Medical Project

Curt Balch, PhD, Curriculum Vitae

Research Scientist, Biomedical Writer, Consultant

4145B Lake Park Blvd.

Indianapolis, IN 46227-3971

317-***-****, acdd00@r.postjobfree.com

linkedin.com/in/curtbalch

bioscienceadvising.com

cbsaimtt.com/members

ronininstitute.org/research-scholars

Education

POSTGRADUATE: Postdoctoral training in biochemistry and molecular biology

• Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, University of Cincinnati

College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH

• Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Medical Sciences Program,

Indiana University School of Medicine, Bloomington, IN

GRADUATE: Ph.D., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology University of Cincinnati College of

Medicine, Cincinnati, OH

UNDERGRADUATE: Bachelor of Science, Cellular and Molecular Biology,

• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Employment

October 2013- Proprietor, BioScience Advising, a web-based scientific consulting entity

present (www.bioscienceadvising.com)

2004 - 2013 Research Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Indiana

University School of Medicine, Bloomington, IN

2003 - 2013 Biotechnology Consultant, Edvotek, Inc., Rockville, MD

1999 - 2003 Senior Scientist, Edvotek, Inc., Rockville, MD

1997 - 1999 Biochemist, Trevigen, Inc., Gaithersburg, MD

Professional Organizations/Associations

2013- present Member, Complex Biological Systems Alliance (cbsaimtt.com)

2013-present Research Scholar, Ronin Institute (ronininstitute.org)

2013-present Member, American Medical Writers of America (www.amwa.org)

2013-present Member, Clinical Epigenetics Group (linkedin.com/groups?gid=2656766)

Member, Cancer and Metabolism Group (linkedin.com/groups/Metabolism-Cancer)

2013-present

2005-present Active Member, American Association for Cancer Research (www.aacr.org)

2005 - 2013 Associate Member, Indiana University Simon Cancer Center (cancer.iu.edu)

2004-present Member, Epigenetics Society (es.landesbioscience.com)

Teaching Experience and Mentoring

Formal classroom teaching

2006-2012 Problem-based medical learning, Medical Sciences Program, Indiana University School of

Medicine

Sept. 2005 Epigenetics graduate level course, Department of Biology, Indiana University

1999-2003 Graduate level biotechnology laboratory (Georgetown University, Washington, DC)

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Balch CV, March 2014

Research mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students

Thesis Committee Service

• Nicole Nickerson (Ph.D., May 2012)

• John S. Montgomery (M.S., February 2007), currently employed at Eli Lilly, Inc., Indianapolis, IN

• Meng Li, M.S., current employment, Bioinformatics Specialist, Norris Medical Library, University of

Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Administrative, Research, and Computing Skills

Administrative skills

• Coordination of collaborations between diverse specialties (e.g., computational biology, clinical trials,

etc.) between geographically distant investigators.

• Research mentoring of persons with minimal (or no) research experience.

• Proficiency in managing groups to contribute intellectually and provide research direction toward

accomplishing specific goals (manuscript publication or research proposal submissions)

Research skills

• Ability to assimilate and interpret scientific data from multiple sources for coherent communication to

the research community.

• Strong proficiency in written and oral communication of scientific concepts to highly diverse audiences.

• Knowledge of state-of-the-art laboratory methods, including next-generation sequencing, high-

throughput quantitative PCR.

• Wide knowledge of cancer biology, with specialization in epigenetics, “cancer stem cells,” and signal

transduction.

Computing skills

• Proficient using Mac and Windows operating systems.

• Skilled with the use of word processing software (MS Word, EndNote)

• Adept with Microsoft Software (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

• Fundamental knowledge of bioinformatics and biostatistics, including integration (e.g.,

pathway/network analysis) of specific molecular phenomena, including epigenetic modifications, gene

expression and DNA copy number variation. Basic knowledge of “Bioconductor”, “R”, and Partek

Genomic Suite.

Professional Service

1) University Service

2008 – 2012 Member, Interdepartmental Flow Cytometry Oversight Committee, Indiana

University.

2) NIH Review Study Sections

March 2012 Member (ad hoc), National Cancer Institute Special Emphasis Panel,

RFA-CA-11-012, Provocative Questions in Cancer Research.

2005 - 2011 Member (ad hoc), Review Committee, National Cancer Institute Special Emphasis

Panel, PAR-06-313, “Small Grants in Cancer Prevention” (Dr. Irina Gordienko,

Scientific Review Officer).

