Faouzi Lab

Introduction

The Faouzi Laboratory was established in January 2021 at The Queen’s Medical Center. The lab is headed by Malika Faouzi, Ph.D. and located within the University of Hawaii Tower on the campus of The Queen’s Medical Center.

The Science

Dr. Faouzi’s dual training in cell physiology and cancer biology allowed her to acquire unique skill sets in biophysical, pharmacological, cell and molecular biology approaches elucidating cell signaling relevant to cancer progression and inflammatory signaling pathways. Her work led to the original identification of Orai3 channels as a central mechanism of calcium homeostasis in breast cancer cells that promotes cell proliferation and survival through the regulation of the oncogene c-myc and tumor suppressor p53. Subsequent training as a postdoc and junior scientist lead her into the drug screening field as it relates to immune cell function. She handled both natural products and synthetic chemical libraries. Her research findings prompted her interest to investigate the importance of calcium signaling proteins in modulating cancer progression and inflammatory processes, from their regulation and expression to target drug development.

Faouzi Lab Members

Malika Faouzi, PhD

Principal Investigator
Tel: 1 (808) 691-7926
Fax: 1 (808) 691-7939
mfaouzi@queens.org

Former Lab Members

Ram Neupane, PhD

Postdoctoral Scientist
(2022)

Selected Publications

Acidic cannabinoids suppress pro-inflammatory cytokine release by blocking Store-Operated Calcium Entry

Faouzi M., Wakano C., Monteilh-Zoller M.K., Neupane R.P., Starkus J.G., Neupane J.B., Cullen A.J., Johnson B.E., Fleig A., Penner R.
Function 3(4):zqac033 (2022).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/function/zqac033 PMID: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35910331/

Areca nut extracts mobilize calcium and release pro-inflammatory cytokines from various immune cells

Fourgeaud, L., Dvorak, C., Faouzi, M., Starkus, J., Sahdeo, S., Wang, Q., Lord, B., Coate, H., Taylor, N., He, Y., Qin, N., Wickenden, A., Carruthers, N., Lovenberg, T. W., Penner, R., & Bhattacharya, A.
European Journal of Pharmacology 853, 299–307 (2019).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejphar.2019.03.043. PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30965058

Pharmacology of JNJ-28583113: A novel TRPM2 antagonist

Inhibition of TRPM7 suppresses cell proliferation of colon adenocarcinoma in vitro and induces hypomagnesemia in vivo without affecting azoxymethane-induced early colon cancer in mice

Faouzi, M., Neupane, R. P., Yang, J., Williams, P., & Penner, R.
Scientific Reports 8(1), 1075 (2018).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-18996-2. PMCID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5773534Huang, J., Furuya, H., Faouzi, M., Zhang, Z., Monteilh-Zoller, M., Kawabata, K. G., Horgen, F. D., Kawamori, T., Penner, R., & Fleig, A.
Cell Communication and Signaling: CCS 15(1), 30 (2017).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12964-017-0187-9. PMCID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5558780

The TRPM7 channel kinase regulates store-operated calcium entry

Faouzi, M., Kilch, T., Horgen, F. D., Fleig, A., & Penner, R.
The Journal of Physiology 595(10), 3165–3180 (2017).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1113/JP274006. PMCID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5430208

State-dependent blocking mechanism of Kv1.3 channels by the antimycobacterial drug clofazimine

Faouzi, M., Starkus, J., & Penner, R.
British Journal of Pharmacology 172(21), 5161–5173 (2015).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.13283. PMCID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4687807

TRPM2

Faouzi, M., & Penner, R.
Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology 222, 403–426 (2014).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54215-2_16. PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24756715

N-Myc-induced up-regulation of TRPM6/TRPM7 channels promotes neuroblastoma cell proliferation

Zhang, Z., Faouzi, M., Huang, J., Geerts, D., Yu, H., Fleig, A., & Penner, R.
Oncotarget 5(17), 7625–7634 (2014).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.2283. PMCID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4202149

ORAI3 silencing alters cell proliferation and cell cycle progression via c-myc pathway in breast cancer cells

Faouzi, M., Kischel, P., Hague, F., Ahidouch, A., Benzerdjeb, N., Sevestre, H., Penner, R., & Ouadid-Ahidouch, H.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1833(3), 752–760 (2013).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamcr.2012.12.009. PMID: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23266555