Biography

  • Staff chemist at the General Electric Corporate Research Center in Schenectady, NY (1988-1991)
  • Post-doctoral researcher at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy (1991-1995)
  • Assistant professor in the UCF Chemistry Department (1995-2000)
  • Associate professor in the UCF Chemistry Department (2000-2006)
  • Full professor in the UCF Chemistry Department (2006-2008)
  • Full professor in the UCF College of Medicine (2008-present)

Publications: 

For a complete list of publications, please click here.

Recent Publications: 

  1. The involvement of polyamine uptake and synthesis pathways in the proliferation of neonatal astrocytes. Christian J. Malpica-Nieves, David E. Rivera-Aponte, Flavia A. Tejeda-Bayron, Angel M. Mayor, Otto Phanstiel, Rüdiger W. Veh, Misty J. Eaton, Serguei N. Skatchkov. Amino Acids 2020, 52, 1169-1180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-020-02881-w
  2. Harnessing the polyamine transport system to treat BRAF inhibitor-resistant melanoma. Eric T. Alexander, Olivia El Naggar, Erin Fahey, Kelsey Mariner, Julia Donnelly, Katelyn Wolfgang, Otto Phanstiel, and Susan K. Gilmour. Cancer Biology & Therapy 2021, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/15384047.2021.1883185 
  3. The discovery of indolone GW5074 during a comprehensive search for non-polyamine-based polyamine transport inhibitors. Aiste Dobrovolskate, Meenu Madan, Veethika Pandey, Deborah A. Altomare, Otto Phanstiel. J. Biochem. Cell Biol. 2021, 138, 106038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocel.2021.106038
  4. Uptake of Biotinylated Spermine in Astrocytes: Effect of Cx43 siRNA, HIV‐Tat Protein and Polyamine Transport Inhibitor on Polyamine Uptake. Christian J. Malpica‐Nieves, Yomarie Rivera, David E. Rivera‐Aponte, Otto Phanstiel, Rüdiger W. Veh, Misty J. Eaton, and Serguei N. Skatchkov. Biomolecules 2021, 11, 1187. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11081187
  5. Development of a redox sensitive spermine prodrug for the potential treatment of Snyder Robinson Syndrome. Mukund P. Tantak, Vandana Sekhar, Xianzun Tao, R. Grace Zhai, and Otto Phanstiel IV. Med. Chem. 2021, 64, 15593-15607. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00419
  6. Sai Preethi Nakkina, Sarah B. Gitto, Veethika Pandey, Jignesh G. Parikh, Dirk Geerts, Hans Carlo Maurer, Ken P. Olive, Otto Phanstiel IV, and Deborah A. Altomare. Differential expression of polyamine pathways in human pancreatic tumor progression and effects of polyamine blockade on tumor microenvironment, Cancers (Basel) 2021, 13, 6391. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13246391
  7. Sai Preethi Nakkina, Sarah B. Gitto, Jordan M. Beardsley, Veethika Pandey, Michael Rohr, Jignesh G. Parikh, Otto Phanstiel IV, and Deborah A. Altomare. DFMO improves survival and increases immune cell infiltration in association with MYC downregulation in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment. Int J Mol Sci. 2021, 22, 13175. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222413175
  8. Development of polyamine lassos as polyamine transport inhibitors. Aiste Dobrovolskaite, Richard Andrew Gardner, Jean-Guy Delcros, and Otto Phanstiel IV. ACS Med Chem Lett, 2022, 13, 319-326. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmedchemlett.1c00557
  9. ATP13A3 facilitates polyamine transport in human pancreatic cancer cells. Vandana Sekhar, Thomas Andl, and Otto Phanstiel IV. Scientific Reports, 2022, 12, 4045. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07712-4
  10. Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) circulating tumor cells influence myeloid cell differentiation to support their survival and immunoresistance in portal vein circulation. Juan Pablo ArnolettiJoseph RezaArmando RosalesAlberto MonrealNa’im FanaianSuzanne WhisnerMilan SrivastavaJulia Rivera-OteroGongxin YuOtto Phanstiel IVDeborah A AltomareQuang TranSally A Litherland. PLOS One 2022, 17, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265725

Education & Specialties

  • Ph.D. (Organic Chemistry): August 1988, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
  • B.S. in Chemistry: May 1984, Duke University, Durham, NC

Specialties:

  • Organic chemistry
  • Medicinal chemistry
  • Drug design
  • Biochemistry

Teaching:

  • UCF Biomedical Sciences Ph.D. program (IDS 7980, IDS 7919)
  • UCF MD program (Cellular Function and Medical Genetics module, FIRE modules)

Research Interests:

  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Polyamine metabolism and cancer growth
  • Cancer metabolism
  • Polyamine transport in human cells
  • Snyder Robinson Syndrome
  • Mitochondrial disease