Barbara S Nikolajczyk, Ph.D.

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barb.nik@uky.edu
(859)218-1382
561 Wethington Bldg, 900 S Limestone St, Lexington, KY 40536-0200

Position(s):

Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences

Associate Director for Translational Research in Diabetes, Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center

Fellow of The Obesity Society

Affiliation(s):

Pharmacology & Nutritional Sciences

Other Affiliation(s):

Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences Primary Faculty

Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics - Adjunct Faculty

Nutritional Sciences Graduate Faculty

Bio / Education:

B.S. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, Animal Science (Graduated Valedictorian with Distinction in Animal Science)
Ph.D. The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. Cell Biology and Anatomy. Dissertation: "Characterization of rabbit testis ß-galactosidase and arylsulfatase A and their role in spermatozoan-zona pellucida interaction."

Positions:
Graduate Research Assistant with Dr. Michael O'Rand, Dept. of Cell Biology & Anatomy, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (Fertilization)
Research Associate with Dr. Norman Hecht, Dept. of Biology, Tufts Univ., Medford, MA (Testes Transcriptional Regulation)
Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Ranjan Sen, Dept. of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA (Immunoglobulin Enhancer Regulation)
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA (Lymphocyte Gene Regulation)
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Microbiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Faculty Member, Immunology Training Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Faculty Member, Graduate Program in Molecular Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Faculty Member, Oncobiology Training Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Associate Professor, Dept. of Medicine Boston Univ. School of Medicine, Boston
Associate Professor, Dept. of Microbiology Boston Univ. School of Medicine, Boston
Currently - Associate Professor, Dept. of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Associate Director for Translational Research in Diabetes, Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

Professional Societies:
American Association of Immunologists
American Diabetes Association
The Obesity Society (Secretary-Treasurer, Basic Science Section,
American Association of Dental Researchers

Fellowships and Awards:
The Ohio State Univ. College of Agriculture Undergraduate Honors Research Award
The Ohio State Univ. Valedictorian
Katherine Willis Coleman Graduate Fellowship, Mortar Board Honor Society
Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship
Carolina Challenge Fellowship, The Univ. of North Carolina Graduate School
National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship
National Research Service Award
Arthritis Foundation Post-Doctoral Fellowship
American Cancer Society Institutional Grant
New England American Cancer Society Grant
Department of Medicine Pilot Project Award
Arthritis Foundation Biomedical Sciences Grant
Massachusetts Thoracic Society Research grant
International Cytokine Society Meeting Travel Award
AAMC Mid-Career Women Faculty Professional Development Seminar (Selected for participation and Career Development Funding from BUSM)
American Association of Immunologists Laboratory Travel Award
Fellow of the Obesity Society
Evans Center Research Center Collaborator Award
American Association of Immunologists Capitol Hill Day

Research Description:

Dr. Nikolajczyk’s current research focuses on the role the immune system plays in obesity and the related co-morbidities of type 2 diabetes and periodontal disease. Her work further queries how changes in fuel sources in these diseases impact immune cell function. She published the first functional analyses of B cells and T cells in type 2 diabetes patients, and her work includes a molecular understanding of mechanisms responsible for pro-inflammatory lymphocyte functions in these patients. Complementary mouse work in Dr. Nikolajczk’s lab rigorously tests concepts identified for humans in a whole animal model. Her work in both human subjects’ material and mouse models demonstrates facility in multiple major experimental approaches and is a strong example of success from concurrent bench-to-bedside and bedside-to-bench work with cross-disciplinary impact.

PubMed Publications:

