like Factors (KLFs) in normo- and patho-physiology. While research was a focus of my career, I was an active contributor to graduate student and medical student education and mentoring.
Representative Recent Publications
Brown AR, Alhallak I, Simmen RCM, Melnyk SB, Heard-Lipsmeyer ME, Montales MTE, Habenicht D, Van TT, Simmen FA. Krüppel-like Factor 9 (KLF9) Suppresses Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)-Promoting Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Mice Fed High-Fat Diet. Cancers (Basel). 2022 Mar 29;14(7):1737. doi: 10.3390/cancers14071737. PMID: 35406507; PMCID: PMC8996893.
Simmen FA, Alhallak I, Simmen RCM. Malic enzyme 1 (ME1) in the biology of cancer: it is not just intermediary metabolism. J Mol Endocrinol. 2020 Nov;65(4):R77-R90. doi: 10.1530/JME-20-0176. PMID: 33064660; PMCID: PMC7577320.
Pabona JMP, Burnett AF, Brown DM, Quick CM, Simmen FA, Montales MTE, Liu SJ, Rose T, Alhallak I, Siegel ER, Simmen RC. Metformin Promotes Anti-tumor Biomarkers in Human Endometrial Cancer Cells. Reprod Sci. 2020 Jan;27(1):267-277. doi: 10.1007/s43032-019-00019-2. Epub 2020 Jan 1. PMID: 32046384; PMCID: PMC7077930.
Fernandes LM, Al-Dwairi A, Simmen RCM, Marji M, Brown DM, Jewell SW, Simmen FA. Malic Enzyme 1 (ME1) is pro-oncogenic in ApcMin/+ mice. Sci Rep. 2018 Sep 24; 8 (1):14268.doi; 10.1038/s41598-018-32532-w.
Pabona JM, Zhang D, Ginsburg DS, Simmen FA, Simmen RC. Prolonged pregnancy in women is associated with attenuated myometrial expression of progesterone receptor co-regulator Krüppel-like Factor 9. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015 Jan;100(1):166-74. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4283014.
Montales MT, Simmen RC, Ferreira ES, Neves VA, Simmen FA. Metformin and soybean-derived bioactive molecules attenuate the expansion of stem cell-like epithelial subpopulation and confer apoptotic sensitivity in human colon cancer cells. Genes Nutr. 2015 Nov;10(6):49. PMC4623856/.
Brown AR, Simmen RC, Raj VR, Van TT, MacLeod SL, Simmen FA. Krüppel-like factor 9 (KLF9) prevents colorectal cancer through inhibition of interferon-related signaling. Carcinogenesis. 2015 Sep;36(9):946-55. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4573661.
Al-Dwairi A, Brown AR, Pabona JM, Van TH, Hamdan H, Mercado CP, Quick CM, Wight PA, Simmen RC, Simmen FA. Enhanced gastrointestinal expression of cytosolic malic enzyme (ME1) induces intestinal and liver lipogenic gene expression and intestinal cell proliferation in mice. PLoS One. 2014;9(11):e113058. PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4234650.
Link to Dr. Frank A. Simmen at Pub-Med:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=simmen+fa&sort=date
Link to Dr. Frank A. Simmen at ResearchGate:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frank_Simmen
Member-Editorial Board of Cancers