Christopher Heaphy PhD
Assistant Professor, Hematology & Medical Oncology
Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students)
650 Albany St | (617) 638-7536heaphyc@bu.edu
Sections
Hematology & Medical Oncology
Centers
BU-BMC Cancer Center
Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
Biography
Dr. Christopher Heaphy is a cancer biologist. Using a combination of tissue-based, cell-based, and molecular approaches, his lab conducts basic and translational research studies focused on elucidating the role of telomere alterations in the initiation and progression of human diseases, particularly cancer (e.g. prostate cancer, pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, breast cancer, sarcomas, gliomas). The long-term goal of his lab is focused on how detection of molecular alterations in the tumor or tumor microenvironment may be readily translated into the clinic to accurately predict cancer risk, prognosis, and potential response to targeted therapies.
Dr. Heaphy received his Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and did his postdoctoral training at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is currently affiliated with Boston Medical Center and is a member of the Boston University-Boston Medical Center (BU-BMC) Cancer Center.
Websites
Education
Biomedical Sciences, PhD, University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Biology/Biochemistry, BS, University of New Mexico
Publications
Pinto LM, Pailas A, Bondarchenko M, Sharma AB, Neumann K, Rizzo AJ, Jeanty C, Nicot N, Racca C, Graham MK, Naughton C, Liu Y, Chen CL, Meakin PJ, Gilbert N, Britton S, Meeker AK, Heaphy CM, Larminat F, Van Dyck E. DAXX promotes centromeric stability independently of ATRX by preventing the accumulation of R-loop-induced DNA double-stranded breaks. Nucleic Acids Res. 2024 Feb 09; 52(3):1136-1155. PMID: 38038252.
Published on 1/18/2024Mori JO, Keegan J, Flynn RL, Heaphy CM. Alternative lengthening of telomeres: mechanism and the pathogenesis of cancer. J Clin Pathol. 2024 Jan 18; 77(2):82-86. PMID: 37890990.
Published on 10/31/2023Mori JO, Elhussin I, Brennen WN, Graham MK, Lotan TL, Yates CC, De Marzo AM, Denmeade SR, Yegnasubramanian S, Nelson WG, Denis GV, Platz EA, Meeker AK, Heaphy CM. Prognostic and therapeutic potential of senescent stromal fibroblasts in prostate cancer. Nat Rev Urol. 2023 Oct 31. PMID: 37907729.
Published on 10/17/2023Ertunc O, Smearman E, Zheng Q, Hicks JL, Brosnan-Cashman JA, Jones T, Gomes-Alexandre C, Trabzonlu L, Meeker AK, De Marzo AM, Heaphy CM. Chromogenic detection of telomere lengths in situ aids the identification of precancerous lesions in the prostate. Prostate. 2024 Feb; 84(2):148-157. PMID: 37849074.
Published on 7/16/2023Neyaz A, Crotty R, Rickelt S, Pankaj A, Stojanova M, Michelakos TP, Sekigami Y, Kontos F, Parrack PH, Patil DT, Heaphy CM, Ferrone CR, Deshpande V. Predicting recurrence in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours: role of ARX and alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT). Histopathology. 2023 Oct; 83(4):546-558. PMID: 37455385.
Published on 4/6/2023Ertunc O, Smearman E, Zheng Q, Hicks JL, Brosnan-Cashman JA, Jones T, Gomes-Alexandre C, Trabzonlu L, Meeker AK, De Marzo AM, Heaphy CM. Chromogenic detection of telomere lengths in situ aids the identification of precancerous lesions in the prostate. bioRxiv. 2023 Apr 06. PMID: 37066381.
Published on 1/24/2023Heaphy CM, Singhi AD. Reprint of: The Diagnostic and Prognostic Utility of Incorporating DAXX, ATRX, and Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) to the Evaluation of Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors (PanNETs). Hum Pathol. 2023 Feb; 132:1-11. PMID: 36702689.
Published on 11/4/2022Jafari N, Chen A, Kolla M, Pompa IR, Qiu Y, Yu R, Llevenes P, Ennis CS, Mori J, Mahdaviani K, Halpin M, Gignac GA, Heaphy CM, Monti S, Denis GV. Novel plasma exosome biomarkers for prostate cancer progression in co-morbid metabolic disease. Adv Cancer Biol Metastasis. 2022 Dec; 6. PMID: 36644690.
Published on 10/26/2022Low JY, Ko M, Hanratty B, Patel RA, Bhamidipati A, Heaphy CM, Sayar E, Lee JK, Li S, De Marzo AM, Nelson WG, Gupta A, Yegnasubramanian S, Ha G, Epstein JI, Haffner MC. Genomic Characterization of Prostatic Basal Cell Carcinoma. Am J Pathol. 2023 Jan; 193(1):4-10. PMID: 36309102.
Published on 8/2/2022Hackeng WM, Assi HA, Westerbeke FHM, Brosens LAA, Heaphy CM. Prognostic and Predictive Biomarkers for Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors. Surg Pathol Clin. 2022 Sep; 15(3):541-554. PMID: 36049835.