3) National Cancer Institute Educational Outreach

2008 – 2013 Member, Educational Outreach Committee, Integrative Cancer Biology Program,

National Cancer Institute (Dr. Betty Tarnowski, Chair)

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Balch CV, March 2014

4) Journal Review (ad hoc)

• International Journal of Cancer

• Pharmacological Genomics

• European Journal of Cancer

• Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology

• Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

• Cancer

• Cancer Research

5) Journal Review (invited)

• BMC Medical Genomics

• Epigenomics

• Journal of Urology

• Expert Opinion in Medical Diagnostics

Other Professional Activities

1) University seminars (invited)

• Department of Biochemistry, Indiana University, “Epigenetic Therapies for Cancer,” May 2004.

• Department of Biology, Epigenetics Subgroup, Indiana University, “Epigenetic Therapies for

Cancer,” April 2006.

2) International seminar (invited)

• Biomarkers and DNA Methylation in Ovarian Cancer, “DNMT and HDAC Inhibitor Treatment of

Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines,” October 2004, Aberfoyle, Scotland, UK.

3) National/regional conference seminars (invited)

• Indiana-Illinois End Epithelial Cancer Coalition Workshop,“HDAC Inhibitor Anti-Ovarian Cancer

Effects,” June 11, 2012. University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN.

• Regional Meeting On The Role Of Epigenetics In Cancer: Mechanisms and Applications In

Therapy “Differential Transcriptional Regulation of MicroRNAs, in Ovarian Cancer Cells, by Two

Distinct Hydroxamic Acid Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors,” November 9, 2009, Ohio State

University, Columbus, OH.

• Midwest Regional Molecular Endocrinology Conference 2008, “A Novel HDAC Inhibitor Effects

on MicroRNA Expression,” May 2008, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN.

• 2007 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting. “Novel Mechanisms of

Ovarian Cancer Growth Inhibition, via MicroRNA Downregulation and Oxidative Damage, by a

Rationally Designed Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor,” April 16, 2007, Los Angeles, CA.

Research Support/Interdisciplinary Research

Research support initiated

1) Title: Interrogating Epigenetic Changes in Cancer Genomes (Integrated Cancer Biology Program,,

Project Leader, KP Nephew, Principle Investigator, Tim H-M. Huang).

Organization: National Cancer Institute

Award number: U54 CA113001

Role on Project: Research Scientist

Period of Award: 10/01/2004 – 10/01/2014

Summary: The objective of this proposal is to utilize mathematical models to explore chemotherapy-

related de novo ovarian cancer DNA methylation, in linkage with the development of

chemotherapy resistance.

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Balch CV, March 2014

2) Title: DNA Methylation in Ovarian Cancer (Principle Investigator, KP Nephew)

Organization: National Cancer Institute

Award number: 5R01CA085289-05A1

Role on Project: Research Scientist

Period of Award: 2/28/2008 – 2/28/2014

Summary: The objective of this proposal is to extensively characterize patterns of DNA methylation and

histone modifications in ovarian cancer-initiating cells (OCICs), including the possible in vivo

reversal of such patterns, by epigenetic therapies, in mouse disease models.

Completed research support

1) Title: Epigenetic Targeting of Ovarian Tumor Stem Cells In Vivo

Organization: American Cancer Society

Award number: Institutional Research Grant #IRG-84-002-25

Role on Project: Principal Investigator

Period of Award: 4/01/2009 – 9/31/2010

Summary: The objective of this proposal is to examine, in mice, whether candidate “cancer stem cells”

(cells believed to be solely responsible for tumor development) can be directly targeted by

DNA methylation and histone deacetylase inhibitors.

2) Title: Targeting of Ovarian Cancer-Initiating Cells by Epigenetic Therapies

Organization: Ovar’coming Together, Sally McFarland Research Fund, Indianapolis, IN

Role on Project: PI

Period of Award: 6/01/2008 – 5/31/2009

Summary: The objective of this project is an extension of the previous award to examine direct targeting

of candidate ovarian cancer stem cells, both in culture and in whole animals, by epigenetic

therapies.

3) Title: Chemosensitization of Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Tumors by Combined Epigenetic Therapies.

Organization: Ovar’coming Together, Sally McFarland Research Fund, Indianapolis, IN

Role on Project: Principal Investigator

Period of Award: 4/01/2006 – 4/01/2008

Summary: The objective of this project was to isolate candidate ovarian cancer stem cells from human

patient tumors and initiate a study of targeting those cells with epigenetic therapies. This

award partially funded work lead to publications in Cancer Res (2008, 68: 4311) and

Neoplasia (2009,11:552).

Collaborations

1) University of Texas San Antonio Health Sciences Center

• Drs. Tim H-M Huang and Carolina Livi. Integrated genomics and epigenomics of breast cancer

estrogen response and ovarian cancer chemotherapy resistance (2011 – 2013).

