Research interests in my laboratory center around the development, validation and application of analytical methods to biomonitor human exposure to carcinogens. The range of biomarkers studied includes carcinogen metabolites in urine, protein and DNA carcinogen adducts in plasma or serum and carcinogen-induced somatic mutations in free-circulating DNA in plasma or serum. Analytical techniques include Gas Chromatography/Negative Chemical Ionization Mass spectrometry and High Performance Liquid Chromatography/Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

Our laboratory is currently developing a quantitative technique called Short Oligonucleotide Mass Analysis (SOMA), which can be used for the analysis of sequence variants (somatic mutations, single nucleotide polymorphisms) in free-circulating DNA in plasma and serum. The technique has been applied to detect serum levels of TP53 mutations caused by exposure to Aflatoxin B1.

Short Oligonucleotide Mass Analysis, SOMA, Mass Spectrometry, biomarkers of carcinogen exposure

Kaaks R, Stattin P, Villar S, Poetsch AR, Dossus L, Nieters A, Riboli E, Palmqvist R, Hallmans G, Plass C, Friesen MD. Insulin-like Growth Factor-II Methylation Status in Lymphocyte DNA and Colon Cancer Risk in the Northern Sweden Health and Disease Cohort. Cancer Res. 2009; 69: 5400-5.

Schenk JM, Riboli E, Chatterjee N, Leitzmann MF, Ahn J, Albanes D, Reding DJ, Wang Y, Friesen MD, Hayes RB, Peters U. Serum Retinol and Prostate Cancer Risk: a Nested Case-Control Study in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009; 18:1227-31.

Roebuck BD, Johnson DN, Sutter CH, Egner PA, Scholl PF, Friesen MD, Baumgartner KJ, Ware NM, Bodreddigari S, Groopman JD, Kensler TW, Sutter TR. Transgenic expression of aflatoxin aldehyde reductase (AKR7A1) modulates aflatoxin B1 metabolism but not hepatic carcinogenesis in the rat. Toxicol Sci. 2009; 109:41-49.

Moore SA, Humphreys E, Friesen MD, Shuker DEG, Bingham SA. The Effect of n-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid on Blood Levels of Malondialdehyde-Deoxyguanosine Adducts in Human Subjects. Open Biomarkers J. 2008; 1:28-35.

Egner PA, Kensler TW, Chen JG, Gange SJ, Groopman JD, Friesen MD. Quantification of Sulforaphane Mercapturic Acid Pathway Conjugates in Human Urine by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Isotope-Dilution Tandem Mass Spectrometry. Chem Res Toxicol. 2008; 21:1991-6.

Bransfield LA, Rennie A, Visvanathan K, Odwin SA, Kensler TW, Yager JD, Friesen MD, Groopman JD. Formation of two novel estrogen guanine adducts and HPLC/MS detection of 4-hydroxyestradiol-N7-guanine in human urine. Chem Res Toxicol. 2008; 21:1622-30.

Peters U, Leitzmann MF, Chatterjee N, Wang Y, Albanes D, Gelmann EP, Friesen MD, Riboli E, Hayes RB. Serum lycopene, other carotenoids, and prostate cancer risk: a nested case-control study in the prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian cancer screening trial. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007;16:962-8.

Welch AA, Bingham SA, Ive J, Friesen MD, Wareham NJ, Riboli E, Khaw KT. Dietary fish intake and plasma phospholipid n–3 polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrations in men and women in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer–Norfolk United Kingdom cohort. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;84: 1330-1339.

Jenab M, Riboli E, Ferrari P, Sabate J, Slimani N, Norat T, Friesen M, et al. Plasma and dietary vitamin C levels and risk of gastric cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-EURGAST). Carcinogenesis. 2006;27:2250-7.

Egner PA, Groopman JD, Wang JS, Kensler TW, Friesen MD. Quantification of aflatoxin-B(1)-N(7)-Guanine in human urine by high-performance liquid chromatography and isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry. Chem Res Toxicol. 2006 9:1191-5.

Jenab M, Riboli E, Ferrari P, Friesen M, et al. Plasma and dietary carotenoid, retinol and tocopherol levels and the risk of gastric adenocarcinomas in the European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition. Br J Cancer. 2006;95:406-15.

Scholl PF, Turner PC, Sutcliffe AE, Sylla A, Diallo MS, Friesen MD, Groopman JD, Wild CP. Quantitative comparison of aflatoxin B1 serum albumin adducts in humans by isotope dilution mass spectrometry and ELISA. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006;15:823-6.

Lleonart ME, Kirk GD, Villar S, Lesi OA, Dasgupta A, Goedert JJ, Mendy M, Hollstein MC, Montesano R, Groopman JD, Hainaut P, Friesen MD. Quantitative Analysis of Plasma TP53 249Ser-Mutated DNA by Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005;14:2956-62.

Jenab M, Bingham S, Ferrari P, Friesen MD, Al-Delaimy WK, Luben R, Wareham N, Khaw KT, Riboli E. Long-term cryoconservation and stability of vitamin C in serum samples of the european prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005;14:1837-1840.

Suzuki T, Mower HF, Friesen MD, Gilibert I, Sawa T, Ohshima H. Nitration and nitrosation of N-acetyl-L-tryptophan and tryptophan residues in proteins by various reactive nitrogen species. Free Radic. Biol. Med. 2004;37:671-81.

Lleonart ME, Ramon y Cajal S, Groopman JD, Friesen MD. Sensitive and specific detection of K-ras mutations in colon tumors by short oligonucleotide mass analysis. Nucleic Acids Res. 2004;32:e53.

Szymanska K, Lesi OA, Kirk GD, Sam O, Taniere P, Scoazec JY, Mendy M, Friesen MD, Whittle H, Montesano R, Hainaut P. Ser-249TP53 mutation in tumour and plasma DNA of hepatocellular carcinoma patients from a high incidence area in the Gambia, West Africa. Int J Cancer. 2004;110:374-379.

Angele S, Romestaing P, Moullan N, Vuillaume M, Chapot B, Friesen M, Jongmans W, Cox DG, Pisani P, Gerard JP, Hall J. ATM haplotypes and cellular response to DNA damage: association with breast cancer risk and clinical radiosensitivity. Cancer Res. 2003;63:8717-25.

Mauget-Faysse M, Vuillaume M, Quaranta M, Moullan N, Angele S, Friesen MD, Hall, J. Idiopathic and radiation-induced ocular telangiectasia: the involvement of the ATM gene. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2003;44:3257-3262.

Suzuki T, Friesen MD, Ohshima H. Formation of a diimino-imidazole nucleoside from 2'-deoxyguanosine by singlet oxygen generated by methylene blue photooxidation. Bioorg Med Chem. 2003;11:2157-2162.

Jackson PE, Qian GS, Friesen MD, Zhu YR, Lu P, Wang JB, Wu Y, Kensler TW, Vogelstein B, Groopman JD. Specific p53 mutations detected in plasma and tumors of hepatocellular carcinoma patients by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Cancer Res 2001;61:33-35.

Laken SJ, Jackson PE, Kinzler KW, Vogelstein B, Strickland PT, Groopman JD, Friesen MD. Genotyping by mass spectrometric analysis of short DNA fragments. Nat. Biotechnol., 1998;16:1352-1356.