Dr. R.P. Carvalho

Summary

Ralph Carvalho has been involved in molecular biology research for over 10 years. His initial work focused on human stomach cancer, and this disease later became the topic of his doctoral dissertation at the AMC/UvA. Upon completion of his PhD he decided to combine the intellectually-rewarding aspects of academic research with the dynamics found in small companies. This afforded Ralph valuable project management experience, while allowing him to work toward clear end-products. Prior to joining the IVM, he spent 3 years in Leiden, where he focused on the zebrafish as a vertebrate model to test novel drugs against cancer and tuberculosis, within the framework of the EU ZF-Cancer project. There he co-ordinated different groups in the successful development of a high-throughput drug-screening system using the zebrafish embryo.

At the IVM, Ralph will be working in Juliette Legler’s group within the EU OBELIX project, where the association between prenatal exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds and the development of obesity (and other related disorders) later in life will be ascertained.

Academic training

2002 – 2006: Doctoral dissertation in Molecular Biology (Gastric Carcinogenesis), Academisch Medisch Centrum (University of Amsterdam), Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

1998 – 1999: Master of Science Degree in Toxicology, Imperial College London, United Kingdom. Major field: Pharmacology, Pathology

1994 – 1998: Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry, Imperial College London, United Kingdom

Professional employment history

June 2011 – present: Senior Researcher, Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM), Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam, The Netherlands

May 2008 – April 2011: Project Manager of the EU ZF-Cancer project, ZF-screens BV, Leiden, The Netherlands

September 2006 – April 2008: Senior Researcher, MRC-Holland BV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

September 2002 – August 2006: Doctoral dissertation, Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA), Amsterdam, The Netherlands

March 2000 – August 2002: Junior Research Scientist, IPATIMUP, Porto, Portugal

Expertise

Molecular and cell biology, zebrafish bacterial infection and drug exposure, epigenetics, human carcinogenesis, imaging techniques (confocal microscopy, stereofluorescence microscopy), BSL-2 and BSL-3 experience, bacterial and cell cultures, MLPA and MS-MLPA

Selected publications

Carvalho R, de Sonneville J, Stockhammer OW, Savage ND, Veneman WJ, Ottenhoff TH, Dirks RP, Meijer AH, Spaink HP. “A high-throughput screen for tuberculosis progression” PLoS ONE; 6: e16779, 2011

Milne AN, Leguit R, Corver WE, Morsink FM, Polak M, de Leng WW, Carvalho R, Offerhaus GJ. “Loss of CDC4/FBXW7 in gastric carcinoma” Cell Oncol; 32: 347-359, 2010

Milne AN, Carvalho R, Jansen M, Kranenbarg EK, van de Velde CJ, Morsink FM, Musler AR, Weterman MA, Offerhaus GJ. “Cyclin E low molecular weight isoforms occur commonly in early-onset gastric cancer and independently predict survival” J Clin Pathol; 61: 311-316, 2008

Nygren AH, Lens SI, Carvalho R. “MS-MLPA enables a rapid and reliable distinction between male FMR1 premutation and full mutation alleles” J Mol Diagn; 10: 496-501, 2008

van Hattem WA, Brosens LA, de Leng WW, Morsink FH, Lens SI, Carvalho R, Giardiello FM, Offerhaus GJ. “Large genomic deletions of SMAD4, BMPR1A and PTEN in Juvenile Poliposis” Gut; 57: 623-627, 2008

van Hattem WA, Carvalho R, Li A, Offerhaus GJ, Goggins M. “Amplification of EMSY in a subset of sporadic pancreatic adecarcinomas” Int J Clin Exp Pathol; 1: 343-351, 2008

de Leng WW, Jansen M, Carvalho R, Polak M, Musler AR, Milne AN, Keller JJ, Menko FH, de Rooij FW, Iacobuzio-Donahue CA, Giardiello FM, Weterman MA, Offerhaus GJ. “Genetic defects underlying Peutz-Jeghers syndrome (PJS) and exclusion of the polarity-associated MARK/Par1 gene family as potential PJS candidates” Clin Genet; 72: 568-573, 2007

Milne AN, Sitarz R, Carvalho R, Polak M, Ligtenberg M, Pauwels P, Offerhaus GJ, Weterman MA. “Molecular analysis of primary gastric cancer, corresponding xenografts, and 2 novel gastric carcinoma cell lines reveals novel alterations in gastric carcinogenesis” Hum Pathol; 38: 903-913, 2007