Nicholas, DA ; Proctor, EA ; Agrawal, M.; Belkina, AC ; Van Nostrand, SC ; Panneerseelan-Bharath, L ; AR, 4th Jones; Raval, F.; Ip, BC ; Zhu, M.; Cacicedo, JM ; Habib, C.; Sainz-Rueda, N ; Persky, L ; Sullivan, PG ; Corkey, BE ; Apovian, CM ; Kern, PA ; Lauffenburger, DA ; Nikolajczyk, BS "Fatty Acid Metabolites Combine with Reduced β Oxidation to Activate Th17 Inflammation in Human Type 2 Diabetes." Cell metabolism 30, 3 (2019): 447-461.e5. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
McCambridge, G ; Agrawal, M.; Keady, A ; Kern, PA ; Hasturk, H.; Nikolajczyk, BS ; Bharath, LP "Saturated Fatty Acid Activates T Cell Inflammation Through a Nicotinamide Nucleotide Transhydrogenase (NNT)-Dependent Mechanism." Biomolecules 9, 2 (2019): [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Liu, R.; Nikolajczyk, BS "Tissue Immune Cells Fuel Obesity-Associated Inflammation in Adipose Tissue and Beyond." Frontiers in immunology 10, (2019): 1587. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Michelet, X ; Dyck, L ; Hogan, A.; Loftus, RM ; Duquette, D ; Wei, K.; Beyaz, S ; Tavakkoli, A ; Foley, C ; Donnelly, R ; O'Farrelly, C ; Raverdeau, M ; Vernon, A ; Pettee, W ; O'Shea, D ; Nikolajczyk, BS ; Mills, KHG ; Brenner, MB ; Finlay, D.; Lynch, L "Metabolic reprogramming of natural killer cells in obesity limits antitumor responses." Nature immunology 19, 12 (2018): 1330-1340. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Bharath, LP ; Ip, BC ; Nikolajczyk, BS "Adaptive Immunity and Metabolic Health: Harmony Becomes Dissonant in Obesity and Aging." Comprehensive Physiology 7, 4 (2017): 1307-1337. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Nicholas, DA ; Andrieu, G.; Strissel, KJ ; Nikolajczyk, BS ; Denis, GV "BET bromodomain proteins and epigenetic regulation of inflammation: implications for type 2 diabetes and breast cancer." Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS 74, 2 (2017): 231-243. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Lentucci, C.; Belkina, AC ; Cederquist, CT ; Chan, M.; Johnson, HE ; Prasad, S.; Lopacinski, A.; Nikolajczyk, BS ; Monti, S.; Snyder-Cappione, J.; Tanasa, B.; Cardamone, MD ; Perissi, V. "Inhibition of Ubc13-mediated Ubiquitination by GPS2 Regulates Multiple Stages of B Cell Development." The Journal of biological chemistry 292, 7 (2017): 2754-2772. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Agrawal, M.; Kern, PA ; Nikolajczyk, BS "The Immune System in Obesity: Developing Paradigms Amidst Inconvenient Truths." Current diabetes reports 17, 10 (2017): 87. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Nicholas, D.; Proctor, EA ; Raval, FM ; Ip, BC ; Habib, C.; Ritou, E.; Grammatopoulos, TN ; Steenkamp, D.; Dooms, H.; Apovian, CM ; Lauffenburger, DA ; Nikolajczyk, BS "Advances in the quantification of mitochondrial function in primary human immune cells through extracellular flux analysis." PloS one 12, 2 (2017): e0170975. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Jones AR, IV ; Coleman, EL ; Husni, NR ; Deeney, JT ; Raval, F.; Steenkamp, D.; Dooms, H.; Nikolajczyk, BS ; Corkey, BE "Type 1 diabetes alters lipid handling and metabolism in human fibroblasts and peripheral blood mononuclear cells." PloS one 12, 12 (2017): e0188474. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Hafida, S.; Mirshahi, T.; Nikolajczyk, BS "The impact of bariatric surgery on inflammation: quenching the fire of obesity?" Current opinion in endocrinology, diabetes, and obesity 23, 5 (2016): 373-8. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Nicholas, DA ; Nikolajczyk, BS "B cells shed light on diminished vaccine responses in obesity." Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) 24, 3 (2016): 551. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Ip, B.; Cilfone, NA ; Belkina, AC ; DeFuria, J.; Jagannathan-Bogdan, M.; Zhu, M.; Kuchibhatla, R.; McDonnell, ME ; Xiao, Q.; Kepler, TB ; Apovian, CM ; Lauffenburger, DA ; Nikolajczyk, BS "Th17 cytokines differentiate obesity from obesity-associated type 2 diabetes and promote TNFα production." Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) 24, 1 (2016): 102-12. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Bucur, O.; Almasan, A.; Zubarev, R.; Friedman, M.; Nicolson, GL ; Sumazin, P.; Leabu, M.; Nikolajczyk, BS ; Avram, D.; Kunej, T.; Calin, GA ; Godwin, AK ; Adami, HO ; Zaphiropoulos, PG ; Richardson, DR ; Schmitt-Ulms, G.; Westerblad, H.; Keniry, M.; Grau, GE ; Carbonetto, S.; Stan, RV ; Popa-Wagner, A.; Takhar, K.; Baron, BW ; Galardy, PJ ; Yang, F.; Data, D.; Fadare, O.; Yeo, KJ ; Gabreanu, GR ; Andrei, S.; Soare, GR ; Nelson, MA ; Liehn, EA "An updated h-index measures both the primary and total scientific output of a researcher." Discoveries (Craiova, Romania) 3, 3 (2015): [PubMed Link] |
