Nathan Lyle Avaritt, PhD

Research Program: Cancer Biology Faculty Rank: Assistant Professor Campus: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College: College of Medicine Department: Biochem & Molecular Histone Epigenet

Cancer Research Interest

• Disease Site Focus: Cutaneous/Melanoma
• Research Focus Area: Carcinogenesis, Diagnosis/ Prognosis, Detection, Informatics, Treatment, Health Disparities
• Type of Research: Basic
• Research Keywords: Oncology; histone epigenetics; metastatic melanoma; immunotherapy
• Research Interest Statement: Dr. Nathan Avaritt is an Instructor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, where he also completed his Ph.D. in 2014 with a focus on the epigenetic regulation of melanoma progression and on developing methods to effectively utilize fixed tissue samples for proteomics analysis. Since 2014, work by Dr. Avaritt and others in his team have expanded our understanding of epigenetic processes in melanoma to include mechanisms of survival and chemo-resistance, loss of cellular identity and dedifferentiation, and regulation of response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. In early 2020, Dr. Avaritt relocated to the WPRCI to work alongside Dr. Alan Tackett on an NCI-funded research program. In this capacity, Dr. Avaritt's work has expanded further to include the metabolic reprogramming of the melanoma tumor microenvironment, tactics employed by tumor cells to account for nutrient competition, and the development of novel technology enabling the non-invasive diagnosis and prognosis of primary and metastatic melanoma tumors.

Contact Information

• Email Address: NLAVARITT@UAMS.EDU
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Active Grants

• US Department of Defense – W81XWH2110460
  “Proteogenomic analysis of responders versus nonresponders in a Phase I clinical trial of Th17-inducing dendritic cell vaccination for advanced stage ovarian cancer”
  Co-Investigator
  7/1/2021 – 12/31/2024

Recent Publications

• Urbaniak A, Bathula C, Chauhan J, [et al., including Avaritt N]. Synthesis and Anti-Melanoma Activity of Acryloyl Pyridinone Analogues. Chemistry & biodiversity. 2023:e202301550. PMID: 37994208. PMCID: PMC10984326.
• Lowenthal R, Taylor M, Gidden JA, [et al., including Avaritt N]. The mycelium of the Trametes versicolor synn. Coriolus versicolor (Turkey tail mushroom) exhibit anti-melanoma activity in vitro. Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie. 2023 161:114424. PMID: 36827712. PMCID: PMC10147383.
• Avaritt NL, Byrum SD. Cutting-Edge Technologies Driving Quantitative Mass Spectrometry. Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE. 2023(193). PMID: 37602860.
• Choudhury S, Heflin B, Taylor E, [et al., including Avaritt NL]. CRISPR/dCas9-KRAB-Mediated Suppression of S100b Restores p53-Mediated Apoptosis in Melanoma Cells. Cells. 2023 12(5). PMID: 36899866. PMCID: PMC10000373.
• Adams SH, Wright R, Piccolo BD, [et al., including Avaritt N]. C-section increases cecal abundance of the archetypal bile acid and glucocorticoid modifying Lachnoclostridium [clostridium] scindens in mice. Physiological reports. 2022 10(13):e15363. PMID: 35778808. PMCID: PMC9249977.
• Paidi SK, Troncoso JR, Raj P, [et al., including Avaritt NL]. Raman Spectroscopy and Machine Learning Reveals Early Tumor Microenvironmental Changes Induced by Immunotherapy. Cancer research. 2021. PMID: 34645610. PMCID: PMC8841097.
• Allensworth-James M, Banik J, Odle A, [et al., including Avaritt N]. Control of the Anterior Pituitary Cell Lineage Regulator POU1F1 by the Stem Cell Determinant Musashi. Endocrinology. 2021 162(3). PMID: 33373440. PMCID: PMC7814296.