Phone: (706) 721-9796

Fax: (706) 721-9799

Email: kmotamed@mcg.edu

Office/Lab: CB-3307/CB-3306

Current Projects | Grant Support as Principal Investigator | Lab | Honors & Awards | Invited Speaker | Selected Publications

Angiogenic growth factor signaling; Extracellular Matrix (ECM)-mediated signaling and regulation of angiogenesis, tumorigenesis, and metastasis; ECM-mediated signaling in diabetic nephropathy and endothelial dysfunction; ECM and regulation of pathological angiogenesis in a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy.

• Identification of the underlying molecular mechanisms through which the ECM-associated protein SPARC (Secreted Protein Acidic and Rich in Cysteine) regulates basic fibroblast growth factor-mediated angiogenesis in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo.

• Determination of the role of SPARC in tumorigenesis and peritoneal metastasis of ovarian adenocarcinoma using in vitro models and an immunocompetent syngeneic mouse model.
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• Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms by which SPARC mediates bone metastasis of prostate and breast adenocarcinoma using in vitro models and an immunocompetent syngeneic mouse model.
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• Regulation of kidney mesangial cell and endothelial cell function by SPARC in diabetic nephropathy.
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• Examination of the role of SPARC in regulation of pathological angiogenesis using a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy.

"Role of Extracellular Matrix in Regulation of Prostate and Ovarian Cancer Tumorigenesis"
Principal Investigator: Kouros Motamed
Agency: Georgia Cancer Coalition
Period: August 1, 2003-July 30, 2006

SPONSORED RESEARCH (Pending)
"Regulation of Ovarian Carcinoma Metastasis by SPARC"
Principal Investigator: Kouros Motamed
Agency: NCI/NIH; Type: R01
Period:July 2007-June 2012

• American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant, October 1, 1997-June 30, 1998.



• American Heart Association Summer Student/Mentor Fellowship, 2000-2002.



• American Heart Association Beginning Grant-in Aid, July 1, 2000-June 30, 2002.



• Editorial Board member of Recent Patents on Cardiovascular Drug Discovery, 2005-present.



• Howard Temin Career Development Award, National Cancer Institute/NIH; 2001- 2006.

University College of London, The Rayne Institute, September, 1998.

University of Texas A&M, The Cardiovascular Research Institute, February 25, 1999.

FASEB (short talk), Washington DC, April 1999.

AmCyte Inc., Santa Monica, CA, July 2002.

Medical College of Georgia, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics Cell & Molecular Biology of Cancer Seminar Series, April, 2003.

NovaCal Pharmaceuticals Inc., Emeryville, CA, June 2003.

NovaCal Pharmaceuticals Inc., Emeryville, CA, July 2005.

NovaCal Pharmaceuticals Inc., Oakland, CA July 2005.

Motamed, K., and E.H. Sage. (1997). Regulation of vascular morphogenesis by the matricellular protein SPARC. Kidney Int. 51:1383-1387.

Motamed, K., and Sage, E.H. (1998). SPARC inhibits endothelial cell adhesion but not proliferation through a tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent pathway. J. Cell. Biochem . 70:543-552.

Kupprion, C., Motamed, K., and Sage, E.H. (1998). SPARC inhibits the mitogenic effect of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on microvascular endothelial cells. J. Biol. Chem. 273:29635-29640.

Bradshaw, A. D., Francki, A., Motamed, K., Howe, C., and Sage, E.H. (1999). Primary mesenchymal cells isolated from SPARC-null mice exhibit altered morphology and rates of proliferation. Mol. Biol. Cell. 10:1569-1579.

Motamed, K. (2000). Molecules in Focus: SPARC (osteonectin/BM-40). Intl. J. Biochem. Cell. Biol. 31:1031-1043.

Motamed, K., Funk, S.E., Koyama, H., Raines, E.W., Ross, R., and Sage, E.H. (2002). Inhibition of PDGF-stimulated and matrix-mediated proliferation of human vascular smooth muscle cells by SPARC is independent of changes in cell shape or cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. J. Cell. Biochem. 84:759-771.

Bradshaw, A.D., Graves, D.C., Motamed, K., and Sage, E.H. (2003). SPARC-null mice exhibit increased adiposity without significant differences in overall body weight. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 13:6045-6050.

Motamed, K*., Francki, A*., McClure, T., Kaya, M., Murri, C., Carbon, J. Moore, P. and Sage, E.H. (2003). SPARC regulates IGF-dependent signaling and cell cycle progression in mesangial cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 88:802-811.

Forough, R., Wang, X., Martinez-Lemus, L.A., Thomas, D., Sun, Z., Motamed, K., Parker, J.L., Meininger, G.A. (2003). Cell-based and direct gene transfer-induced angiogenesis via a secreted chimeric fibroblast growth factor-1 (spFGF-1) in the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Angiogenesis 6:47-54.

Motamed, K., Blake, D.J., Angello, J.G., Allen, B., Rapraeger, A.C., Hauschka, S., Sage, E.H. (2003). Fibroblast growth factor receptor -1 mediates the inhibition of microvascular endothelial cell proliferation and the promotion of skeletal myoblast differentiation by SPARC: A role for Protein Kinase A. J. Cell. Biochem. 90:408-423.

Francki, A., McClure, T., R.A. Brekken, Motamed, K., Murri, C., Sage, E.H. SPARC regulates TGF-beta1-dependent signaling in primary glomerular mesangial cells. (2004) J. Cell. Biochem. 91:915-925.

Said, N., and Motamed, K. Absence of host SPARC augments ovarian carcinoma metastasis and ascites formation in a syngeneic mouse model. Amer. J. Pathol. (2005). 167:1739-1752.

Taylor, C.J., Motamed, K., Lilly, B. (2006) Protein kinase C and downstream pathways in a 3-dimensional model of phorbol ester-induced angiogenesis. Angiogenesis. April 11, Epub ahead of print.

Ph.D. in Microbiology,
University of California, Davis, Davis, California
March 1991

B.S. in Biology,,
University of San Francisco, San Francisco, California
June 1982

1991-1994 Senior Fellow, Dept. of Pharmacology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

1994-1998 Senior Fellow, Dept. of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

1998-2002 Associate Investigator, Vascular Biology Group, The Hope Heart Institute, Seattle, WA

2002-present Assistant Professor, Vascular Biology Center and Department of Pathology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA

• Member of AHA Southeast Affiliate Grant Review Committee, May 2005-present.
• Ad hoc Member of the Cancer Research UK Program, 2005.
• Managing Editor of Frontiers in Bioscience, 2005.
• American Society for Cell Biology, 1995-present.
• American Society for Matrix Biology, 2000-present.
• American Association for Cancer Research, 2004-present.
• Member of the Intramural Grant Review Committee, Medical College of Georgia, 2003-present.
• Member of the American Heart Association Grant Review Committee, Southwest Affiliate, 2004-present.