Associate Professor of Oncology
Department of Surgical Oncology
Roswell Park Cancer Institute
Elm and Carlton Streets
Buffalo NY 14263
Office: 716-845-3920
Fax: 716-845-3944
E-mail: Vita.Golubovskaya@roswellpark.org 

Dr. Vita Golubovskaya graduated from St. Petersburg State University and received her Ph.D. in cell biology from the Institute of Cytology (St. Petersburg, Russia). She completed extensive post-doctoral training in cancer research at St. Jude Children's Hospital, Memphis, TN and at Lineberger Comprehensive Research Cancer Center, UNC, NC. From 2003-2009, Dr. Golubovskaya was a faculty member (Res. Assistant Professor) at the University of Florida, FL.

In 2009, Dr. Golubovskaya joined Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, as an Associate Professor of Oncology, Department of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Golubovskaya’s interests include different aspects of cancer research, cell proliferation, motility, adhesion, apoptosis, gene regulation, signal transduction pathways and developing novel therapeutics.

Dr. Golubovskaya’s research concentration is on the role of Focal Adhesion Kinase in survival pathways. Dr. Golubovskaya was the first to clone and characterize the FAK gene promoter region and found binding sites for NF-kappa B and tumor suppressor p53 in the FAK promoter. In 2005, Dr. Golubovskaya discovered the direct interaction of FAK and p53 proteins. She is developing novel small molecule compounds to target Focal Adhesion Kinase in cancer cells.

Dr. Golubovskaya is an author and co-author of more than 60 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts and book chapters in cancer research. She reviewed manuscripts for International Journal of Cancer, Annals of Surgical Oncology, FEBS Letters, Clinical Cancer Research and Cell Cycle. Dr. Golubovskaya holds several inventions and patents. She is an active member of American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) and American Association of Advancement of Science (AAAS). In 2005, Dr. Golubovskaya obtained the prestigious World Scientist Forum International Award in Cancer Research. In 2007, Dr. Golubovskaya won a prestigious award in breast cancer research and obtained a three year grant from Susan G. Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer Foundation.

Research Interests
Role of Focal Adhesion Kinase in cancer
P53 Pathway in Cancer
Gene Regulation during carcinogenesis
Development of novel therapies

Selected Publications

Watson J., Hurding T., Golubovskaya VM., Hunter D., Li X, Earp HS and Haskill JS, 2001. CADTK is critical for monocyte spreading and motility. J Biol Chem. 276(5): 3536-3542.

Golubovskaya V, Beviglia L, Xu LH, Earp HS 3rd, Craven R, Cance W. 2002. Dual inhibition of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathways cooperatively induces death receptor-mediated apoptosis in human breast cancer cells. J Biol Chem. 277(41): 38978-38987.

Beviglia L*, Golubovskaya VM*, (* equal contr.) Xu L, Yang X, Craven RJ, Cance WG. 2003. Focal Adhesion Kinase amino-terminus in breast carcinoma cells induces a loss of adhesion and apoptosis. Biochem J., Jul 1, 201-210.

Vita Golubovskaya, Steven Gross, Aparna S. Kaur, Richard Wilson, Li-Hui Xu, William G. Cance. 2003. Simultaneous Inhibition of Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) and Src Enhances Detachment and Apoptosis in Colon Cancer Cell Lines. Mol. Cancer Research, 1, 755-764.

Park HB*, Golubovskaya VM*(* equal contr.), Xu L, Yang X, Lee JW, Scully II S, Craven RJ, Cance WG. 2004. Activated Src elevates adhesion, survival and alpha 2-integrin expression in human breast cancer cells. Biochem J., 378(Pt 2): 559-567.

Golubovskaya V, Kaur A., and Cance W. 2004. Cloning and characterization of the promoter region of human Focal Adhesion Kinase gene: nuclear factor kappa B and p53 binding sites. BBA, 25, 1678, 111-125.

Smith C.S., Golubovskaya V.M., Peck E., Xu L.-H, Monia B.P, Yang X. and Cance W.G. 2005. Effect of Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) downregulation with FAK antisense oligonucleotides and 5-fluorouracil on the viability of melanoma cell lines. Melanoma Research, 5, 357-362.

Golubovskaya VM, Finch R, Cance WG. 2005. Direct Interaction of the N-terminal domain of focal adhesion kinase with the N-terminal transactivation domain of p53. J Biol Chem., 280, 25008-25021.

