Harvey Herschman
Distinguished Professor, Biological Chemistry
Distinguished Professor, Molecular & Medical Pharmacology
Director, Small Animal Imaging Shared Resource, JCCC Basic Research
Member, ACCESS Program: Dept. of Biological Chemistry, JCCC Signal Transduction and Therapeutics Program Area, Neuroscience Graduate Program, Cancer Molecular Imaging

The role of prostaglandins and cycloxygenases in nomal physiology and disease; applications of molecular imaging

Work Email Address:  hherschman@mednet.ucla.edu

Work Address:
Boyer Hall (MBI)
Boyer Hall
341 MBI


Phone Numbers:
(310) 825-8735

Research Interest:

Dr. Herschman’s laboratory studies how extracellular stimuli elicit changes in cell growth and differentiation, as a result of induced transcription of "primary response" genes. One gene discovered by Dr. Herschman and his colleagues encodes a second form of cyclooxygenase (COX-2), the rate limiting enzyme in prostaglandin production and the target of a new generation of anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic and analgesic pharmaceutical agents. The laboratory also identified synaptotagmin 4 as a depolarization-induced neuronal gene; a candidate for a mediator of depolarization-induced synaptic plasticity. Lastly, the laboratory has merged principles of cell biology, molecular biology and molecular imaging technologies to develop procedures that repetitively, non-invasively and quantitatively image reporter gene expression in intact, living animals. Current research interests center on improved therapies for colorectal cancer, and on the role of the COX-2 gene in the progression of a variety of epithelial cancers.

Dr. Herschman is Distinguished Professor in both the Department of Biological Chemistry and the Department of Molecular and Medical pharmacology. He holds the Ralph and Marjorie Crump Endowed Chair in Molecular Imaging. Dr. Herschman is the Director for Basic Research for the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Principal Investigator for the UCLA in vivo Cellular and Molecular Imaging Center, a National Cancer Institute supported center for non-invasive imaging studies of cancer. He is a member of the Molecular Biology Institute, the CNSI and the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA.

Selected Publications:

