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M. Ronald Glaser PhD

M. Ronald Glaser PhD
ProfessorCollege of Medicineronald.glaser@osumc.edu
120C Behavioral Med Res Inst 460 Medical Center Drive Columbus OH 43210
Phone:614-293-0178Fax: 614-292-1011
  • Cancer Control
  • Viral Oncology

Research Description

Ronald Glaser is a tumor virologist who has studied Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) and cancer for several years. He has focused primarily on viral latency and the replication of EBV in epithelial cells in order to help understand the role that EBV plays in the etiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). He also works closely with Dr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser studying the interactions between the central nervous system, the immune system and the endocrine system, how stress modulates these systems and the health implications of these interactions. His work has focused on stress and herpesvirus latency, vaccine responses, wound healing and the role that stress may play as a co-factor in the etiology and progression of malignant disease.

Transinstitutional Work

In a study published in Cancer Research (Eric Yang, Anil Sood, Min Chen, Yang Li, Timothy Eubank, Clay Marsh, Scott Jewell, Nicholas Flavahan, Carl Morrison, Peir-En Yeh, Stanley Lemeshow, and Ronald Glaser, Cancer Research, 2006), we showed that nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tumor cells express beta-adrenergic receptors. When two NPC tumor cell lines were treated with norepinephrine or epinephrine, two stress hormones produced by activation of the sympathetic-adrenal medullary axis, the production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2, MMP-9 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was up-regulated. We also showed that this had functional implications for tumor progression and that tumor cells in NPC biopsies express beta adrenergic receptors; these data suggest clinical relevance. In a follow-up study (Eric Yang, Seung-jae Kim, Elise Donovan, Min Chen, Amy Gross, Jeanette Webster-Marketon, Sanford Barsky and Ronald Glaser, Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 2009), we found that the C8161 melanoma cell line also expresses beta-adrenergic receptors. When treated with the same stress hormones, VEGF was up-regulated along with two cytokines that play a role in the growth of melanoma tumors in vivo, IL-6 and IL-8. We have also shown that 18 out of 20 melanoma biopsies (both primary and metastatic) express the beta-adrenergic receptors, again supporting the possibility that these data may have clinical relevance. Similar results were obtained with multiple myeloma tumor cell lines as well. (Eric Yang, Elise Donovan, Don Benson, and Ronald Glaser, Brain, Behavior and Immunity, 2008) This exciting line of research shows that stress hormones can modulate and enhance tumor progression of distinctly different tumor types, such as carcinomas and melanomas. It is clear that other studies need to be done on other tumor cell types as well, but the applicability of using beta-blocker type drugs in patients whose tumors express beta-adrenergic receptors in a clinical setting may be worth exploring.