Ip, BC ; Hogan, AE ; Nikolajczyk, BS "Lymphocyte roles in metabolic dysfunction: of men and mice." Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM 26, 2 (2015): 91-100. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Zhu, M.; Nikolajczyk, BS "Comment on "The B Cell-Stimulatory Cytokines BLyS and APRIL Are Elevated in Human Periodontitis and Are Required for B Cell-Dependent Bone Loss in Experimental Murine Periodontitis."." Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 195, 11 (2015): 5099. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Strissel, KJ ; Denis, GV ; Nikolajczyk, BS "Immune regulators of inflammation in obesity-associated type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease." Current opinion in endocrinology, diabetes, and obesity 21, 5 (2014): 330-8. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Belkina, AC ; Blanton, WP ; Nikolajczyk, BS ; Denis, GV "The double bromodomain protein Brd2 promotes B cell expansion and mitogenesis." Journal of leukocyte biology 95, 3 (2014): 451-60. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Zhu, M.; Belkina, AC ; DeFuria, J.; Carr, JD ; Van Dyke, TE ; Gyurko, R.; Nikolajczyk, BS "B cells promote obesity-associated periodontitis and oral pathogen-associated inflammation." Journal of leukocyte biology 96, 2 (2014): 349-57. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
DeFuria, J.; Belkina, AC ; Jagannathan-Bogdan, M.; Snyder-Cappione, J.; Carr, JD ; Nersesova, YR ; Markham, D.; Strissel, KJ ; Watkins, AA ; Zhu, M.; Allen, J.; Bouchard, J.; Toraldo, G.; Jasuja, R.; Obin, MS ; McDonnell, ME ; Apovian, C.; Denis, GV ; Nikolajczyk, BS "B cells promote inflammation in obesity and type 2 diabetes through regulation of T-cell function and an inflammatory cytokine profile." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110, 13 (2013): 5133-8. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Snyder-Cappione, JE ; Nikolajczyk, BS "When diet and exercise are not enough, think immunomodulation." Molecular aspects of medicine 34, 1 (2013): 30-8. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Belkina, AC ; Nikolajczyk, BS ; Denis, GV "BET protein function is required for inflammation: Brd2 genetic disruption and BET inhibitor JQ1 impair mouse macrophage inflammatory responses." Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 190, 7 (2013): 3670-8. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Raval, FM ; Nikolajczyk, BS "The Bidirectional Relationship between Metabolism and Immune Responses." Discoveries (Craiova, Romania) 1, 1 (2013): e6. [PubMed Link] |
Nikolajczyk, BS ; Jagannathan-Bogdan, M.; Denis, GV "The outliers become a stampede as immunometabolism reaches a tipping point." Immunological reviews 249, 1 (2012): 253-75. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Jagannathan-Bogdan, M.; McDonnell, ME ; Shin, H.; Rehman, Q.; Hasturk, H.; Apovian, CM ; Nikolajczyk, BS "Elevated proinflammatory cytokine production by a skewed T cell compartment requires monocytes and promotes inflammation in type 2 diabetes." Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 186, 2 (2011): 1162-72. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Onguru, D.; Liang, Y.; Griffith, Q.; Nikolajczyk, B.; Mwinzi, P.; Ganley-Leal, L. "Human schistosomiasis is associated with endotoxemia and Toll-like receptor 2- and 4-bearing B cells." The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 84, 2 (2011): 321-4. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Ganley-Leal, LM ; Liang, Y.; Jagannathan-Bogdan, M.; Farraye, FA ; Nikolajczyk, BS "Differential regulation of TLR4 expression in human B cells and monocytes." Molecular immunology 48, 1-3 (2010): 82-8. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Nikolajczyk, BS "B cells as under-appreciated mediators of non-auto-immune inflammatory disease." Cytokine 50, 3 (2010): 234-42. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Denis, GV ; Nikolajczyk, BS ; Schnitzler, GR "An emerging role for bromodomain-containing proteins in chromatin regulation and transcriptional control of adipogenesis." FEBS letters 584, 15 (2010): 3260-8. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Alblowi, J.; Kayal, RA ; Siqueira, M.; McKenzie, E.; Krothapalli, N.; McLean, J.; Conn, J.; Nikolajczyk, B.; Einhorn, TA ; Gerstenfeld, L.; Graves, DT "High levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha contribute to accelerated loss of cartilage in diabetic fracture healing." The American journal of pathology 175, 4 (2009): 1574-85. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Noronha, AM ; Liang, Y.; Hetzel, JT ; Hasturk, H.; Kantarci, A.; Stucchi, A.; Zhang, Y.; Nikolajczyk, BS ; Farraye, FA ; Ganley-Leal, LM "Hyperactivated B cells in human inflammatory bowel disease." Journal of leukocyte biology 86, 4 (2009): 1007-16. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Jagannathan, M.; Hasturk, H.; Liang, Y.; Shin, H.; Hetzel, JT ; Kantarci, A.; Rubin, D.; McDonnell, ME ; Van Dyke, TE ; Ganley-Leal, LM ; Nikolajczyk, BS "TLR cross-talk specifically regulates cytokine production by B cells from chronic inflammatory disease patients." Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 183, 11 (2009): 7461-70. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Shin, H.; Zhang, Y.; Jagannathan, M.; Hasturk, H.; Kantarci, A.; Liu, H.; Van Dyke, TE ; Ganley-Leal, LM ; Nikolajczyk, BS "B cells from periodontal disease patients express surface Toll-like receptor 4." Journal of leukocyte biology 85, 4 (2009): 648-55. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Zhang, Y.; Saccani, S.; Shin, H.; Nikolajczyk, BS "Dynamic protein associations define two phases of IL-1beta transcriptional activation." Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 181, 1 (2008): 503-12. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Nikolajczyk, BS ; Sardi, SH ; Tumang, JR ; Ganley-Leal, LM "Immunoglobulin kappa enhancers are differentially regulated at the level of chromatin structure." Molecular immunology 44, 13 (2007): 3407-15. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Nikolajczyk, B. "Regulation of cytokine transcription in the context of chromatin." Archivum immunologiae et therapiae experimentalis 54, 5 (2006): 299-305. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Liang, MD ; Zhang, Y.; McDevit, D.; Marecki, S.; Nikolajczyk, BS "The interleukin-1beta gene is transcribed from a poised promoter architecture in monocytes." The Journal of biological chemistry 281, 14 (2006): 9227-37. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
McDevit, DC ; Nikolajczyk, BS "Changes in immunoglobulin-nucleoprotein complex structure mapped by chromatin immunoprecipitation." Molecular immunology 43, 10 (2006): 1541-8. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
McDevit, DC ; Perkins, L.; Atchison, ML ; Nikolajczyk, BS "The Ig kappa 3' enhancer is activated by gradients of chromatin accessibility and protein association." Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 174, 5 (2005): 2834-42. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Marecki, S.; McCarthy, KM ; Nikolajczyk, BS "PU.1 as a chromatin accessibility factor for immunoglobulin genes." Molecular immunology 40, 10 (2004): 723-31. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
McCarthy, KM ; McDevit, D.; Andreucci, A.; Reeves, R.; Nikolajczyk, BS "HMGA1 co-activates transcription in B cells through indirect association with DNA." The Journal of biological chemistry 278, 43 (2003): 42106-14. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]
Andreucci, A.; Reeves, R.; McCarthy, KM ; Nikolajczyk, BS "Dominant-negative HMGA1 blocks mu enhancer activation through a novel mechanism." Biochemical and biophysical research communications 292, 2 (2002): 427-33. [PubMed Link] | [ Full text ]