Skip to Main Content
STEPHEN H. SAFE, D.Phil.
Dr. Safe's Picture
Distinguished Professor

Director, Center for Environmental and Genetic Medicine, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M University System Health Science Center

Email: s-safe@tamu.edu

EDUCATION:

  • B.Sc., Queen's University, 1962
  • M.Sc., Queen's University, 1963
  • D. Phil., Oxford University, 1965

SPECIALTY AREAS:

  • Biochemistry
  • Toxicology

PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT:

  • Research Office, NRC - Canada
  • Professor, University of Guelph
  • Distinguished Professor, Texas A&M University
  • Sid Kyle Chair in Toxicology

HONORS:

  • NSERC Research Scholarship
  • Commonwealth Scholarship
  • Sigma Xi Award for Excellence in Research
  • Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal
  • Queen's University Quest Lecturer
  • Royal Society of Chemistry Award For Health, Safety or Environmental Chemistry
  • Distinguished Lecturer in Toxicology Seminar Series, University of Nebraska Medical School
  • Distinguished Achievement Award for Research, Texas A&M University
  • Burroughs Wellcdome Toxicology Scholar
  • MillerComm Lecturer, University of Illinois
  • University Lecturer
  • Distinguished Scientist Award, Sigma Xi, Texas A&M University
  • Eli Lilly Science and Society Lecturer, Indiana State University
  • Charles W. Gowdy Distinguished Lecturer, University of Western Ontario
  • Samuel H. Kuna Distinguished Lecturer, Rutgers University
  • Honorary D.Sc., University of Guelph
  • McEwen Lecturer, Queen's University
  • High Impact Environmental Research - Environmental Science and Technology
  • Highly Cited Research - Pharmacology and Ecology/Environment - ISI, Thomson Scientific

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES:

  • Chemical Institute of Canada
  • Canadian Federation of Biological Societies
  • American Association for Cancer Research
  • American Society for Mass Spectrometry
  • American College of Toxicology
  • American Chemical Society
  • The Chemical Society
  • Canadian Society for Toxicology
  • Sigma Xi
  • International Society for the Study of Xenobiotocs
  • Society of Toxicology

SELECTED RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS (last 2 years):

