Chris Eskiw
Associate Professor

Food and Bioproduct Sciences

It has long been known that restricting nutrient/calorie intake promotes health and extends lifespan. However, the consequences of reduced nutrient uptake are not understood at the most basic level of our biology -- our genes. Understanding how our genes respond to nutrients is essential in order to design therapies/dietary strategies and to identify naturally occurring molecules found in foods to combat age-related disease and increase lifespan. The work in my laboratory aims to identify not only the genes involved in mediating health and longevity but also the mechanisms that drive this. Furthermore, my goal is to understand how nutrient availability and sensing impact genome folding, influencing in gene expression, leading to increased health and longevity.

• Ph.D. (Cell Biology), University of Toronto
• M.Sc. (Cell Biology), University of Saskatchewan
• B.Sc. (Biological Sciences/Molecular Genetics), University of Alberta

 

Almendáriz-Palacios C, Gillespie ZE, Janzen M, Martinez V, Bridger JM, Harkness TAA, Mousseau DD, Eskiw CH. The Nuclear Lamina: Protein Accumulation and Disease. Biomedicines. 2020 Jul 1;8(7):E188. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines8070188 

Belak Z., Pickering, J.A., Gillespie Z.E., Audette G.F., Eramian M., Mitchell J.A., Bridger J.M., Kusalik A. and Eskiw C.H.  Genes responsive to rapamycin and serum deprivation are clustered on chromosomes and undergo re-organization within local chromatin environments. Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 98(2):178-190  (IF: 2.7)

Clements, C.S., Bikkul, M.U., Ofosu, W., Eskiw, C., Tree, D., Makarov, E., Kill, I.R., Bridger, J.M. Presence and distribution of progerin in HGPS cells is ameliorated by drugs that impact on the mevalonate and mTOR pathways. Biogerontology. 2019 Apr 30. doi: 10.1007/s10522-019-09807-4. (IF: 3.7)

Xiang, W., Belak, Z., Eskiw, C., Ghosh, S., Shand, P.J. Biochemical and Gelation Properties of Mechanically Separated Pork. Meat and Muscle Biology 2 (2), 177-177

Gillespie ZE, Wang C, Vadan F, Yu T, Ausió J, Kusalik A, Eskiw CH. Metformin induces the AP-1 transcription factor network in normal dermal fibroblasts. Sci Rep. 2019 Mar 29;9(1):5369. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-41839-1. (IF: 4.122)

Wang, C. and Eskiw, C.H. Cytoprotective effects of Avenathramide C against oxidative and inflammatory stress in normal human dermal fibroblasts. Scientific Reports, Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 27;9(1):2932. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-39244-9. (IF: 4.122)

Tyagi, M., Cheema, M.S., Dryhurst, D., Eskiw, C.H. and Ausio, J. (2018) Metformin alters H2A.Z dynamics and regulates androgen dependent prostrate cancer progression. Oncotarget. 9(97):37054-37068 (IF: 5.168)

Belak, Z.R., Harkness, T, Eskiw, C.H. (2018) A rapid, high-throughput method for determining chronological lifespan in budding yeast. Journal of Biological Methods 5(4):e106

MacKay, K, Kusalik A and Eskiw C.H. (2018) GrapHi-C: a graph-based visualization of Hi-C data. BMC Research Notes: 11:418; pages 1-8

Belak, Z.R., Ovsenek, N and Eskiw, C.H. (2018) Conserved RNA binding activity of a Yin-Yang 1 homologue in the ova of the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Sci Rep. 2018 May 23;8(1):8061. Pages 1-12doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-26264-0.

Ghavidel A, Baxi K, Prusinkiewicz M, Swan C, Belak Z.R., Eskiw C.H., Carvalho CE, Harkness TA. (2018) Rapid nuclear exclusion of Hcm1 in aging Saccharomyces cerevisiae leads to vacuolar alkalization and replicative senescence. G3 (Bethesda). 2018 May 4;8(5):1579-1592. doi: 10.1534/g3.118.200161.

Salsman, J., Stathakis, A., Parker, E., Chung, D., Anthes, L.E., Koskowich, K.L., Lahsaee, S., Gaston, D., Kukurba, K.R., Smith, K.S., Chute, I.C., Léger, D., Frost, L.D., Montgomery, S.B., Lewis, S.M., Eskiw, C., and Dellaire, G.  2017.  PML nuclear bodies contribute to the basal expression of the mTOR inhibitor DDIT4.  Scientific Reports, (7): 45038.  https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45038

Gillespie, Z.E., Pickering, J., and Eskiw, C.H.  2016.  Better living through chemistry: caloric restriction (CR) and CR mimetics alter genome function to promote increased health and lifespan.  Frontiers in Genetics, 7: 142.  https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2016.00142

Trost, B., Moir, C.A., Gillespie, Z.E., Kusalik, A., Mitchell, J.A., and Eskiw, C.H.  2015.  Concordance between RNA-sequencing data and DNA microarray data in transcriptome analysis of proliferative and quiescent fibroblasts.  Royal Society Open Science, 2(9): 150402.  https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.150402

Mitchell, J.A., Clay, I., Umlauf, D., Chen C., Moir C.A., Eskiw, C.H., Schoenfelder, S., Chakalova, L., Nagano, T., and Fraser, P.J.  2012.  Nuclear RNA sequencing of the mouse erythroid cell transcriptome.  PLoS ONE,7(11): e49274.  https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049274

Eskiw, C.H. and Fraser, P.J.  2011.  Ultra-structural study of transcription factories in mouse erythroblasts. Journal of Cell Science, 124(21): 3676-83.  https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.087981

Mehta, I.S., Eskiw, C.H., Arican, H.D., Kill, I.R., and Bridger, J.M.  2011.  Farnesyltransferase inhibitor treatment restores chromosome territory positions and active chmosome dynamics in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome cells.  Genome Biology, 12(8): R74.  https://doi.org/10.1186/gb-2011-12-8-r74

Eskiw, C.H., Cope, N. F., Clay, I., Schoenfelder, S., Nagano, T., and Fraser, P.J.  2011.  Transcription factories and nuclear organization of the genome.  Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, sqb.2010.75.046.  https://doi.org/10.1101/sqb.2010.75.046

Cope, N.F., Fraser, P., and Eskiw, C.H.  2010.  The yin and yang of chromatin spatial organization.  Genome Biology, 11(3): 204-211. https://doi.org/10.1186/gb-2010-11-3-204

Schoenfelder, S., Sexton, T., Chakalova, L., Cope, N.F., Horton, A., Andrews, S., Kurukuti, S., Mitchell, J.A., Umlauf, D., Dimitrova, D.S., Eskiw, C.H., Luo, Y., Wei, C.-L., Ruan, Y., Bieker, J.J., and Fraser P.  2010.  Preferential associations between co-regulated genes reveal a transcriptional interactome.  Nature Genetics, 42(1): 53-61.  https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.496

• FABS 212: Agrifood and Resource Microbiology
• FABS 362: Functional Foods and Nutriceuticals
• FDSC 888: Nutrigenomics (Graduate Level)
• FDSC 898: Professional Skills in Scientific Communication (Graduate Level)