Dr Vanessa Marensi
Lecturer
Vanessa Marensi is a Lecturer in Pharmacology at Chester Medical School.
Vanessa has over a decade of experience in Pharmacology, Pharmacy and Human Physiology. Her research focuses on the mechanism by which cancers develop resistance to drug treatment. During her PhD at the University of Alberta (Canada), Vanessa studied how lipids regulate cell function by targeting specific sites in oncoproteins associated to drug-resistance.
Her interest in drug resistance led to a Post-doctoral training position at the University of Liverpool (UK) in Prof. David MacEwan and Prof. Patrick Eyers’ labs. Sinvestigated the role protein kinases and pseudokinases in the regulation of signalling pathways associated with resistance target therapy in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)
Vanessa’s research is focused on translating fundamental cellular mechanisms controlling tumour resistance and relapse to clinical applications. She searches for novel therapeutical strategies to overcome chemoresistance and improve patient outcomes. Some of her current work and interests include, but are not limited to:
- Targeted therapy and personalised medicine-based approaches to cancer treatment.
- Repurposing of commercially available drugs and discovery of novel compounds from natural sources as potential therapeutic agents
- The impact of clinically relevant mutations and post translational modifications in the evolutionary process of cancer heterogeneity, progression, and resistance to target therapy in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML)
Vanessa has a broad range of expertise, from cellular manipulation, chemical biology, molecular cloning, genetic engineering (CRISPR) to biochemical assays. These tools allow the study of translational and post-translational characteristics of proteins controlling cell reprogramming that leads to therapeutic failure.
Publications in peer-reviewed journals:
- Byrne, D.P, Shrestha, S. Daly, L.A., Marensi, V., Ramakrishnan, K., Eyers C.E., Kannan, N., Eyers, P.A. Evolutionary and cellular analysis of the dark pseudokinase PSKH2.
- Geib, T, Lento, C, Marensi, V, Thulasingam, M, Haeggström, J. Z, Olsson, M, Wilson D. J, Leslie E.M, Sleno, L. Determining site occupancy of acetaminophen covalent binding to target proteins in vitro. Analytical Science Advances, 2(5-6), 263-271. 2021.
- Marensi, V., Keeshan, K. R., & MacEwan, D. J. Pharmacological impact of FLT3 mutations on receptor activity and responsiveness to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Biochem Pharmacol, 183. 2021.
- Banerjee M, Marensi V, Conseil G, Le CX Cole SPC2, Leslie EM. Polymorphic Variants of MRP4/ABCC4 Differentially Modulate the Transport of Methylated Arsenic Metabolites and Physiological Organic Anions. Biochem Pharmacol., 2016. 2952(16)30299-4.
- Shukalek CB, Swanlund DP, Rousseau RK, Weigl KE, Marensi V, Cole SPC, Leslie EM. Arsenic Triglutathione [As(GS)3] Transport by Multidrug Resistance Protein 1 (MRP1/ABCC1) is Selectively Modified by Phosphorylation of Tyr920/Ser921 and Glycosylation of Asn19/Asn23. Mol Pharmacol., 2016.
- Biavatti MQ, Marensi V, Leite SN, et al. Ethnopharmacognostic survey on botanical compendia for potential cosmeceutical species from Atlantic Forest. Rev. Bras. Farmacogn., 2007. 17: 640-653.
- Byrne, D.P, Shrestha, S. Daly, L.A., Marensi, V., Ramakrishnan, K., Eyers C.E., Kannan, N., Eyers, P.A. Evolutionary and cellular analysis of the dark pseudokinase PSKH2.
- Geib, T, Lento, C, Marensi, V, Thulasingam, M, Haeggström, J. Z, Olsson, M, Wilson D. J, Leslie E.M, Sleno, L. Determining site occupancy of acetaminophen covalent binding to target proteins in vitro. Analytical Science Advances, 2(5-6), 263-271. 2021.
- Marensi, V., Keeshan, K. R., & MacEwan, D. J. Pharmacological impact of FLT3 mutations on receptor activity and responsiveness to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Biochem Pharmacol, 183. 2021.
Published abstracts:
- Roberts C, Healy F, Marensi, V, Macewan, D. (2021). FLT3/BTK inhibition displays cytotoxic effect in acute myeloid leukaemia cells. British Journal of Pharmacology Vol. 178 (pp. 4952).
- Healy, F., Marensi, V., Maerken, M., Anyfantis, G., Woolley, J., & MacEwan, D. (2021). NRAS mutations arise in resistance to FLT3 inhibitors in acute myeloid leukaemia. British Journal of Pharmacology Vol. 178 (pp. 4949-4950).
- Marensi V, Yap M, Ji Y, Lin C, Berthiaume L, Leslie EM. Glutathione Transferase P1 (GSTP1) is Modified by Palmitate. FASEB, 2016. 30(1
- Supplement):1196-5.
- Marensi V; Yap M; Qazi SS; Berthiaume LG; Leslie EM. Glutathione transferase P1 (GSTP1) is strongly associated with cellular membranes and modified by palmitate. Drug Metabolism Reviews. 2013. 45: 66
- Marensi V; Yap M.; Berthiaume, LG; Leslie EM. Characterizing the binding of placental glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) to the plasma membrane. Biochemistry and Cell Biology -Biochemie et biologie cellulaire, 2014. 585-585.
- PhD, Physiology, University of Alberta, Canada
- MSc, Biomedical Data, Universita’ degli studi di Verona, Italy
- BSc, Pharmacy, UNIVALI, Brazil