• Dr. Tim H-M Huang, Chair and Director, Department of Molecular Medicine. Characterization

and possible targeting of ovarian cancer stem cells (2006 – 2013).

2) Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

• Dr. Pearlly Yan, Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology & Medical Genetics, The James

Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. Integrated epigenetic and phenotypic

characterization of chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer (2003 - 2103).

• Dr. Victor Jin, Department of Biomedical Informatics. Influence of the microenvironment on

epigenetic plasticity of chemoresistant ovarian cancer cells (2008 – 2013), with Dr. S. Bapat (see

below).

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Balch CV, March 2014

3) Indiana University-Bloomington and Indiana University School of Medicine

• Drs. Yunong Liu and Lang Li, Division of Biostatistics. Integrated epigenetic and phenotypic

characterization of chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer (2003 – present), with Dr. TH-M

Huang (PI, see above).

• Dr. Kenneth Nephew, Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, Dr. Changyu Chen,

Division of Biostatistics, and Dr. Daniela Matei, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Phase I/II tolerability and efficacy of a hypomethylating agent, decitabine, for the

chemosensitization of platinum-resistant malignancy in ovarian cancer patients (2009 – 2012).

4) Ohio State University, Columbus, OH

• Drs. Yating Yang, Ching-Shih Chen, and Samuel Kulp, Department of Medicinal Chemistry,

Internal Medicine, and Urology, College of Pharmacy. Characterization of a novel histone

deacetylase inhibitor as a therapy for chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer (2004 – 2009).

• Dr. Victor Jin, Department of Biomedical Informatics. Microenvironmental effects on epigenetic

plasticity of chemoresistant ovarian cancer cells (2008 – 2010), with Dr. S. Bapat (see below).

5) National Defense Medical Center (Taipei, Taiwan)

• Dr. Hung-Cheng Lai, Director of Gynecologic Oncology Laboratories, Department of Obstetrics

and Gynecology. The antiparasitic agent niclosamide as a novel agent for targeting ovarian

tumor-initiating cells (2009 – 2013).

6) Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN

• Dr. Lang Li, Division of Biostatistics. Modeling of the fidelity of DNA methylation inheritance in

ovarian cancer cells (2008 – 2012).

• Dr. Lang Li, Division of Biostatistics. Predictive modeling of transcription factor-binding sites

associated with estrogen-receptor alpha in breast cancer cells (2005 – 2006).

• Dr. David Skalnik, Department of Pediatrics. Characterization of a novel DNA hypomethylating

agent, zebularine, in drug-resistant ovarian cancer (2003 – 2005).

7) Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

• Dr. J. Michael Thomson, Assistant Professor. microRNA expression alterations in ovarian

cancer-initiating cells and in histone-deacetylase inhibitor-treated ovarian cancer cells (2006 –

2009).

8) Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Korea

• Dr. Young Kee Shin, Department of Pathology. The role of histone modifications in regulation of

the tight junction protein-encoding genes CLDN3 and CLDN4 in ovarian cancer progression

(2009 – 2010).

9) Imperial College Cancer Research UK Centre, South Kensington, London, United Kingdom

• Robert Brown, Chair, Department of Translational Oncology and Head, Epigenetics Unit.

Ovarian cancer epigenetic biomarkers (2004 – 2006).

10) National Centre for Cell Science (Ganeshkhind Pune, Maharashtra, India)

• Dr. Sharmila Bapat, Department of Cell Biology. Influence of the microenvironment on epigenetic

plasticity of chemoresistant ovarian cancer cells (2008 – present), with Dr. Victor Jin (see above).

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Research articles and reviews

1) Jadhav R , Balch C * Li M, Pilrose J, Fang F, Nam S, Li L, Zhang S, Matei D, Schilder JM, Shen C,

Huang T, Nephew KP* (2014). Concerted genomic, DNA methylation, and gene expression.

aberrations drive ovarian cancer initiation and progression. Manuscript in preparation ( = co-first

authors; *= co-corresponding authors).

2) Kwon C, Tak H, Rho M, Chang HR, Lee E, Balch C, Nam S (2014). Piwi proteins and piRNAs in the

mitochondria of normal and cancerous human cells. Biochem Biophys Res Comm, 2014 Mar 3

[Epub ahead of print].

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Balch CV, March 2014

3) Balch C, Nephew KP (2013). Epigenetic targeting therapies to overcome chemotherapy resistance.

Adv Exp Med Biol 754:285-311.

