Dr. Yasser Heakal has joined D'Youville University in 2012. Since joining the School of Pharmacy, he developed innovative courses in pharmacology, pharmacogenomics, and drug discovery and development. Besides his teaching interests, Dr. Heakal developed a research program in cancer pharmacology, which provided students with the opportunity to participate in research activities.
Education & Training
PhD in Pharmacology, Penn State University, College of Medicine, 2009
MBA, Penn State Harrisburg, School of Business Administration, 2009
MS in Medicinal and Biological Chemistry, The University of Toledo, College of Pharmacy 2005
B.Sc. (honors) in Pharmacy, Cairo University, College of Pharmacy, 2001
Awards & Honors
Developmental Research Award, UNC Linberger Cancer Center, 2010 (intramural grant, $50,000 for 1 year).
Graduate student travel award, 5th International Charleston Ceramide Meeting 2009.
Research Interests
Cancer pharmacology
Drug discovery and development
Medical information
Publications
Klionsky DJ, Abdel-Aziz AK, Abdelfatah S, et al. Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1. Autophagy. 2021;17(1):1-382. doi:10.1080/15548627.2020.1797280
Heakal Y, Patel D, Cao P, et al. Discovery of Autophagy-Inducing Chloroquine Analogs with Potent Anticancer Activity in Breast Cancer Cells. Med Chem. 2020;10:7.
Patricia Masso-Welch, Sofia A Girald Berlingeria, John Hu, Matthew Federowicz, Terry D. Connell,
Yasser Heakal. LT-IIc, A Bacterial Type II Heat-Labile Enterotoxin, Induces Specific Lethality in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells by Modulation of Autophagy and Induction of Apoptosis and Necroptosis. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(1)
Heakal Y, Kester M, Savage S. Vemurafenib (PLX4032): an orally available inhibitor of mutated BRAF for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Ann. Pharmacother. 2011: 45(11);1399-405.
Jiang Y, DiVittore NA, Kaiser JM, Shanmugavelandy SS, Fritz JL, Heakal Y, Tagaram HR, Cheng H, Cabot MC, Staveley-O'Carroll KF, Tran MA, Fox TE, Barth BM, Kester M.Combinatorial therapies improve the therapeutic efficacy of nanoliposomal ceramide for pancreatic cancer. Cancer Biol. Ther. 2011; 12(7):574-85.
Heakal Y, Woll MP, Fox T, Seaton K, Levenson R, Kester M. Neurotensin receptor-1 inducible palmitoylation is required for efficient receptor-mediated mitogenic-signaling within structured membrane microdomains. Cancer Biol. Ther. 2011 1;12(5):427-35.
Heakal Y, Kester M. Nanoliposomal short-chain ceramide inhibits agonist-dependent translocation of neurotensin receptor 1 to structured membrane microdomains in breast cancer cells. Mol. Can. Res. 2009;7(5):724-34.
Kester M, Heakal Y, Fox T, Sharma A, Robertson GP, Morgan TT, Altinoğlu EI, Tabaković A, Parette MR, Rouse SM, Ruiz-Velasco V, Adair JH. Calcium phosphate nanocomposite particles for in vitro imaging and encapsulated chemotherapeutic drug delivery to cancer cells. Nano Lett. 2008;8(12):4116-21.