Golubovskaya VM and Cance W.G. 2005. Focal Adhesion Kinase and Cancer. Austral-As. J. of Cancer, 4, 4, 217-221.

Garces C.A., Kurenova EV, Golubovskaya V.M., Cance W.G. 2006. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) and Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) Bind and Suppress Apoptosis in Breast Cancer Cells. Cancer Res., 66, 1446-1454.

Bieierle E.A., Trujillo A., Nagaram A., Cance W.G., Kurenova E. and Golubovskaya V. 2007. N-Myc regulates Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) expression. JBC, 282, 12503-12516.

Liu W., Bloom DA, Cance WG., Kurenova EV, Golubovskaya VM and Hochwald SN. 2008. Fak And Igf-Ir Interact To Provide Survival Signals In Human Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Cells. Carcinogenesis. 29, 1096-107

Golubovskaya V., Virnig C., Cance W.W. 2008. TAE226-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells with overexpressed Src or EGFR. Molecular Carcinogenesis, 47, 222-234.

Golubovskaya VM, Finch, R, Virnig C., Kweh F., Massoll NA, Campbell-Thompson M, Wallace MR, and Cance WG. 2008. p53 regulates FAK expression in human tumor cells. Molecular Carcinogenesis, 47, 373-382.

Golubovskaya VM, Finch R, Kurenova EV and Cance WG. 2008. The 7 amino-acid site in the proline- rich region of the N-terminal domain of p53 is involved in interaction with FAK and is critical for p53 functioning. Biochem J., V. 411, 151-160.

Beierle, E. A., Trujillo A., Nagaram A., Golubovskaya V. M., Cance, W. G., Kurenova, E. V. 2008 TAE226 inhibits human neuroblastoma cell survival. Cancer Invest., V. 26, 145-151.

Beierlie, E.A., Massoll N.A., Hartwich J., Kurenova E.V., Golubovskaya V.M., Cance W.G., McGrady P., and London W.B. 2008. Focal Adhesion Kinase Expression in Human Neuroblastoma: Immunohistochemical and Real-time PCR Analyses.2008. Clin. Cancer Res. 14, 3299-32305.

Beierle, E. A., Trujillo A., Nagaram A., Golubovskaya V. M., Cance, W. G., Kurenova, E. V. 2008. TAE226 inhibits human neuroblastoma cell survival. Cancer Invest., V. 26, 145-151.

Hunt D.L., Kurenova E.V., Ostrov d.A., Golubovskaya V.M., Garces C.A., Kweh F.A., Hochwald S.N., and Cance W.G. 2009, Vascular Endothelial growth factor receptor-3 promotes breast cancer cell proliferation, motility, and survival in vitro and tumor formation in vivo. Cell Cycle, In press.

Golubovskaya V.M., Kweh F., and Cance W.G. Focal Adhesion Kinase in Cancer. 2009. Histol and Histopathol., 24, 503-510.

Golubovskaya VM, Nyberg C., Zheng M., Kweh F., Magis A, Ostrov and Cance WG. 2008, A small molecule inhibitor 1,2,4,5-Benzenetetraamine tetrahydrochloride, targeting the Y397 site of Focal Adhesion Kinase decreases tumor growth. J. Medicinal Chemistry, 51, 7405-2009 .

Hochwald S, Nyberg C, Zheng M., Cance W, Golubovskaya VM. 2009. Small molecule inhibitor targeting Y397 site of FAK decreases pancreatic tumorigenesis. Cell Cycle, In press.

Cance W.G. and Golubovskaya VM. FAK vs p53, Survival or Apoptosis? Science Sign, 1/20/pe22,2008.

Book Chapters

Hochwald SN, Bloom D., Golubovskaya VM, Cance WG. 2007. Fundamentals of Cancer Cell Biology and Molecular Targeting. Surgery: Basic Science and Clinical Evidence, 2nd Edition, Springer-Verlag, New York, Inc.

Golubovskaya VM and Cance WG. 2007. Focal Adhesion Kinase and p53 signaling in cancer cells. International Review of Cytology, V.263, Chapter 03, Elsevier, 103-153.

Golubovskaya V.M., Beierlie E., Hochwald S., Kurenova and Cance W.G. 2008. Focal Adhesion Kinase and the Interacting proteins in Cancer. Extracellular Matrix proteins, New York., Inc.