Skip to content

Research Institute

Maria V. Papadopoulou, PhD

Department of Radiation Medicine
Senior Research Scientist

Contact Information
mpapadopoulou@northshore.org

Education

  • Undergraduate: BS, Chemistry, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki (Greece)
  • Graduate: PhD, Organic Chemistry, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki
  • Post-graduate: Organic Chemistry, Princeton University and University of Pittsburgh

Research Interests

Bioreductive drugs as hypoxia-targeting anticancer/antimetastatic agents in combination with radiotherapy, chemotherapy, radioimmunotherapy and gene therapy, and in the treatment of latent tuberculosis. The development of novel compounds as anti-fungal and anti-parasitic agents.

Honors and Awards

  • (1974 -1978) The National Institute Scholarship (Greece)
  • (1980 -1984) The National Institute Scholarship (Greece)
  • (1998 - 2001) NCI-RAID  Award
  • (2009 - 2012) NIH Challenge Grant: 1R01AI082542 – 01, Subaward No: RU374-063/4693578

Professional Memberships/Affiliations/Activities

  • American Chemical Society.
  • International Society of Heterocyclic Chemistry.
  • Greek Chemical Society
  • American Association for Cancer Research
  • Radiation Research Society
  • Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center
  • AACR-Women in Cancer Research (WICR)
  • Chemistry in Cancer Research Working Group (CCRWG)
  • The Women Faculty Organization at  NWU (WFO)
  • European Association for Cancer Research (EACR)
  • New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS; by invitation)
  • Member of the Editorial Board of Anticancer Drugs
  • Research Associate Professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine

Scholarly Work

Publications in Peer-Review Journals:

  1. Papadopoulou M, Spyroudis S, Varvoglis A. 1,3- Oxathiolene-2-thiones  from  the Reaction of Carbon Disulfide with Zwitterionic Iodonium  Compounds. J. Org. Chem., 50, 1509-1511 (1985).
  2. Kokkinidis G, Papadopoulou M and Varvoglis A. Electrochemical Reduction of [Bis(Acyloxy)iodo]Arenes. Electrochemica Acta, 34, 133-139 (1988).
  3.  E.C. Taylor,  Z.-y. Chang, P. M. Harrington, J. M. Hamby, M. Papadopoulou, J. C. Warner, G. S. K. Wong, C.-m. Yoon, and C. Shih. New Synthetic Studies on Deazafolates. In Chemistry and Biology of Pteridines, H.-Ch. Curtius, S. Ghisla and N. Blau, eds., Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin, New York, 1989, pp. 987-994.
  4. Papadopoulou MV, Epperly MW, Shields DS and Bloomer WD. Radiosensitization and Hypoxic Cell Toxicity of  NLA-1 and NLA-2, Two New Bioreductive Compounds. Jap. J. Cancer Res., 83 (4), 410-414 (1992).
  5. Hatzigrigoriou E, Papadopoulou MV, Shields D and Bloomer WD. 2-Alkyl-sulfonyloxy-3-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinones. A novel class of radio- and chemosensitizers  of V79 cells. Oncol. Res.  5, 29-36 (1993).
  6. Papadopoulou MV, Miller A, Seskey T, Epperly  MW and Bloomer WD. Potentiation of antineoplastic drugs in vitro and in vivo by DNA intercalating bioreductive agents. Radiat. Oncol. Invest. , 1, 206-217 (1993).
  7. Papadopoulou MV, Goswami S and Hamilton AD. Synthesis of Artificial Receptors as Potential Candidates for Recognition and Binding of Pterin Analogs. J. Heterocyclic Chem., 32 , 675-681 (1995).
  8. Papadopoulou MV, Ji M and Bloomer WD. THNLA-1 as radio/chemosensitizer of EMT-6 tumors in mice. Br. J. Cancer 74(Suppl. XXVII) S267-S270, 1996.
  9. Papadopoulou MV, Ji M and Bloomer WD. NLCQ-1, a novel hypoxic cytotoxin: potentiation of melphalan, cisDDP and cyclophosphamide in vivo. Int. J. Radiat. Oncol. Biol. Phys. 42, 775-779, 1998. 
  10. Papadopoulou MV, Ji M, Rao MK,Bloomer WD. 4-[3-(2-Nitro-1-imidazolyl)-propylamino]-7-chloroquinoline hydrochloride (NLCQ-1), a novel bioreductive compound as a hypoxia-selective cytotoxin. Oncol. Res. 12, 185-192, 2000.
  11. Papadopoulou MV, Ji M, Bloomer WD. Schedule-dependent potentiation of chemotherapeutic drugs by the bioreductive compounds NLCQ-1 and Tirapazamine against EMT6 tumors in mice. Cancer Chem. Pharmacol. 48(2): 160-168, 2001.
  12. Blumenthal RD, Taylor A, Osorio L, Ochakovskaya R, Raleigh J, Papadopoulou M, Bloomer WD, Goldenberg DM. Optimizing the use of combined radioimmunotherapy and hypoxic cytotoxin therapy as a function of tumor hypoxia. Int. J. Cancer , 94: 564-571, 2001.
  13. Papadopoulou MV, Ji M, Ji X, Bloomer WD, Hollingshead MG. Therapeutic advantage from combining Paclitaxel with the hypoxia-selective cytotoxin NLCQ-1 in murine tumor- or human xenograft-bearing mice. Cancer Chem. Pharmacol. 50: 501-508, 2002.
  14. Papadopoulou MV, Ji M, Bloomer WD, Hollingshead MG. Enhancement of the antitumor effect of cyclophosphamide with the hypoxia-selective cytotoxin NLCQ-1 against murine tumors and human xenografts. J. Exp. Ther. Oncol. 2(5):298-305, 2002
  15. Papadopoulou MV, Ji M, Rao MK and Bloomer WD. Reductive Activation of the Nitroimidazole-based Hypoxia-Selective Cytotoxin NLCQ-1 (NSC 709257). Oncology Research-AntiCancer Drug design 14: 21-29, 2003.
  16. Papadopoulou MV, Bloomer WD. NLCQ-1 (NSC 709257): exploiting hypoxia with a weak DNA-intercalating bioreductive drug [Review]. Clinical Cancer Research 9:  5714-5720, 2003.
  17. Papadopoulou MV, Rosenzweig HS, Bloomer WD. Synthesis of a Novel Nitroimidazole-spermidine Derivative as a Tumor-targeted Hypoxia-selective Cytotoxin.  Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 14: 1523-1525, 2004.
  18. Papadopoulou MV, Rosenzweig HS, Bloomer WD. Synthesis of novel 2-nitroimidazole-tethered tricyclic quinolines, bearing a second heteroatom, and their in vitro evaluation as hypoxia-selective cytotoxins and radiosensitizers. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 14: 1519-1522, 2004.
  19. Papadopoulou MV, Bloomer WD. Exploiting Hypoxia in Solid Tumors with DNA-targeted Bioreductive Drugs. Drugs of the Future, 29(8):807-819, 2004.
  20. Rosenzweig, H.S., Papadopoulou, M.V. and Bloomer, W.D. Interaction of Strong DNA-intercalating Bioreductive Compounds with Topoisomerases I and II. Oncol. Res. 15:219-231, 2005.
  21. Papadopoulou MV, Bloomer WD, Hollingshead MG. NLCQ-1 (NSC 709257) in Combination with Radiation Against Human Glioma U251 Xenografts.  Anticancer Res.  25(3):1865-1870, 2005.
  22. Papadopoulou MV, Pouremad  R, Bloomer  WD, Wyrwicz  A. Novel Non-invasive Probes for Measuring Tumor-hypoxia by 19F-Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (19F-MRS).  Studies in the SCCVII/C3H Murine Model. Anticancer Res. 26(5): 3259-3264, 2006
  23. Papadopoulou MV, Bloomer WD, Taylor AP, Hernandez M, Blumenthal RD, Hollingshead MG. Advantage in Combining NLCQ-1 (NSC 709257) with Radiation in Treatment of Human Head and Neck Xenografts. Radiation Res. 168:65-71, 2007.
  24. Papadopoulou  MV, Bloomer WD, McNeil MR. NLCQ-1 and NLCQ-2, Two New Agents with Activity Against  Dormant Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. Int. J. Antimicrobial Agents 29:724-729, 2007.
  25. Papadopoulou  MV, Bloomer WD. NLNQ-1, a 2-[3-(2-nitro-1-imidazolyl)-propylamino]-3-chloro-1,4-naphthoquinone as a hypoxia-selective cytotoxin and radiosensitizer. In Vivo, 22: 285-288, 2008 (Invited).
  26. Cowen RL, Garside EJ, Fitzpatrick B, Papadopoulou MV, Williams KJ. Gene therapy approaches to enhance bioreductive drug treatment. Br. J. Radiol. 81: S45-S56, 2008.
  27. Papadopoulou  MV, Bloomer WD. Nitroimidazole-based bioreductive compounds bearing a quinazoline or a naphthyridine chromophore. Anti-cancer Drugs 20(6):493-502, 2009.
  28. Papadopoulou  MV, Bloomer WD, Torti VR, Page JG.  IND-directed, five-day repeat dose toxicity study of NLCQ-1 (NSC 709257) administered with or without Taxol® in Sprague Dawley rats. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 106:497-504, 2010
  29. Papadopoulou  MV, Bloomer WD, Torti VR, Page JG. IND-Directed Toxicology and Pharmacokinetic Study of NLCQ-1 (NSC 709257) in Beagle Dogs. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology 106:511–522, 2010.
  30. Lunt SJ, Cawthorne C, Ali M, Telfer BA, Babur M, Hogg A, Julian PJ, Price PM, Stratford IJ, Bloomer WD, Papadopoulou MV, Williams KJ. The hypoxia-selective cytotoxin NLCQ-1 (NSC 709257) controls metastatic disease when used as an adjuvant to radiotherapy. Br. J. Cancer 103:201-208, 2010.
  31. Papadopoulou MV, Ji M, Bloomer WD. Hypoxia-Dependent Retinal Toxicity of NLCQ-1 (NSC 709257) in BALB/c Mice. Comparison with Tirapazamine. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 108, 396-399, 2011.
  32. Papadopoulou MV, Bourdin B, Bloomer W, Prasittichai C, Brun R, Kaiser M, Torreele E, Wilkinson S, McKenzie C. Novel 3-Nitro-1,2,4-triazole-based Aliphatic and Aromatic Amines as anti-Chagasic Agents. J. Med. Chem. 54(23), 8214-8223, 2011. DOI: 10.1021/jm201215n.
  33. Papadopoulou MV, Bloomer W, Rosenzweig HS, Chatelain E, Kaiser M, Wilkinson S, McKenzie C, Ioset J-R. Novel 3-Nitro-1H-1,2,4-triazole-based amides and sulfonamides as potential anti-trypanosomal agents. J. Med. Chem 55(11), 5554-5565, 2012. DOI: 10.1021/jm300508n
  34. Li L-P, Franklin T, Du H, Carbray J, Papadopoulou-Rosenzweig M, Solomon R, Prasad PV. Intra-renal oxygenation by BOLD MRI in contrast nephropathy model: effect of the viscosity and dose.  JMRI, 2012 (Accepted)

