Teresa L. Johnson-Pais, Ph.D.

Professor

Division of Research

Dr. Teresa Johnson-Pais obtained her Ph.D. degree in Cellular and Structural Biology at the UT Health San Antonio, TX. She subsequently trained at the Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR as a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Mathew J. Thayer, Ph.D. Dr. Johnson-Pais has authored and co-authored 60 publications, primarily in the field of cancer genetics. She is co-director of the institutional Biospecimen and Translational Genomics Core Laboratory. She lectures in courses for the graduate program in Integrated Biomedical Sciences and is a course director for the Master’s in Clinical Investigation graduate program.

Related Diseases: Cancer

Techniques: In vitro cell culture, real-time PCR, high throughput genotyping, gene expression microarrays and next-generation sequencing.

Professional Background
Education
- 1994 - PhD - Cellular and Structural Biology - University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio
- 1986 - BS - Medical Technology - University of Nebraska Medical School
- Postdoctoral Fellowship - Molecular Genetics - Oregon Health Sciences University
- Postdoctoral Fellowship - Genetics - University of Texas Health Science Center
Appointments
- 7/2014 - Associate Professor/Research - University of Texas Health Science Center, Urology, San Antonio
- 5/2005 - Co-Director Institutional Biobanking and Genome Analysis Core Laboratory - University of Texas Health Science CenterSan Antonio
Instruction & Training
- 6/2019 - 5/2020, High School/Junior High School Student Supervision, UT Health San Antonio
- 1/2019 - 1/2021, Membership on Supervising Committee, UT Health San Antonio
- 1/2019 - 1/2021, Membership on Supervising Committee, UT Health San Antonio
- 1/2014 - Present, Integrate Mol/Bio/Patient Res, The University of Texas Health Science Center
- 8/2013 - Present, PreMatriculation Wet Lab, UTHSCSA
Research & Grants

My own research efforts have focused mainly on the genetic studies of urologic cancers, including prostate and testicular cancer, particularly on the identification of biomarkers for risk and prognosis, including copy number variants and single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping. I am also the co-director of the UT Health San Antonio Biobanking and Genome Analysis Core Laboratory.

Diseases Associated: Cancer

Techniques Used: In vitro cell culture, real time PCR, high throughput genotyping, gene expression microarrays, next generation sequencing

Research profile

Grants

Federal

Funding Agency NIH Title Cognitive Impairment Associated with Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Status Active Period 12/2018 - 11/2023 Role Co-Investigator Grant Detail In this project, we will study the neural mechanisms underlying the cognitive impairment caused by ADT in rats, in order to identify potentially new targets for intervention. Funding Agency NIH Title Clinical and Translational Science Award: Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science: A Partnership to Improve Health Status Active Period 5/2018 - 4/2023 Role Contributor Grant Detail The vision of the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science is to improve health and reduce disparities by accelerating scientific discoveries and applications across the full translational research spectrum. We will accomplish this by strategic resource deployment, focusing on prevalent challenges in our region, including: 1) the health needs of our underserved Hispanic and rural populations, 2) the special health issues facing active- duty military and veteran populations, and 3) limitations in the translational science workforce required to fill in critical knowledge gaps and improve health in South Texas and the US. Funding Agency NIH/NIGMS (2R25 GM095480-06) Title Recruiting and Retaining Underrepresented Students Status Active Period 8/2011 - 4/2022 Role Contributor Grant Detail Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) Program. The major goal of this program is to provide an avenue to identify, recruit, and prepare underrepresented minority (URM) graduate students for timely completion of doctoral degrees and successful careers in the biomedical sciences. Dr. Oyajobi is a named mentor on the grant. Competitively renewed in 2017.

PI/PDs: Blake, NMJ, PhD; Weiss, DS, PhD

Funding Agency National Cancer Institute Title Cancer Therapy and Research Center at UTHSCSA Status Active Period 9/2009 - 7/2019 Role Contributor Grant Detail P30, Funding Agency NIH Title PCPT and SELECT Cohorts: Core Infrastructure Support for Cancer Research Status Complete Period 9/2013 - 8/2018 Role Co-Investigator Grant Detail The goals of this project are to support the biorepositories for the PCPT and SELECT prostate cancer trials and to distribute these resources to support other cancer research. Funding Agency DOD Title Advancing Prostate Cancer Research by Providing Summer Research Opportunities for HBCU Students at the Cancer Center at UTHSCSA Status Complete Period 7/2016 - 7/2018 Role Co-Investigator Grant Detail This program will provide students from a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Huston-Tillotson University (HTU) in Austin, Texas, an opportunity to conduct prostate cancer research at a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center, the Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). The overall goal of this program is to develop opportunities to train minority students in southern Texas in prostate cancer research. This program will provide undergraduate students with an opportunity to work at a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center and participate in state-of-the-art prostate cancer research in many focus areas including biomarkers, genetics, tumor biology, therapy and imaging. Funding Agency NCATS Title Clinical and Translational Science Award: Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science: a Partnership to Improve Health Status Complete Period 7/2013 - 6/2018 Role Contributor Grant Detail Within the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science, MJ Lichtenstein served as the Co-Principal Investigator for Research Education, Training, and Career Development.
NCATS - KL2 TR001118 - KL2 Scholars Career Development Award Program
Total Costs KL2: $3,274,065
NCATS - TL1 TR001119 - TL1 Pre-doctoral Training Program
Total Costs TL1: $620, 395

Dr. Lichtenstein stepped down from his IIMS responsibilities on 12.31.2015

Total Costs for UL1 + KL2 + TL1: $22,707,724
ABSTRACT: San Antonio, the gateway to South Texas, is the 7*^ largest city in the US and the largest metropolitan area with a majority Hispanic population (63%). South Texas is about the size of Ohio, and comprises an impoverished and largely Hispanic population with disproportionate rates of diabetes and obesity, exacerbated by a lack of health insurance and poor access to health care. This region also contains numerous US military installations, and active-duty service members and veterans often have special health issues, including risk for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic injuries. Unfortunately, neither better access to care nor improved care delivery can eliminate health disparities and meet these complex needs, in addition, research across the full T1 to T4 translational spectrum is required to eliminate knowledge gaps and establish real-world effectiveness that improves health care for our populations. In 2006, UTHSCSA established the Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science (IIMS) to improve health and reduce disparities by accelerating scientific discoveries and applications across the full translational research spectrum. For example, IIMS expanded the number of clinical research units that extend to the Texas-Mexico border from 1 to 7, and dramatically increasing participant access to clinical and translational science. We increased, from 2 to 6, the Practice-Based Research Networks that focus on diverse ambulatory populations. Efforts to address tr

Private

Funding Agency William & Ella Owens Medical Research Foundation Title Characterizing the role of genetic variant rs1047776 in impaired cognition associated with androgen deprivation therapy for aggressive prostate cancer Status Active Period 4/2018 - 12/2019 Role Principal Investigator Grant Detail Funding Agency Department of Urology Title Biomarker Discovery for Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Using Transcriptome Analysis Status Active Period 7/2016 - 8/2019 Role Principal Investigator Grant Detail Department of Urology Pilot Award/Urologic Oncology
Publications

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Teresa L. Johnson-Pais, Ph.D.

Professional Background

Education

Appointments

Instruction & Training

Research & Grants

Grants

Federal

Private

Publications

Abstract

Journal Article