Machado Hidevaldo B, Vician Linda J, Herschman Harvey R The MAPK pathway is required for depolarization-induced . Journal of neuroscience research. 2008; 86(3): 593-602.
Weber Wolfgang A, Czernin Johannes, Phelps Michael E, Herschman Harvey R Technology Insight: novel imaging of molecular targets is an emerging area crucial to the development of targeted drugs.. Nature clinical practice. Oncology. 2008; 5(1): 44-54.
Ishikawa Tomo-o, Herschman Harvey R Two inducible, functional cyclooxygenase-2 genes are present in the rainbow trout genome.. Journal of cellular biochemistry. 2007; 102(6): 1486-92.
Sui Guodong, Lee Cheng-Chung, Kamei Ken-Ichiro, Li Hua-Jung, Wang Jin-Yi, Wang Jun, Herschman Harvey R, Tseng Hsian-Rong A microfluidic platform for sequential ligand labeling and cell binding analysis.. Biomedical microdevices. 2007; 9(3): 301-5.
Li Hua-Jung, Everts Maaike, Pereboeva Larisa, Komarova Svetlana, Idan Anat, Curiel David T, Herschman Harvey R Adenovirus tumor targeting and hepatic untargeting by a coxsackie/adenovirus receptor ectodomain anti-carcinoembryonic antigen bispecific adapter.. Cancer research. 2007; 67(11): 5354-61.
Koya Richard C, Kimura Takahiro, Ribas Antoni, Rozengurt Nora, Lawson Gregory W, Faure-Kumar Emmanuelle, Wang He-jing, Herschman Harvey, Kasahara Noriyuki, Stripecke Renata Lentiviral vector-mediated autonomous differentiation of mouse bone marrow cells into immunologically potent dendritic cell vaccines.. Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy. 2007; 15(5): 971-80.
Ishikawa Tomo-O, Griffin Kevin J P, Banerjee Utpal, Herschman Harvey R The zebrafish genome contains two inducible, functional cyclooxygenase-2 genes.. Biochemical and biophysical research communications. 2007; 352(1): 181-7.
Su Helen, Bodenstein Claudia, Dumont Rebecca A, Seimbille Yann, Dubinett Steven, Phelps Michael E, Herschman Harvey, Czernin Johannes, Weber Wolfgang Monitoring tumor glucose utilization by positron emission tomography for the prediction of treatment response to epidermal growth factor receptor kinase inhibitors.. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. 2006; 12(19): 5659-67.
Ishikawa Tomo-O, Jain Naveen K, Taketo Makoto M, Herschman Harvey R Imaging cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) gene expression in living animals with a luciferase knock-in reporter gene.. Molecular imaging and biology : MIB : the official publication of the Academy of Molecular Imaging. 2006; 8(3): 171-87.
Xu Zheng, Choudhary Shilpa, Voznesensky Olga, Mehrotra Meenal, Woodard Monica, Hansen Marc, Herschman Harvey, Pilbeam Carol Overexpression of COX-2 in human osteosarcoma cells decreases proliferation and increases apoptosis.. Cancer research. 2006; 66(13): 6657-64.
Kamei Ken-ichiro, Ishikawa Tomo-o, Herschman Harvey R Transgenic mouse for conditional, tissue-specific Cox-2 overexpression.. Genesis (New York, N.Y. : 2000). 2006; 44(4): 177-82.
Ishikawa Tomo-O, Herschman Harvey R Conditional knockout mouse for tissue-specific disruption of the cyclooxygenase-2 (Cox-2) gene.. Genesis (New York, N.Y. : 2000). 2006; 44(3): 143-9.
Czernin Johannes, Weber Wolfgang A, Herschman Harvey R Molecular imaging in the development of cancer therapeutics.. Annual review of medicine. 2006; 57(3): 99-118.
Lu Gang, Kang Young Jun, Han Jiahuai, Herschman Harvey R, Stefani Enrico, Wang Yibin TAB-1 modulates intracellular localization of p38 MAP kinase and downstream signaling.. The Journal of biological chemistry. 2006; 281(9): 6087-95.
Chikazu Daichi, Li Xiaodong, Kawaguchi Hiroshi, Sakuma Yoko, Voznesensky Olga S, Adams Douglas J, Xu Manshan, Hoshi Kazuto, Katavic Vedran, Herschman Harvey R, Raisz Lawrence G, Pilbeam Carol C Bone morphogenetic protein 2 induces cyclo-oxygenase 2 in osteoblasts via a Cbfa1 binding site: role in effects of bone morphogenetic protein 2 in vitro and in vivo. 2002.. Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. 2005; 20(10): 1888-98.
Yaghoubi Shahriar S, Barrio Jorge R, Namavari Mohammad, Satyamurthy Nagichettiar, Phelps Michael E, Herschman Harvey R, Gambhir Sanjiv S Imaging progress of herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase suicide gene therapy in living subjects with positron emission tomography.. Cancer gene therapy. 2005; 12(3): 329-39.
Vician Linda J, Xu Guoping, Liu Wei, Feldman Jonathan D, Machado Hidevaldo B, Herschman Harvey R MAPKAP kinase-2 is a primary response gene induced by depolarization in PC12 cells and in brain.. Journal of neuroscience research. 2004; 78(3): 315-28.
