Overview

Dr. Suzuki received her Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University conducting her thesis research with Richard D. Klausner, M.D. at the National Institutes of Health, USA where she studied protein quality control mechanisms in the secretory pathway, which ensure that the T-cell antigen receptor is properly expressed on the plasma membrane of cells. She was a post-doctoral fellow with Gottfried Schatz, Ph.D. at the Biozentrum at the University of Basel, Switzerland where she embarked on studies focusing on the function of ATP-dependent proteases and chaperones in mitochondrial biogenesis and proteostasis. Since joining New Jersey Medical School in 1998, the Suzuki Lab has contributed to understanding the impact of the mitochondrial ATP-dependent LonP1 protease in proteostasis, mitochondrial energy metabolism and disease pathogenesis. Her lab is also exploring post-translational modifications that regulate TFAM, which is an essential activator of mitochondrial transcription and a key participant in mitochondrial DNA replication.

Education

BSC, 1984, University of Illinois at Urbana, Biological Sciences
PHD, 1992, Johns Hopkins University, Cell Biology

Curriculum Vitae

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Relevant Publications

Lee, J., Pandey, A. K., Venkatesh, S., Thilagavathi, J., Honda, T., Singh, K., Suzuki, C.K. Inhibition of mitochondrial LonP1 protease by allosteric blockade of ATP - binding and -hydrolysis via CDDO and its derivatives. J. Biol. Chem. 298:101719 (2022).

Li, S., Li, W., Yuan, J., Bullova, P., Wu, J., Zhang, X., Liu, Y., Plescher, M., Rodriguez, J., Bedoya-Reina, O. C., Jannig, P. R., Valente-Silva, P., Yu, Meng, A. Henriksson, M., Zubarev, R. A., S??rensen, A. S., Suzuki, C. K., Ruas, J. L., Holmberg, J., Larsson, C., Juhlin, C. C., von Kriegsheim, A., Cao, Y., Schlisio, S. Impaired oxygen-sensitive regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis within the von Hippel-Lindau syndrome. Nature Metabolism 4:739 (2022)

Venkatesh, S., Baljinnyam, E., Tong, M., Kashihara, T., Yan, L., Liu, T., Li, H., Xie, L.H., Nakamura, M., Oka, S., Suzuki, C.K., Fraidenraich, D., Sadoshima, J. Proteomic analysis of mitochondrial biogenesis in cardiomyocytes differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells. Am. J. Physiol.- Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative 320:R547-R562 (2020).

Nimmo, G.A.M., Venkatesh, S., Pandey, A.K., Marshall, C.R., Hazrati, L.Z., Blaser, S., Ahmed, S., Cameron, J., Singh, K., Ray, P.N., Suzuki, C.K, Yoon, G.* Bi-allelic mutations of LONP1 encoding the mitochondrial LonP1 protease cause pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency and profound neurodegeneration with progressive cerebellar atrophy. Hum. Mol. Gen., 28:290 (2019) **Co-Corresponding Authors

Venkatesh, S., Li, M., Saito, T., Rashed, E., Mareedu, S., Zhai, P., Barcena, C., Lopez-Otin, C., Yehia, G., Sadoshima, G., Suzuki, C.K. Mitochondrial LonP1 protects cardiomyocytes from ischemia/reperfusion injury in vivo. J. Mol. Cell, Cardio., 128:38 (2019).

King, G.A., Shabestari, M.H., Taris, K.H., Pandey, A.K., Venkatesh, S., Thilagavathi, T., Singh, K., Koppisetti, R.K., Temiakov, D., Roos, W.H., Suzuki, C.K., Wuite, G.J.L., Acetylation and phosphorylation of human TFAM provide contrasting mechanisms for regulating non-specific TFAM-DNA interactions. Nucleic Acids Research, 46(7): 3633'3642 (2018)

Strauss, K.A., Jinks, R.N., Puffenberger, E.G. Venkatesh, S., Singh, K., Cheng, I., Mikita, N., Thilagavathi, J., Lee, J., Sarafianos, S., Benkert, A., Koehler, A., Zhu, A., Trovillion.V., McGlincy, M., Morlet, T., Deardorff, M., Innes, A.M., Prasad, C., Chudley, A.E., Lee, I.N.W., and Suzuki, C.K. CODAS syndrome is associated with mutations of LONP1 encoding mitochondrial AAA+ Lon protease. Am. J. Hum. Genet. . 96, 121?135 (2015).

Lu B, Lee J, Nie X, Li M, Morozov YI, Venkatesh S, Bogenhagen DF, Temiakov D, Suzuki CK. Phosphorylation of human TFAM in mitochondria impairs DNA binding and promotes degradation by the AAA+ Lon protease. Molecular Cell, 49:121 (2013).

Bernstein, S.H., Venkatesh, S. Li, M., Lee, J., Lu B., Hilchey, S.P., Morse, K.M., Metcalf, H.M., Andreeff, M., Brookes, P.S. and Suzuki, C.K., The mitochondrial ATP-dependent Lon protease: a novel drug target in lymphoma death mediated by the synthetic triterpenoids CDDO and its derivatives. Blood. 119:3321 (2012).

Chen S.H., C.K. Suzuki and S.H. Wu, Thermodynamic Characterization of Specific Interactions between Human Lon Protease and G-quartet DNA. Nucl. Acids Res. 36:1273 (2008).

Course List

DENT5085Q		Dental Biochemistry
EDUC6100K		Foundations of Body Systems
EDUC6102K		Cardiovascular System
EDUC7101K		GU/Endocrine System
GSND5200Q		Intro to Biomedical Sciences
GSNDN500B		Fundamentals B: Cell Biology
MBGC5000Q		MBGC Thesis Research
MBGC5071Q		Adv. Nucleic Acids: DNA
MBGC5910Q		MBGC Seminar Series

The Suzuki Lab has contributed to understanding the impact of the mitochondrial ATP-dependent LonP1 protease in proteostasis, mitochondrial energy metabolism and disease pathogenesis. Her lab is also exploring post-translational modifications that regulate TFAM, which is an essential activator of mitochondrial transcription and a key participant in mitochondrial DNA replication.