Brief Biography

David Kaplan received his BA from Clark University in Worcester, MA, in 1978, and his PhD from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA in 1987. His PhD thesis work with Dr. Thomas Roberts at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute identified and characterized the regulatory subunit of the signal transducing protein PI-3 kinase. Dr. Kaplan performed his post-doctoral studies from 1988-1990 at the University of California, San Francisco with Dr. Harold Varmus, identifying novel substrates that interact with growth factor receptors.

In 1990, Dr. Kaplan established a laboratory at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, MD where, in collaboration with Luis Parada's laboratory, he identified Trk as the receptor for nerve growth factor. In 1996, Dr. Kaplan relocated his laboratory to the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill where he was a professor in the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, research head of the Brain Tumour Research Centre, and William Feindel Chair in Neuro-oncology.

In 2002, he became a senior scientist and head of Cancer Research at The Hospital for Sick Children and professor, Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Cancer and Neuroscience. His laboratory focuses upon examining signal transduction processes in neurons and neural tumour cells.

Research Interests

• Signal transduction by protein kinases in neurons and neural tumour cells
• Signal transduction pathways regulating the survival, growth, and regeneration of neurons
• Signal transduction pathways regulating the survival, proliferation, and migration of neuroblastoma, medulloblastoma, and glioma cells.

External Funding

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (F. Miller PI, D. Kaplan co-applicant)
  Regulation of neuronal survival by the p53 family
• James Birrell Neuroblastoma Research Fund (D. Kaplan PI)
  Drug discovery for neuroblastoma - Partnership for Stem Cell Network and Solving Kid's Cancer grants
• Lilah’s Fund (Neuroblastoma Research) (D. Kaplan PI)
  Drug discovery for neuroblastoma - Partnership for Stem Cell Network grant
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  (M. Moran PI, D. Kaplan, D. Rotin, C. Bear, J. McGlade, A. Guha, F. Keeley, W. Trimble. R. Rottapel, co-applicants)
  Resource grant, The advanced protein technology centre
• National Cancer Institute of Canada (D. Kaplan PI, F. Miller co-PI)
  Origin and progression of neuroblastoma
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (F. Miller PI, D. Kaplan co-applicant)
  Developmental dysgenesis of the mammalian brain: underlying mechanisms
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (D. Kaplan PI, F. Miller co-applicant)
  Signaling pathways regulating neuronal growth
• Canadian Stem Cell Network
  (J. Hassell PI, D. Kaplan, J. Dick, S. Singh, S. Weiss, K. Humphries, J. Wrana, co-applicants)
  Cancer stem cell genomics and therapeutics
• Solving Kid’s Cancer Foundation (USA) (D. Kaplan PI)
  Neuroblastoma drug discovery group at The Hospital for Sick Children
• Ontario Institute of Cancer Research (J. Dick PI) OICR
  Cancer Stem Cell Program
• Terry Fox Cancer Institute/Ontario Institute of Cancer Research (R. Rottapel PI)
  Screening cluster seed grant
• Canadian Stem Cell Network
  (J. Hassell PI, D. Kaplan, J. Dick, S. Singh, S. Weiss, K. Humphries, J. Wrana, co-applicants)
  Cancer stem cell drug discovery
• Canadian Stem Cell Network
  (F. Miller PI, D. Kaplan, S. Weiss, W. Tetzlaff, B. Kwon, J. Illes, co-applicants)
  Stem cells to treat spinal cord injury
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  (F. Miller PI, D. Kaplan, S. Weiss, W. Tetzlaff, B. Kwon, co-applicants)
  Emerging Team Grant, Stem cells to treat spinal cord injury

Achievements

• Barbara Turnbull Award for Spinal Cord Injury Research, CIHR Institute of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Addiction, Barbara Turnbull Foundation, Neuroscience Canada Foundation (2003)
• William Feindel Chair in Neuro-oncology, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University (2001)
• Research Scientist Award, Canadian Cancer Society (1996-2002)
• Harold E. Johns Award for most outstanding applicant for a CCS Research Scientist Award, National Cancer Institute of Canada (1996)
• National Research Service Award for Post Doctoral Fellowship, National Institutes of Health (1988-1990)
• Richard K. Smith Award and Seminar, Dana Farber Cancer Institute (1986)
• National Institutes of Health, Pre-doctoral Trainee award (1980-1984)