4) Teng M, Wang Y, Kim S, Li L, Shen C, Wang G, Liu Y, Huang T H-M, Nephew KP, Balch C (2012).

Empirical Bayes model comparisons for differential methylation analysis. Compt Funct Genomics,

Article ID 376706.

5) Yo Y-T, Lin Y-W, Wang Y-C, Balch C, Huang R-L, Lee H-Y, Chang MWY, Sytwu H-K, Cheng C-K,

Chang C-C, Nephew KP, Huang T, Yu M-H, Lai H-C (2012). Growth inhibition of ovarian tumor-

initiating cells by niclosamide. Mol Cancer Ther 11(8):1703-1712.

6) *Balch C, Naegeli K, Nam S, Ballard B, Hyslop A, Melki C, Reilly E, Hur M-W, *Nephew KP (2012)

(*co-corresponding authors). A unique histone deacetylase inhibitor alters microRNA expression and

signal transduction in chemoresistant ovarian cancer cells. Cancer Biol Ther 13(8):681-693

7) *Teng M, *Balch C, Liu Y, Li M, Huang TH-M, Wang Y, Nephew KP, Li L (2012) (*co-first authors).

The influence of cis-regulatory elements on DNA methylation fidelity. PLoS One 7(3): e32928.

8) Hahn NM, Bonney PL, Dhawan D, Jones DR, Balch C, Guo Z, Hartman-Frey C, Fang F, Parker HG,

Kwon EM, Ostrander EA, Nephew KP, Knapp (2012). Subcutaneous 5-azacitidine treatment of

naturally occurring canine urothelial carcinoma: a novel epigenetic approach to human urothelial

carcinoma drug development. J Urol 187(1):302–309.

9) *Bapat SA, *Jin V, *Berry N, *Balch C, Sharma N, Kurrey N, Zhang S, Fang F, Lan X, Kennedy B,

Huang TH-M, Nephew KP. (2010) (*co-first authors). Multivalent epigenetic marks confer

microenvironment-responsive epigenetic plasticity to ovarian cancer cells. Epigenetics 5(8): 716-

729.

10) Balch C, Nephew KP (2010). The role of chromatin, microRNAs, and tumor stem cells in ovarian

cancer. Cancer Biomark 8(4-5): 203 – 221.

11) *Fang F, *Balch C, Schilder J, Breen T, Zhang S, Shen C, Li L, Kulesavage C, Synder AJ, Nephew

KP, Matei D (2010). A Phase I and pharmacodynamic study of decitabine in combination with

carboplatin in patients with recurrent, platinum-resistant, epithelial ovarian cancer. Cancer

116(17):4043-4053 (*co-first authors).

12) Balch C, Matei DE, Huang TH-M, Nephew KP. The Role of Epigenomics in Ovarian and Endometrial

Cancers. Epigenomics 2(3): 419-447.

13) Kwon MJ, Kim SS, Choi YL, Jung HS, Balch C, Kim SH, Song YS, Marquez VE, Nephew KP, Shin

YK (2010). Derepression of CLDN3 and CLDN4 during ovarian tumorigenesis Is associated with

loss of repressive histone modifications. Carcinogenesis, 31(6):974-83.

14) Li M, Balch C, Montgomery JS, Jeong M, Chung JH, Yan P, Huang TH, Kim S, Nephew KP (2009).

Integrated analysis of DNA methylation and gene expression reveals specific signaling pathways

associated with platinum resistance in ovarian cancer. BMC Med Genomics 8;2:34.

15) Balch C, Fang F, Matei DE, Huang TH, Nephew KP (2009). Minireview: epigenetics in ovarian

cancer. Endocrinology 150(9): 4003-4011.

16) Qin H, Chan MW, Liyanarachchi S, Balch C, Potter D, Souriraj IJ, Cheng AS, Agosto-Perez FJ,

Nikonova EV, Yan PS, Lin HJ, Nephew KP, Saltz JH, Showe LC, Huang TH, Davuluri RV (2009). An

integrative ChIP-chip and gene expression profiling to model SMAD regulatory modules. BMC Syst

Biol 3:73.

17) Nam S, Li M, Choi K, Balch C, Kim S, Nephew KP (2009). MiRNA and mRNA integrated analysis

(MMIA): a web tool for examining biological functions of miRNA expression. Nucleic Acids Res 37

(Web Server issue):W356-62.

18) Yang Y-T, *Balch C, Kulp S, Mand MR, Nephew KP, *Chen C-S (2009). A rationally designed

histone deacetylase inhibitor with distinct antitumor activity against ovarian cancer. Neoplasia

11(6):552-63 (*co-corresponding authors).

