Amir Roshanzadeh

Translational oncology Ph.D. candidate with extensive training in cancer cell biology, cancer metabolism, photodynamic therapy (PDT), redox biology, live-cell imaging, and in vivo tumor models. My doctoral work focuses on developing and biologically validating cyanine-carborate organic salt photosensitizers as next-generation light-activated agents for tumor imaging and therapy. I have experience connecting therapeutic response with mechanism-of-action studies, biodistribution, oxidative stress signaling, targeted metabolite analysis, and resistance biology in metastatic breast cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma models. My long-term goal is to bridge preclinical cancer biology with biomarker-driven therapeutic development and clinically relevant translational oncology.

• Roshanzadeh A., Medeiros H.C.D., Herrera C.K., Tomich A.W., Fisher S.P., Lovera S., Bates M., Lavallo V., Lunt R.R., Lunt S.Y. Next-Generation Photosensitizers: Cyanine-Carborane Salts for Superior Photodynamic Therapy of Metastatic Cancer. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 2025;64. (IF: 16.6)
• Roshanzadeh A., Yadav A.K., Pydi S.P., Kimura T., Jang B.-C. Expression and role of beta3-adrenergic receptor during the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes into adipocytes. Biology. 2022;11:535.
• Roshanzadeh A., Oyunbaatar N.-E., Ganjbakhsh S.E., Park S., Kim D.-S., Chakrabarty N., Kanade P.P., Lee S., Lee D.-W., Kim E.-S. Exposure to nanoplastics impairs collective contractility of neonatal cardiomyocytes under electrical synchronization. Biomaterials. 2021;278. (IF: 15.3)
• Roshanzadeh A., Tham N.T., Nguyen K.D., Kim D.-S., Lee B.-K., Lee D.-W., Kim E.-S. Mechanoadaptive organization of stress fiber subtypes in epithelial cells under cyclic stretches and stretch release. Scientific Reports. 2020;10:18684.
• Roshanzadeh A., Park S., Ganjbakhsh S.E., Park J., Lee D.-H., Lee S., Lee D.-W., Kim E.-S. Surface charge-dependent cytotoxicity of plastic nanoparticles in alveolar cells under cyclic stretches. Nano Letters. 2020;20:7168-7176. (IF: 12.34)
• Roshanzadeh A., Kang H., You S.-H., Park J., Lee D.-H., Kim G.-J., Kim E.-S. Real-time monitoring of NADPH levels in living mammalian cells using a fluorescence-enhancing protein bound to NADPH. Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 2019;146:111753. (IF: 12.54)

• Pretto S., Yu Q., Bourdely P., Trusso Cafarello S., Van Acker H., Verelst J., Richiardone E., Roshanzadeh A., et al. A functional single-cell metabolic survey identifies Elovl1 as a target to enhance CD8+ T cell fitness in solid tumors. Nature Metabolism. 2025;7:508-530. (IF: 20.8)
• Jang J.H., Kim D.B., Choi Y., Roshanzadeh A., Cheong D.-E., Chung H.-J., Ahn S.-H., Kim G.-J., Lee D.W., Lee O.R., Kim E.-S. Real-time monitoring of stromal NADPH levels in Arabidopsis using a metagenome-derived NADPH-binding fluorescent protein. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. 2024;217:109260.
• Broadwater D., Medeiros H.C.D., Bates M., Roshanzadeh A., Teoh S.T., Ogrodzinski M.P., Borhan B., Lunt R.R., Lunt S.Y. Counterion tuning of near-infrared organic salts dictates phototoxicity to inhibit tumor growth. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 2022;14. (IF: 10.38)
• Siddique A.-B., Shanmugasundaram A., Kim J.Y., Roshanzadeh A., Kim E.-S., Lee B.-K., Lee D.-W. The effect of topographical and mechanical stimulation on the structural and functional anisotropy of cardiomyocytes grown on a circular PDMS diaphragm. Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 2022;204:114017.
• Park Y., Yadav A.K., Roshanzadeh A., Ryu Y.-W., Kim B.-H., Cha J.Y., Son Y.K., Lee N.Y., Jang B.-C. 7-MEGA 500 regulates the expression of COX-2, MMP-3, and type I procollagen in UVB-irradiated human keratinocytes and dermal fibroblasts. Molecular Medicine Reports. 2019.
• Lee M.N., Hwang H.-S., Roshanzadeh A., Kim Y.-H., Kim J.-W., Song J.H., Oh S.-H., Yang J.-W., Kim E.-S., Koh J.-T. Elevated extracellular calcium ions promote proliferation and migration of proximal mesenchymal stem cells via increasing osteopontin expression. Experimental and Molecular Medicine. 2018;50:142.

Amir Roshanzadeh, et al. Cystine-dependent Redox Metabolism Determines Photodynamic Therapy Response in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Patent: Carborate and Borohydride Salts (U.S. Filed, 2025).

Co-founder, Joule Therapeutics, Inc.; contributing to translational development of cyanine-carborane photosensitizer technology for cancer therapy applications.

• Dissertation Completion Fellowships (DCF), Michigan State University, 05/2026, $10,000
• Jack Throck Watson Graduate Fellowship, Michigan State University, 04/2026, $2,000
• Samsung Global Scholarship for international graduate students, Samsung Electronics, 09/2020, 08/2021, $10,000
• Excellent Poster Award, Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology International Conference, 10/2020
• Global Scholarship for International Graduate Students, Chonnam National University, 09/2019, 09/2019, $3,000
• Global Scholarship for International Graduate Students, Chonnam National University, 09/2016, 09/2016, $3,000

• Teaching Assistant / Co-lecturer, BMB 101 Frontiers in Biochemistry, Michigan State University, 08/2024, 12/2024, Prof. Sophia Y. Lunt
• Teaching Assistant / Co-lecturer, Mechanobiology, Chonnam National University, 09/2019, 12/2021, Prof. Eung-Sam Kim