Publications

Wetzel MK, Naska S, Laliberté CL, Rymar VV, Fujitani M, Biernaskie JA, Cole CJ, Lerch JP, Spring S, Frankland PW, Henkelman RM, Josselyn SA, Sadikot A, Miller FD, Kaplan DR. (2008) p73 regulates neurodegeneration and phospho-tau accumulation during aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Neuron 59:708-721.

Singh K, Park KJ, Hong EJ, Kramer BM, Greenberg ME, Kaplan DR, Miller FD. (2008) Developmental axon pruning mediated by BDNF:p75NTR-dependent axon degeneration. Nature Neuroscience 11:649-658.

Hansford LM, McKee AE, Zhang L, George R, Gerstle JT, Thorner PT, Smith KM, Look AT, Yeger H, Miller FD, Irwin MS, Thiele CJ, Kaplan DR. (2007) Neuroblastoma cells isolated from bone marrow metastases contain an enriched tumor-initiating cell. Cancer Research 67:11234-43.

Bartkowska K (co-supervised PDF), Paquin A, Gauthier AS. Kaplan DR, Miller FD. (2007) Trk signaling regulates neural precursor cell proliferation and differentiation during cortical development. Development 134:4269-80.

Quevedo C (co-supervised PDF), Kaplan DR, Derry B. 2007. AKT-1 regulates DNA-damage induced apoptosis in C. elegans by CEP-1/p53 dependent and independent mechanisms. Current Biology 17:286-92.

Gauthier AS (co-supervised student), Furstoss O, Toshiyuki A, Chan R, Neel B, Kaplan DR, Miller FD. (2007) Control of CNS cell-fate decisions by SHP-2 and its dysregulation in Noonan syndrome. Neuron 54:245-262.

Naska S, Park K, Hannigan GE, Dedhar S, Miller FD, Kaplan DR. (2006) An essential role for an ILK-GSK-3beta pathway during dendrite initiation and growth. J. Neurosci. 26:13344-56.

Lin DC, Quevedo C, Brewer NE, Bell A, Testa J, Grimes ML, Miller FD, Kaplan DR. (2006) APPL1 associates with TrkA and GIPC1, and is required for NGF-mediated signal transduction. Molec. Cell. Biol. 26:8928-8941.

Hibbert AP, Kramer BMR, Miller FD, Kaplan DR. (2006) The localization, trafficking and retrograde transport of BDNF bound to p75NTR in sympathetic neurons. Molec. Cell. Neurosci. 32:387-402.

Jacobs WB, Govoni G, Ho D, Atwal JK, Barnabe-Heider F, Keyes WM, Mills AA, Miller FD, Kaplan DR. (2005) p63 is an essential proapoptotic protein during neural development. Neuron 48:743-756.

Lavoie J-F, LeSauteur L, Kohn J, Wong J, Thiele C, Miller FD, Kaplan DR. (2005) TrkA induces apoptosis of neuroblastoma cells and does so via a p53-dependent mechanism. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 29199-29207.

Patents

D.R. Kaplan, D. Martin-Zanca, and L. Parada. "The Trk tyrosine kinase is the physiological receptor for nerve growth factor." U.S. Patent 5,321,001, also in Europe, Canada, Japan.

R. Aloyz, D.R. Kaplan, and F.D. Miller. "A method for identifying compounds that regulate neuronal survival." Filed 1998, patent approved in Europe.

D.R. Kaplan, F.D. Miller, and H.N. Marsh. "Use of SHP-1 and SHP-2 to detect compounds involved in neuronal survival." Filed 1998, patent approved in Europe.

Intellectual Property

Chemicals Affecting Neuroblastoma
Corporate Ventures