Milne AN, Sitarz R, Carvalho R, Carneiro F, Offerhaus GJ. “Early onset gastric cancer: on the road to unraveling gastric carcinogenesis” Curr Mol Med; 7: 15-28, 2007

Carvalho R, Milne AN, Polak M, Offerhaus GJ, Weterman MA. “A novel region of amplification at 11p12-13 in gastric cancer, revealed by representational difference analysis, is associated with overexpression of CD44v6, especially in early-onset gastric carcinomas” Genes Chromosom Cancer; 45: 967-975, 2006

Milne AN, Carvalho R, Morsink FM, Musler AR, de Leng WW, Ristimäki A, Offerhaus GJ. “Early-onset gastric cancers have a different molecular expression profile than conventional gastric cancers” Mod Pathol; 19: 564-572, 2006

Carvalho R, Milne AN, Polak M, Corver WE, Offerhaus GJ, Weterman MA. “Exclusion of RUNX3 as a tumour-suppressor gene in early-onset gastric carcinogenesis” Oncogene; 24: 8252-8258, 2005

Fukushima N, Koopmann J, Sato N, Prasad N, Carvalho R, Leach SD, Hruban RH, Goggins M. “Gene expression alterations in the non-neoplastic parenchyma adjacent to infiltrating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma” Mod Pathol; 18: 779-787, 2005

Brosens LA, Iacobuzio-Donahue CA, Keller JJ, Hustinx SR, Carvalho R, Morsink FH, Hylind LM, Offerhaus GJ, Giardiello FM, Goggins M. “Increased cyclooxygenase-2 expression in duodenal compared to colonic tissues in familial adenomatous polyposis and relationship to the -765G>C COX-2 polymorphism” Clin Cancer Res; 11: 4090-4096, 2005

Milne AN, Carvalho R, van Rees BP, van Lanschot JJ, Offerhaus GJ, Weterman MA. “Do collision tumors of the gastroesophageal junction exist? A molecular analysis” Am J Surg Pathol; 28: 1492-1498, 2004

Carvalho R, Milne AN, van Rees BP, Caspers E, Cirnes L, Figueiredo C, Offerhaus GJ, Weterman MA. “Early-onset gastric carcinomas display distinct molecular characteristics within gastric carcinogenesis” J Pathol; 204: 75-83, 2004

Machado JC, Figueiredo C, Canedo P, Pharaoh P, Carvalho R, Nabais S, Alves CC, Campos ML, van Doorn LJ, Caldas C, Seruca R, Carneiro F, Sobrinho-Simões, M. “A proinflammatory genetic profile increases the risk for chronic atrophic gastritis and gastric carcinoma” Gastroenterology; 125: 364-371, 2003

Carvalho R, Kayademir T, Soares P, Canedo P, Sousa S, Oliveira C, Leistenschneider P, Seruca R, Gött P, Blin N, Carneiro F, Machado JC. “Loss of heterozygosity and promoter methylation, but not mutation, may underlie loss of TFF1 in gastric carcinoma” Lab Invest; 82: 1319-1326, 2002

Figueiredo C, Machado JC, Pharoah P, Seruca R, Sousa S, Carvalho R, Capelinha AF, Quint W, Caldas C, van Doorn LJ, Carneiro F, Sobrinho-Simões M. “Helicobacter pylori and interleukin-1 genotyping: an opportunity to identify high-risk individuals for gastric carcinoma?” J Natl Cancer Inst; 94: 1680-1687, 2002

Machado JC, Pharoah P, Sousa S, Carvalho R, Oliveira C, Figueiredo C, Amorim A, Seruca R, Caldas C, Carneiro F, Sobrinho-Simões M. “Interleukin-1B and interleukin-1 RN polymorphisms are associated with increased risk of gastric carcinoma” Gastroenterology; 121: 823-829, 2001

Machado JC, Oliveira C, Carvalho R, Soares P, Berx G, Caldas C, Seruca R, Carneiro F, Sobrinho-Simões M. “E-cadherin gene (CDH1) promoter methylation as the second hit in sporadic diffuse gastric carcinoma” Oncogene; 20: 1525-1528, 2001