19) Xin F, Li M, Balch C, Thomson M, Fan M, Liu Y, Hammond SM, Kim S, Nephew KP (2009).

Computational analysis of microRNA profiles and their target genes suggests significant involvement

in breast cancer antiestrogen resistance. Bioinformatics 25:430-434.

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Balch CV, March 2014

20) Li M, Paik HI, Balch C, Kim Y, Li L, Huang TH-M, Nephew KP (2008). Enriched transcription factor

binding sites in hypermethylated gene promoters in drug-resistant cancer cells. Bioinformatics

24(16): 1745-1748.

21) Zhang S, Balch C, Chan MW, Lai HC, Matei D, Schilder J, Yan PS, Huang THM, Nephew KP (2008).

Identification and characterization of ovarian cancer-initiating cells from primary human tumors.

Cancer Res 68(11): 4311-4320.

22) Balch C, Nephew KP, Huang THM, Bapat SA (2007). Epigenetic “bivalently marked” process of

cancer stem cell-driven tumorigenesis. Bioessays, 29: 842-845.

23) Li L, Cheng AS, Jin VX, Paik HH, Fan M, Li X, Zhang W, Robarge J, Balch C, Davuluri RV, Kim S,

Huang THM, Nephew KP (2006). A mixture model based discriminate analysis for identifying

ordered transcription factor binding site pairs in gene promoters directly regulated by estrogen

receptor-. Bioinformatics 22(18): 2210-2216.

24) Abbosh PH, Montgomery JS, Starkey JA, Novotny M, Zuhowski EG, Egorin MJ, Park AK, Golas A,

Brannon KM, Balch C, Huang THM, Nephew KP (2006). Dominant-negative histone H3 lysine 27

mutant derepresses silenced tumor suppressor genes and reverses the drug-resistant phenotype in

cancer cells. Cancer Res 66(11): 5582-5591.

25) Wei SH*, Balch C*, Paik H, Kim YS Liyanarachchi S, Baldwin RL, Li L, Wang Z, Davuluri R, Karlan

BY, Brown R, Kim S, Huang TH, and Nephew KP (2006) (*co-first authors). Prognostic DNA

methylation biomarkers in ovarian cancer. Clin Cancer Res 12(9): 2788-2784..

26) Balch C, Yan P, Craft T, Hart S, Skalnik D, Huang TH and Nephew KP (2005). Antimitogenic and

Chemosensitizing Effects of the Methylation Inhibitor Zebularine in Ovarian Cancer. Mol Cancer

Ther 4(10):1505-1514.

27) Balch C, Montgomery J, Paik HI, Kim S, Huang TH, and Nephew KP (2005). New anti-cancer

strategies: epigenetic therapies and biomarkers. Front Biosci 10:1897-1931.

28) Balch C, Huang TH, Brown R, and Nephew KP. (2004). The epigenetics of ovarian cancer drug

resistance and resensitization. Am J Obstet Gynecol 191(5):1552-1572.

Book Chapters

1) Balch C, Nephew KP (2013). Epigenetic targeting therapies to overcome chemotherapy resistance.

In: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, A. Karpf (Editor). Springer Science + Business

Media New York, New York, NY, copyright 2013.

2) Fang F, Balch C, Li M, Pilrose JM, Nephew KP (2012). Cancer stem cells in ovarian cancer. P. 152-

176. In: Cancer Stem Cells in Solid Tumors, AL Allan (Editor), Humana Press, New York, NY.

3) Nephew KP, Balch C, Skalnik DG (2009). Methyl group acceptance assay for the determination of

global DNA methylation levels. In: DNA Methylation: Methods and Protocols, J. Tost, Editor. Book

Series: Methods in Molecular Biology, Vol. 507: p. 34-39, JM Walker (Editor), Springer Protocols,

New York, NY.

4) Nephew KP, Balch C, Zhang S, Huang TH-M (2009). Epigenetics and ovarian cancer. In: Ovarian

Cancer: Second Edition, MS Stack, DA Fishman (Editors), Book Series: Cancer Treatment and

Research, Vol. 149: p. 131-146, ST Rosen, Editor. Springer Medicine, New York, NY.

5) Nephew KP, Balch C, Huang, TH-M (2008). Epigenomics. In: Advances in Genome Sequencing

Technology and Algorithms. S. Kim, E.R. MMardis, H. Tang (Editors), Artech House Publishers, Inc.,

Norwood, MA.

6) Nephew KP, Balch C, Shu Z, Huang TH-M, Chan M, Yan P (2008). Epigenetics in cancer stem cell

development. In: Cancer Stem Cells, S.A. Bapat (Editor). John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.

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