Current Publications

  • Jaremka LM, Fagundes CP, Peng J, Bennett JM, Glaser R, Malarkey WB, Kiecolt-Glaser JKLoneliness Promotes Inflammation During Acute Stress.Psychol Sci in press 4/29/2013
  • Fagundes CP, Glaser R, Malarkey WB, Kiecolt-Glaser JKChildhood adversity and herpesvirus latency in breast cancer survivors.Health Psychol 32(3) 337-44 3/1/2013
  • Johannesdottir SA, Schmidt M, Phillips G, Glaser R, Yang EV, Blumenfeld M, Lemeshow SUse of ß-blockers and mortality following ovarian cancer diagnosis: a population-based cohort study.BMC Cancer 13 85 2/22/2013
  • Bennett JM, Glaser R, Andridge RR, Peng J, Malarkey WB, Kiecolt-Glaser JKLong lasting effects of smoking: breast cancer survivors' inflammatory responses to acute stress differ by smoking history.Psychoneuroendocrinology 38(2) 179-87 2/1/2013
  • Hosang GM, Johnson SL, Kiecolt-Glaser J, Di Gregorio MP, Lambert DR, Bechtel MA, Hearne DW, Herron JB, Glaser RGender specific association of child abuse and adult cardiovascular disease in a sample of patients with Basal Cell Carcinoma.Child Abuse Negl in press 1/21/2013
  • Fagundes CP, Glaser M, Hwang BS, Malarkey WB, Kiecolt-Glaser JKStressful early life experiences and immune dysregulation across the lifespan.Brain Behav Immun 27(1) 8-12 1/1/2013
  • Fagundes CP, Glaser M, Kiecolt-Glaser JKStressful early life experiences and immune dysregulation across the lifespan.Brain Behav Immun 27(1) 8-12 1/1/2013
  • Jaremka LM, Fagundes CP, Glaser R, Bennett JM, Malarkey WB, Kiecolt-Glaser JKLoneliness predicts pain, depression, and fatigue: Understanding the role of immune dysregulation.Psychoneuroendocrinology in press 12/26/2012
  • Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Christian LM, Andridge R, Hwang BS, Malarkey WB, Belury M, Emery CF, Glaser MAdiponectin, leptin, and yoga practice.Physiol Behav 107(5) 809-13 12/5/2012
  • Gouin JP, Glaser R, Malarkey WB, Beversdorf D, Kiecolt-Glaser JKChildhood abuse and inflammatory responses to daily stressors.Ann Behav Med 44(2) 287-92 10/1/2012
  • Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Belury MA, Andridge R, Malarkey WB, Hwang BS, Glaser ROmega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation in healthy middle-aged and older adults: a randomized controlled trial.Brain Behav Immun 26(6) 988-95 8/1/2012
  • Bennett JM, Glaser M, Malarkey WB, Beversdorf DQ, Peng J, Kiecolt-Glaser JKInflammation and reactivation of latent herpesviruses in older adults.Brain Behav Immun 26(5) 739-46 7/1/2012
  • Fagundes CP, Glaser R, Johnson SL, Andridge RR, Yang EV, Di Gregorio MP, Chen M, Lambert DR, Jewell SD, Bechtel MA, Hearne DW, Herron JB, Kiecolt-Glaser JKBasal cell carcinoma: stressful life events and the tumor environment.Arch Gen Psychiatry 69(6) 618-26 6/1/2012
  • Fagundes CP, Glaser R, Alfano CM, Bennett JM, Povoski SP, Lipari AM, Agnese DM, Yee LD, Carson WE 3rd, Farrar WB, Malarkey WB, Kiecolt-Glaser JKFatigue and herpesvirus latency in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.Brain Behav Immun 26(3) 394-400 3/1/2012
  • Gouin JP, Malarkey WB, Beversdorf D, Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Glaser MChronic stress, daily stressors, and circulating inflammatory markers.Health Psychol 31(2) 264-8 3/1/2012
  • Glaser M, Goropevšek A, Kavalar R, Glaser AHepatosplenic gamma-delta T-cell lymphoma in a female patient after delivery.Hematol Rep 4(1) e4 1/2/2012
  • Fagundes CP, Bennett JM, Alfano CM, Glaser R, Povoski SP, Lipari AM, Agnese DM, Yee LD, Carson WE, Farrar WB, Malarkey WB, Chen M, Kiecolt-Glaser JKSocial support and socioeconomic status interact to predict Epstein-Barr virus latency in women awaiting diagnosis or newly diagnosed with breast cancer.Health Psychol 31(1) 11-9 1/1/2012
  • Christian LM, Iams JD, Porter K, Glaser MInflammatory responses to trivalent influenza virus vaccine among pregnant women.Vaccine 29(48) 8982-7 11/8/2011
  • Christian LM, Glaser M, Porter K, Malarkey WB, Beversdorf D, Kiecolt-Glaser JKPoorer self-rated health is associated with elevated inflammatory markers among older adults.Psychoneuroendocrinology 36(10) 1495-504 11/1/2011
  • Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Belury MA, Andridge R, Malarkey WB, Glaser ROmega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation and anxiety in medical students: a randomized controlled trial.Brain Behav Immun 25(8) 1725-34 11/1/2011
  • Lemeshow S, Sørensen HT, Phillips G, Yang EV, Antonsen S, Riis AH, Lesinski GB, Jackson R, Glaser Rβ-Blockers and survival among Danish patients with malignant melanoma: a population-based cohort study.Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 20(10) 2273-9 10/1/2011