Alexander Ljubimov, PhD

Director, Opthalmology Research Laboratories
Email:ljubimov@cshs.org
Phone:(310) 423-7645
Fax:(310) 423-0302

Institute Affiliation

Regenerative Medicine Institute

Academic Appointments

Professor, Surgery
Professor, Medicine

Awards and Activities

Young Investigator Award, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center1998
American Cancer Society-Eleanor Roosevelt International UICC Fellowship1991
Editorial Board Member: DiabetesCurrent
Editorial Board Member: Brain Research BulletinCurrent
Executive Editor: Experimental Eye ResearchCurrent
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology1993
American Diabetes Association1995
International Society for Eye Research2000

Research Focus

Lentiviral and adenoviral gene therapy for diabetic cornea. Inhibition of protein kinase CK2 to block hematopoietic stem cell engraftment into pathological retinal capillaries.

Research Contributions

Produced monoclonal antibodies distributed worldwide by many companies. Discovered new markers of diabetic retinopathy, diabetic keratopathy, and bullous keratopathy. Initiated studies of protein kinase CK2 in angiogenesis. Applied combination therapy against pathological retinal angiogenesis.

Current investigations include:

Gene therapy for diabetic keratopathy using human organ-cultured corneas. Role of protein kinase CK2 in vascular engraftment of hematopoietic stem cells. New nanobiopolymer drug delivery system to inhibit ocular neovascularization (with the Department of Neurosurgery).

Selected Publications

  1. Kramerov AA, Saghizadeh M, Caballero S, Shaw LC, Li Calzi S, Bretner M, Montenarh M, Pinna LA, Grant MB, Ljubimov AV: Inhibition of protein kinase CK2 suppresses angiogenesis and hematopoietic stem cell recruitment to retinal neovascularization sites. Mol. Cell. Biochem., , 2008
  2. Ljubimova JY, Fujita M, Ljubimov AV, Torchilin VP, Black KL, Holler E: Poly(malic acid) nanoconjugates containing various antibodies and oligonucleotides for multitargeting drug delivery. Nanomedicine (London, England), 3(2): 247-65, 2008
  3. Afzal A, Shaw LC, Ljubimov AV, Boulton ME, Segal MS, Grant MB: Retinal and choroidal microangiopathies: therapeutic opportunities. Microvasc. Res., 74(2-3): 131-44, 2007
  4. Kramerov AA, Saghizadeh M, Pan H, Kabosova A, Montenarh M, Ahmed K, Penn JS, Chan CK, Hinton DR, Grant MB, Ljubimov AV: Expression of protein kinase CK2 in astroglial cells of normal and neovascularized retina. Am. J. Pathol., 168(5): 1722-36, 2006
  5. Fujita M, Khazenzon NM, Ljubimov AV, Lee BS, Virtanen I, Holler E, Black KL, Ljubimova JY: Inhibition of laminin-8 in vivo using a novel poly(malic acid)-based carrier reduces glioma angiogenesis. Angiogenesis, 9(4): 183-91, 2006
  6. Saghizadeh M, Kramerov AA, Tajbakhsh J, Aoki AM, Wang C, Chai NN, Ljubimova JY, Sasaki T, Sosne G, Carlson MR, Nelson SF, Ljubimov AV: Proteinase and growth factor alterations revealed by gene microarray analysis of human diabetic corneas. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., 46(10): 3604-15, 2005