Liang Qianwa, Yamamoto Masato, Curiel David T, Herschman Harvey R Noninvasive imaging of transcriptionally restricted transgene expression following intratumoral injection of an adenovirus in which the COX-2 promoter drives a reporter gene.. Molecular imaging and biology : MIB : the official publication of the Academy of Molecular Imaging. 2004; 6(6): 395-404.
Liang Qianwa, Dmitriev Igor, Kashentseva Elena, Curiel David T, Herschman Harvey R Noninvasive of adenovirus tumor retargeting in living subjects by a soluble adenovirus receptor-epidermal growth factor (sCAR-EGF) fusion protein.. Molecular imaging and biology : MIB : the official publication of the Academy of Molecular Imaging. 2004; 6(6): 385-94.
Singh Vinita, Miranda Tina Branscombe, Jiang Wei, Frankel Adam, Roemer Martha E, Robb Victoria A, Gutmann David H, Herschman Harvey R, Clarke Steven, Newsham Irene F DAL-1/4.1B tumor suppressor interacts with protein arginine N-methyltransferase 3 (PRMT3) and inhibits its ability to methylate substrates in vitro and in vivo.. Oncogene. 2004; 23(47): 7761-71.
Herschman Harvey R PET reporter genes for noninvasive imaging of gene therapy, cell tracking and transgenic analysis.. Critical reviews in oncology/hematology. 2004; 51(3): 191-204.
Ferguson Gregory D, Herschman Harvey R, Storm Daniel R Reduced anxiety and depression-like behavior in synaptotagmin IV (-/-) mice.. Neuropharmacology. 2004; 47(4): 604-11.
Machado Hidevaldo B, Liu Wei, Vician Linda J, Herschman Harvey R Synaptotagmin IV overexpression inhibits depolarization-induced exocytosis in PC12 cells.. Journal of neuroscience research. 2004; 76(3): 334-41.
Ferguson Gregory D, Wang Hongbing, Herschman Harvey R, Storm Daniel R Altered hippocampal short-term plasticity and associative memory in synaptotagmin IV (-/-) mice.. Hippocampus. 2004; 14(8): 964-74.
Chen Ian Y, Wu Joseph C, Min Jung-Jun, Sundaresan Gobalakrishnan, Lewis Xiaoman, Liang Qianwa, Herschman Harvey R, Gambhir Sanjiv S Micro-positron emission tomography imaging of cardiac gene expression in rats using bicistronic adenoviral vector-mediated gene delivery.. Circulation. 2004; 109(11): 1415-20.
Herschman Harvey R Molecular imaging: a view from the inside.. Journal of nuclear cardiology : official publication of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. 2004; 11(2): 210-4.
Herschman Harvey R Noninvasive imaging of reporter gene expression in living subjects.. Advances in cancer research. 2004; 92(2): 29-80.
Smith Jeffrey B, Herschman Harvey R Targeted identification of glucocorticoid-attenuated response genes: in vitro and in vivo models.. Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society. 2004; 1(3): 275-81.
Symensma Tonia L, Martinez-Guzman DeeAnn, Jia Qingmei, Bortz Eric, Wu Ting-Ting, Rudra-Ganguly Nandini, Cole Steve, Herschman Harvey, Sun Ren COX-2 induction during murine gammaherpesvirus 68 infection leads to enhancement of viral gene expression.. Journal of virology. 2003; 77(23): 12753-63.
Herschman Harvey R, Talley John J, DuBois Raymond Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) as a target for therapy and noninvasive imaging.. Molecular imaging and biology : MIB : the official publication of the Academy of Molecular Imaging. 2003; 5(5): 286-303.
Herschman Harvey R Molecular imaging: looking at problems, seeing solutions.. Science (New York, N.Y.). 2003; 302(5645): 605-8.
Herschman Harvey R Micro-PET imaging and small animal models of disease.. Current opinion in immunology. 2003; 15(4): 378-84.
Nguyen Julie T, Machado Hidevaldo, Herschman Harvey R Repetitive, noninvasive imaging of cyclooxygenase-2 gene expression in living mice.. Molecular imaging and biology : MIB : the official publication of the Academy of Molecular Imaging. 2003; 5(4): 248-56.
Liu Wei, Feldman Jonathan D, Machado Hidevaldo B, Vician Linda J, Herschman Harvey R Expression of depolarization-induced immediate early gene proteins in PC12 cells.. Journal of neuroscience research. 2003; 72(6): 670-8.
 Michael E. Phelps, Director  Anna Wu, Co-Director  Arion Chatziioannou   Johannes Czernin  Thomas Graeber   Harvey Herschman  Henry Huang  Raphael Levine  Huiying Li  Caius Radu  Kwang-fu Shen  Nagichettiar Satyamurthy  David Stout  Hyongsok Soh  Hsian-Rong Tseng  Michael Van Dam  Christine Wu
Chatziioannou Lab Graeber Lab Li Lab Radu Lab Soh Lab Stout Lab Tseng Lab Van Dam Lab Wu Lab
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