Contact
Positions
Service Assistant Professor, Director of Translational Laboratory Shared Service
- Organization:
- West Virginia University WVU Cancer Institute
- Department:
- WVU Cancer Institute Administration
- Classification:
- Staff
Education
- BS, Moi University, Kenya, 2009
- PhD, University of Alberta, Canada, 2016
Publications
Select Publications
#Corresponding author.
×Shared co-first authorship.
1. #Githaka JM, Kirschenman R, Patel N, Tripathi N, Wang J, Li L, et al. Multiple anti-tumor programs are activated by blocking BAD phosphorylation. Oncogene. 2025;44(29):2530–46.
2. Aalto T, Abacan M, Abadi S, Aghababazadeh FA, Abbaszadeh Z, Razak AA, et al. The Terry Fox Research Institute Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network: A pan-Canadian precision oncology initiative. Cancer Cell. 2025;43(4):587–92.
3. #Githaka JM. “Misuse” of RNA-seq data in microbiome studies: A cautionary tale of poly(A). mLife. 2025;4(3):227–31.
4. ×Githaka JM, ×Gutiérrez T, Han ZZ, Primeau JO, Muranyi H, Young HS, et al. The non-cytotoxic small molecule NPB does not inhibit BAD phosphorylation and forms colloidal aggregates. Communications medicine. 2025;5(1):166.
5. Choi WS, Jeon P, Peyton S, Garg M, Githaka JM, Liu RZ, et al. Glioblastoma Tumor Microtubes and Brain Fatty Acid-binding Protein: Path to Directional Infiltration. Neuro-Oncology. 2025; noaf200
6. Lerner EP, Arjomand Fard N, Githaka JM, Hotte N, Ezeh C, Huynh HQ, et al. Establishment of a National Surgical Tissue Biobank for Pediatric Crohn’s Disease: An Implementation Feasibility Study. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2025;60(4).
7. ×Pirayeshfard L, ×Luo S, ×Githaka JM, Saini A, Touret N, Goping IS, et al. Comparing the BAD Protein Interactomes in 2D and 3D Cell Culture Using Proximity Labeling. Journal of Proteome Research. 2024;23(8):3433–43.
8. Hugh JC, Haddon LSJ, Githaka JM. DREAM On, DREAM Off: A Review of the Estrogen Paradox in Luminal A Breast Cancers. Biomedicines. 2024;12(6).
9. #Githaka JM, Pirayeshfard L, Goping IS. Cancer invasion and metastasis: Insights from murine pubertal mammary gland morphogenesis. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj. 2023;1867(8).
10. #Githaka JM. Molnupiravir Does Not Induce Mutagenesis in Host Lung Cells during SARS-CoV-2 Treatment. Bioinform Biol Insights. 2022;16:11779322221085076.
11. Hugh JC, Haddon LSJ, Githaka JM, Bigras G, Hu X, Madden B, et al. DREAM, a possible answer to the estrogen paradox of the Women’s Health Initiative Trial. Heliyon. 2022;8(1):e08666.
12. Githaka JM, Tripathi N, Kirschenman R, Patel N, Pandya V, Kramer DA, et al. BAD regulates mammary gland morphogenesis by 4E-BP1-mediated control of localized translation in mouse and human models. Nature Communications. 2021;12(1).
13. Zare A, Postovit LM, #Githaka JM. Robust inflammatory breast cancer gene signature using nonparametric random forest analysis. Breast Cancer Research. 2021;23(1).
14. Pandya V, Githaka JM, Patel N, Veldhoen R, Hugh J, Damaraju S, et al. BIK drives an aggressive breast cancer phenotype through sublethal apoptosis and predicts poor prognosis of ER-positive breast cancer. Cell Death & Disease. 2020;11(6).
15. Fu J, Githaka JM, Dai X, Plummer G, Suzuki K, Spigelman AF, et al. A glucose-dependent spatial patterning of exocytosis in human β cells is disrupted in type 2 diabetes. JCI Insight. 2019;4(12).
16. Mann J, Githaka JM, Buckland TW, Yang N, Montpetit R, Patel N, et al. Non-canonical BAD activity regulates breast cancer cell and tumor growth via 14-3-3 binding and mitochondrial metabolism. Oncogene. 2019;38(18):3325–39.
17. Fu J, Dai X, Plummer G, Suzuki K, Bautista A, Githaka JM, et al. Kv2.1 clustering contributes to insulin exocytosis and rescues human β-cell dysfunction. Diabetes. 2017;66(7):1890–900.
18. Githaka JM, Vega AR, Baird MA, Davidson MW, Jaqaman K, Touret N. Ligand-induced growth and compaction of CD36 nanoclusters enriched in Fyn induces Fyn signaling. Journal of cell science. 2016;129(22):4175–89.
Awards
Awards / Honors
2024 Cell Imaging Research & Development Seed Grant (Co-applicant), University of Alberta
2024 Alberta Cancer Foundation Game Changer Fund (Co-applicant), Alberta Cancer Foundation
2021 Best presentation Award-Biochemistry Research Day, University of Alberta
2019 Best poster-CRINA Research Day, Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta
2017 MemStar Award, University of Alberta
2014 Profiling Alberta’s Graduate Students Award, University of Alberta
2014 IRTG-NSERC Scholarship, University of Alberta
2013 GSA Professional Development Award, University of Alberta
2013 Traineeship Sponsorship, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Spectral Applied Research Inc
2013 IRTG-NSERC Scholarship, University of Alberta
2012 University of Alberta Doctoral Recruitment Scholarship, University of Alberta
2012 GSA Professional Development Award, University of Alberta
2012 American Society for Cell Biology Travel Award, American Society for Cell Biology
2012 IRTG-NSERC Scholarship, University of Alberta
2011 JB Collip Biochemistry Student Award, University of Alberta
2010 Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. Graduate Scholarship, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada
2009 First Class Honors, Moi University