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T32 Surgical Oncology »  Faculty Mentors »  Translational »  Julie Saba, MD, PhD
Julie Saba, MD, PhD

Julie Saba, MD, PhD

  • Professor, Pediatrics

Contact Information

5700 Martin Luther King Jr Way, #2122B
Oakland, CA 94609
[email protected]
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Education

  Institution  
  Degree    
  Dept or School    
  End Date    
  • Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
  • Pediatric Fellowship
  • Hematology/Oncology
  • 07/1993
  • Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
  • Residency
  • Pediatrics
  • 07/1989
  • Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
  • M.A.
  • Creative Writing
  • 05/1986
  • University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
  • M.D.
  • Medicine
  • 05/1985
  • Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
  • B.S.
  • Natural Sciences
  • 05/1981
  • University of California, San Francisco
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training
  • 10/2020
  • Duke University, Durham, NC
  • Ph.D.
  • Biochemistry/Cell Biology
  • 05/1996

    • Biography

    physician-scientist
    (she/her/hers)

    Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lipid that plays important roles in development, vascular biology, immune cell trafficking, carcinogenesis and other physiological processes. S1P mediates its actions primarily by signaling through a family of G protein-coupled receptors. Our research group is investigating the role of S1P metabolism and signaling in development and disease using cellular and animal models, translational approaches and metabolomics profiling. Our recent findings demonstrate that defects in S1P metabolism underlie a novel childhood syndrome called sphingosine phosphate lyase insufficiency syndrome (SPLIS), which is characterized by defects of kidney, adrenal gland, neurological system, skin and immune system. We are now developing several therapeutic approaches to the treatment of SPLIS including gene therapy and cofactor supplementation.

    Awards & Honors

      Award  
      Confired By    
      Date    
  • Director, Swim Across America National Laboratory
  • Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland
  • 2015
  • John and Edna Beck Chair in Pediatric Cancer Research
  • Children's Hospital and Research Center Oakland
  • 2012

    • Mentoring Overview

    Dr. Saba is a leader in sphingolipid biochemistry investigating the role of S1P metabolism and signaling in development and disease, with expertise in molecular and cell biology, biochemistry, metabolomics, signal transduction, immunology and mouse models of colitis and colitis-associated cancer. Dr. Saba has over 20 years of experience as a mentor for 14 clinical fellows, 22 postdoctoral fellows and 24 graduate or undergraduate students. Her postdoctoral and medical fellows have either attained faculty positions at prominent universities, medical centers or pharmaceutical companies around the world.

    There are several quality training opportunities in preclinical research in the Saba laboratory pertaining to surgery or utilizing surgical procedures, including performance of survival surgery to implant osmotic pumps for drug delivery, performance of nephrectomy surgery, and post-euthanasia animal dissections.

    Research & Funding

    Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
    • Providing a cure for sphingosine phosphate lyase insufficiency syndrome (SPLIS) through adeno-associated viral mediated SGPL1 gene therapy
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      Apr 2022
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      Mar 2024
      Principal Investigator
    • SPLIS Patient Finding
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      Feb 2022
      -
      Feb 2023
      Principal Investigator
    • Endogenous and Dietary Sphingolipids as Modulators in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
      Sponsor:
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      Jun 2018
      -
      May 2022
      Principal Investigator
    • S1P Lyase in colon cancer
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      Jul 2007
      -
      Jan 2018
      Principal Investigator
    • Agilent 6490 Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer
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      Jun 2014
      -
      May 2015
      Principal Investigator
    • Sphingolipid Metabolism in Drosophila Development
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      Sep 2003
      -
      Feb 2015
      Principal Investigator
    • IVIS Spectrum small animal imaging system
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      Jun 2013
      -
      Jun 2014
      Principal Investigator
    • FASEB SRC on Lysophospholipd Mediators in Health and Disease
      Sponsor:
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      Aug 2011
      -
      Aug 2012
      Principal Investigator
    • Soy sphingadienes and related compounds in colon cancer chemoprevention and treat
      Sponsor:
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      Sep 2009
      -
      Jul 2012
      Principal Investigator
    • Endogenous sphingosine-1-phosphate as a radioprotector of intestinal tissues
      Sponsor:
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      Sep 2007
      -
      Feb 2011
      Principal Investigator
    • Sphingosine Phosphate:Regulation and Role in Cancer
      Sponsor:
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      Sep 1998
      -
      Feb 2011
      Principal Investigator
    • CERAMIDE MEDIATED SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION IN YEAST
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      Jul 1993
      -
      Jun 1998
      Principal Investigator

    Clinical Trials

    Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI

    Publications

    MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS FROM A TOTAL OF 122
    Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
    1. Joni C. Sedillo, Chansonette Badduke, Steven J. Schrodi, Vinod Scaria, Onur Emre Onat, Majid Alfadhel, Carole Ober, William Wentworth-Sheilds, Robert D. Steiner, Julie D. Saba. Prevalence estimate of sphingosine phosphate lyase insufficiency syndrome in worldwide and select populations. Genetics in Medicine Open. 2024 Jan 1; 2:100840. View in PubMed
    2. Ranjha Khan, Babak Oskouian, Joanna Y. Lee, Jeffrey B. Hodgin, Yingbao Yang, Gizachew Tassew, Julie D. Saba. AAV-SPL 2.0, a Modified Adeno-Associated Virus Gene Therapy Agent for the Treatment of Sphingosine Phosphate Lyase Insufficiency Syndrome. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2023 Oct 25; 24(21):15560. View in PubMed
    3. Pournasiri Z, Madani A, Nazarpack F, Sayer JA, Chavoshzadeh Z, Nili F, Tran P, Saba JD, Jamee M. Sphingosine phosphate lyase insufficiency syndrome: a systematic review. World J Pediatr. 2023 May; 19(5):425-437. View in PubMed
    4. Atreya KB, Saba JD. Neurological Consequences of Sphingosine Phosphate Lyase Insufficiency. Front Cell Neurosci. 2022; 16:938693. View in PubMed
    5. De la Garza-Rodea AS, Moore SA, Zamora-Pineda J, Hoffman EP, Mistry K, Kumar A, Strober JB, Zhao P, Suh JH, Saba JD. Sphingosine Phosphate Lyase Is Upregulated in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and Its Inhibition Early in Life Attenuates Inflammation and Dystrophy in Mdx Mice. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jul 08; 23(14). View in PubMed
    6. View All Publications

     

     
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