Peer Review Service:

  • Reviewer of Scientific Journals: Cancer Research, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Clinical Cancer Research; Anti-Cancer Drugs; Bioorganic & Medicinal  Chemistry  Letters; Bioorganic & Medicinal  Chemistry;   Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents; European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry; European Journal of Organic Chemistry; Medical Science Monitor; Drug Design and Discovery; Technology in Cancer Research and Treatment; BioMed Central (BMC Cancer); British Journal of Radiology; Australian Journal of Chemistry; International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents; Eur. J. of Medicinal chemistry; Medicinal Chemistry (Bentham); British J. Cancer; International Journal of Radiation Biology; Investigational New Drugs; Molecular Pharmaceutics (ACS publication); Neoplasia; Future Medicinal Chemistry; Drug Design, Development and Therapy; Research and Reports in Medicinal Chemistry; Research and Reports in Tropical Medicine (Dovepress); J. Med. Chem. (ACS); J. Biolog. Phys.; Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry; Medicinal Chemistry Communications
  • Reviewer of a grant proposal, submitted to the Istituto Toscano Tumori (ITT), Italy.

Presentations:

  • Invited Speaker and Session Chairperson: 7th International Conference of Anticancer Research, Corfu Greece, 25-30 October 2004.
  • Member of the Organizing Committee, Session Chairman and Invited Speaker: 8th Int. Conference of Anticancer Research , Kos, Greece, October 17-22, 2008.
  • Invited speaker in the NY Academy of Sciences symposium on March 14, 2012, entitled:  ‘Therapeutic and Diagnostic Modalities Targeting Hypoxia in Cancer.’ 
  • Invited (and accepted the invitation) by the State Scholarships Foundation of Greece to be an evaluator of candidates that will apply for a scholarship for a Master or Doctoral Degree in Biosciences or Chemistry fields for the academic years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013. This act is materialized in the framework of the Operational Programme “Education and Lifelong Learning” and is co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund – ESF) and by public recourses.
  • Invited to be a Chief Editor for New journals in Biological Sciences by Mehta Press. 
  • Invited (and accepted the invitation) by the Organizing Committee of the Target Meeting 2nd world drug discovery online conference held on October 16-18, 2012, to be a speaker. 

Patents:

  • Acridine-Intercalator Based Hypoxia Selective Cytotoxins.  Papadopoulou-Rosenzweig MV. and Bloomer WD. US Patent; Issued: March, 15, 1994, #5,294,715.
  • DNA-affinic Hypoxia Selective Cytotoxins. M.V. Papadopoulou-Rosenzweig and W.D. Bloomer. US Patent; Issued: February 11, 1997, #5,602,142
  • DNA-affinic Hypoxia Selective Cytotoxins (Divisional of No: 5,602,142). M.V. Papadopoulou-Rosenzweig and W.D. Bloomer. US Patent; Issued: September 28, 1999. #5,958,947
  • Method of treating latent tuberculosis. Maria V. Papadopoulou and W.D. Bloomer. US Provisional Patent Application, No:  28493/41859 (9-1-2006).