Jared Barrott, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Research Interests
The Barrott Lab specifically focuses on rare cancers that form in the bone and soft tissues of the body. These cancers are called sarcomas and have a predilection for occurring in the younger years of life. While sarcomas are understudied, translating into a poor understanding of their biology, the genetic mutations are well defined and generally simple. Using the genetic information about sarcomas, we are designing improved targeted therapies to treat these types of cancer.
NIH Bibliography
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
Sample Publications
Kirkham M, Kalivas A, Fatema K, Luelling S, Dubansky BH, Dubansky B, Jones KB, Barrott JJ. Underlying Ossification Phenotype in a Murine Model of Metastatic Synovial Sarcoma. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Apr 10;21(7):2636.
Pashikanti S, Afrin F, Meldrum TC, Stegelmeier JL, Pavek A, Habashi YA, Fatema K, Barrott JJ. Quantifying fluorescently labeled ceramide levels in human sarcoma cell lines in response to a sphingomyelin synthase inhibitor. Methods Protoc. 2019 Aug 31;2(3):76.
Mika A, Luelling SE, Pavek A, Nartker C. Heyneman AL, Jones KB, Barrott JJ. Epigenetic Changes at the Birc5 Promoter Induced by YM155 in Synovial Sarcoma. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2019 Mar 24;8(3).
Potter JW, Jones KB, Barrott JJ. Sarcoma–The standard-bearer in cancer discovery. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology. 2018 Jun;126:1-5.
Barrott JJ, Kafchinski LA, Jin H, Potter JW, Kannan SD, Kennedy R, Mosbruger T, Wang WL, Tsai JW, Araujo DM, Liu T, Capecchi MR, Lazar AJ, Jones KB. Modeling synovial sarcoma metastasis in the mouse: PI3'-lipid signaling and inflammation. J Exp Med. 2016 Dec 12;213(13):2989-3005.
Bio
Dr. Barrott focuses on cancer pharmacology by understanding the biology behind cancer initiation and progression. He graduated from Duke University with a PhD degree in Pharmacology and Cancer Biology and trained at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. Originally from Tennessee, Dr. Barrott loves the mountains and outdoor activities that Idaho offers. The lab uses genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) to test novel therapies that target cancer’s vulnerabilities. Our interests include cellular high throughput drug screening, cellular biology, genetics, pharmacogenetics, research design, and data analysis. Some infectious diseases, especially in the field of virology. Cancer biology and pharmacology.
In the lab, we focus on rare sarcomas that typically arise in pediatric patients. These cancers of the connective tissues are commonly driven by chromosomal translocations, which are powerful epigenetic reprogrammers that can transform normal muscle, cartilage, and bone cells to become cancerous. I use biochemistry and genetics to understand the events that surround cellular transformation in order to better understand where the cancer cell is vulnerable. Using targeted therapies we aim to reduce the primary tumor and eliminate the metastatic burden while doing the least harm to normal tissues. I have three mouse models of sarcoma in which I can test various anti-cancer therapies to provide a rationale for clinical human testing. The three sarcomas that we study are synovial sarcoma, alveolar soft part sarcoma, and osteosarcoma. In these transgenic mice, we can control the spatial and temporal expression of oncogenes that drive the sarcomas.