  • Chintharlapalli, S., Smith III, R., Samudio, I., Zhang, W., Safe, S.  1,1-Bis(3'-indolyl)-1-(p-substituted-phenyl)methanes induce peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma-mediated growth inhibition, transactivation and differentiation markers in colon cancer cells.  Cancer Res.  64:5994-6001, 2004. 
  • Abdelrahim, M. Smith III, R., Burghardt, R. and Safe, S.  Role of Sp proteins in regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor expression and proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells.  Cancer Res.  64, 6740-6749, 2004. 
  • Hong, J., Samudio, I., Liu, S., Abdelrahim, M. and Safe, S.  Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma-dependent activation of p21 in Panc-28 pancreatic cancer cells involves Sp1 and Sp4 proteins.  Endocrinology  145:5774-5785, 2004.
  • Fretland, A.J., Safe, S. and Hankinson, H.O.  Lack of antagonism of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin's (TCDD's) induction of cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) by the putative selective aryl hydrocarbon receptor modulator 6-alkyl-1,3,8-trichlorodibenzofuran (6-MCDF) in the mouse hepatoma cell line Hepa-1c1c7.  Chem.-Biol. Inter.  150:161-170, 2004.
  • Chen, C.C., Lee, W.R. and Safe, S.  Egr-1 is activated by 17beta-estradiol in MCF-7 cells by mitogen-activated protein kinase-dependent phosphorylation of ELK-1.  J. Cell Biochem.  93:1063-1074, 2004.
  • Wu, Q., Burghardt, R. and Safe, S.  Vitamin D-interacting protein 205 (DRIP205) coactivation of estrogen receptor alpha involves multiple domains of both proteins.  J. Biol. Chem.  279:53602-53612, 2004.
  • Purkey, H.E., Palaninathan, S.K., Kent, K.C., Smith, C., Safe, S.H., Sacchettini, J.C. and Kelly, J.W.  Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls selectively bind transthyretin in blood and inhibit amyloidogenesis:  rationalizing rodent PCB toxicity.  Chem. Biol.  11:1719-1728, 2004.
  • Safe, S.  Endocrine disruptors and human health:  is there a problem.  Toxicology  205:3-10, 2004.
  • Gross-Steinmeyer, K., Stapleton, P.L., Liu, F., Tracy, J.H., Bammler, T.K., Quigley, S.D., Farin, F.M., Buhler, D.R., Safe, S.H., Strom, S.C. and Eaton, D.L.  Phytochemical-induced changes in gene expression of carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes in cultured human primary hepatocytes.  Xenobiotics  34:619-632, 2004.
  • Lee, J.E., Kim, K., Sacchettini, J.C., Smith, C.V. and Safe, S.  Vitamin D-interacting protein 150 (DRIP150) coactivation of estrogen receptor alpha in ZR-75 breast cancer cells is independent of LXXLL motifs.  J. Biol. Chem.  280:8819-8830, 2005.
  • Safe, S.  Clinical correlates of environmental endocrine disruptors.  Trends Endocrinol. Metab.  16:139-144, 2005.
  • Contractor, R., Samudio, I.J., Estrov, Z., Harris, D., McCubrey, J.A., Safe, S.H., Andreeff, M. and Konopleva, M.  A novel ring-substituted diindolylmethane 1,1-bis[3'-(5-methoxyindolyl)]-1-(p-t-butylphenyl)methane inhibits ERK activation and induces apoptosis in acute myeloid leukemia.  Cancer Res.  65:2890-2898, 2005.
  • Kim, K., Barhoumi, R., Burghardt, R. and Safe, S.  Analysis of estrogen receptor alpha-Sp1 interactions in breast cancer cells by fluorescence resonance energy transfer.  Mol. Endocrinol.  19:843-854, 2005.
  • Abdelrahim, M., Lui, S. and Safe, S.  Induction of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-induced stress genes in Panc-1 pancreatic cancer cells is dependent on Sp proteins.  J. Biol. Chem.  280:16508-16513, 2005.
  • Chintharlapalli, S., Papineni, S., Konopleva, M., Andreeff, M., Samudio, I. and Safe, S.  2-Cyano-3,12-dioxo-olean-1,9-dien-28-oic acid (CDDO) and related esters inhibit growth of colon cancer cells through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma-dependent and -independent pathways.  Mol. Pharmacol.  68:119-128, 2005.
  • Chintharlapalli, S., Burghardt, R., Papineni, S., Ramaiah, S., Yoon, K. and Safe, S.  Activation of Nur77 by selected 1,1-bis(3'-indolyl)-1-(p-substitutedphenyl)methanes induces apoptosis through nuclear pathways.  J. Biol. Chem.  280:24903-24914, 2005.
  • Abdelrahim, M. and Safe, S.H.  Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors decrease vascular endothelial growth factor expression in colon cancer cells by enhanced degradation of Sp1 and Sp4 proteins.  Mol. Pharmacol.  68:317-329, 2005.
  • Calabro, P., Samudio, I., Safe, S.H., Willerson, J.T. and Yeh, E.T.  Inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced endothelial cell activation by a new class of PPARgamma agonists:  an in vitro study.  J. Vascular Res.  42:509-516, 2005.
  • Safe, S.  Clinical correlates of environmental endocrine disruptors.  Trends Endocrinol. Metab.  16:139-144, 2005.
  • Vanderlaag, K., Samudio, I., Burghardt, R., Barhoumi, R. and Safe,S.  Inhibition of breast cancer cell growth and induction of cell death by 1,1-bis(3'-indolyl)methane (DIM) and 5,5'-dibromoDIM.  Cancer Lett.  in press, 2005.
  • Safe, S. and Abdelrahim, M.  Sp family transcription factors and their role in cancer.  Eur. J. Cancer  in press, 2005.
  • Zhang, S., Li, X., Burghardt, R., Smith III, R. and Safe, S.  Role of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) in insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)-induced responses in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.  J. Mol. Endocrinol.  in press, 2005.
  • Samudio, I., Konopleva, M., Hail, Jr., N., Shi, Y-X., McQueen, T., Hsu, T., Evans, R., Honda, T., Gribble, G.W., Sporn, M., Gilbert, H.F., Safe, S. and Andreeff, M.  2-Cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9-diene-28-imidazolide (CDDO-Im) directly targets mitochondrial glutathione to induce apoptosis in pancreatic cancer.  J. Biol. Chem.  in press, 2005.
  • Chintharlapalli, S., Papineni, S., Baek, S.J., Liu, S. and Safe, S.H.  1,1-Bis(3'indolyl)-1-(p-phenylsubstituted)methanes are Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonists but decrease HCT-116 colon cancer cell survival through receptor-independent activation of early growth response-1 and NAG-1.  Mol. Pharmacol.  in press, 2005