Education

Ph.D, Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, 1989

Current position

Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Montreal, Canada

Publications (since 2005)

1. Dakal, T. C., Kumar, R. and Ramotar, D. (2017). Structural modeling of human organic cation transporters. Comput Biol Chem 68: 153-163.
2. Ramotar, D. (2017). Caenorhabditis elegans Organic Cation Transporter-2 is a Novel Drug uptake Transporter That Mediates Induced Mutagenesis by Environmental Genotoxic Compounds. J Radiat Cancer Res (8): 61-73.
3. Saad, A., Bijian, K., Qiu, D., da Silva, S. D., Marques, M., Chang, C. H., Nassour, H., Ramotar, D., Damaraju, S., Mackey, J., Bismar, T., Witcher, M. and Alaoui-Jamali, M. A. (2016). Insights into a novel nuclear function for Fascin in the regulation of the amino-acid transporter SLC3A2. Sci Rep 6: 36699.
4. Papaluca, A. and Ramotar, D. (2016). A novel approach using C. elegans DNA damage-induced apoptosis to characterize the dynamics of uptake transporters for therapeutic drug discoveries. Sci Rep 6: 36026.
5. Nassour, H., Wang, Z., Saad, A., Papaluca, A., Brosseau, N., Affar el, B., Alaoui-Jamali, M. A. and Ramotar, D. (2016). Peroxiredoxin 1 interacts with and blocks the redox factor APE1 from activating interleukin-8 expression. Sci Rep 6: 29389.
6. Andreev, E., Brosseau, N., Carmona, E., Mes-Masson, A. M. and Ramotar, D. (2016). The human organic cation transporter OCT1 mediates high affinity uptake of the anticancer drug daunorubicin. Sci Rep 6: 20508.
7. Brosseau, N., Andreev, E. and Ramotar, D. (2015). Complementation of the Yeast Model System Reveals that Caenorhabditis elegans OCT-1 Is a Functional Transporter of Anthracyclines. PLoS One 10(7): e0133182.
8. Wang, Z., Yang, X., Mazouzi, A. and Ramotar, D. (2014). The long N-terminus of the C. elegans DNA repair enzyme APN-1 targets the protein to the nucleus of a heterologous system. Gene 553(2): 151-157.
9. Wang, Z., Ayoub, E., Mazouzi, A., Grin, I., Ishchenko, A. A., Fan, J., Yang, X., Harihar, T., Saparbaev, M. and Ramotar, D. (2014). Functional variants of human APE1 rescue the DNA repair defects of the yeast AP endonuclease/3'-diesterase-deficient strain. DNA Repair (Amst) 22: 53-66.
10. Berra, S., Ayachi, S. and Ramotar, D. (2014). Upregulation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae efflux pump Tpo1 rescues an Imp2 transcription factor-deficient mutant from bleomycin toxicity. Environ Mol Mutagen 55(6): 518-524.
11. Aouida, M., Rubio-Texeira, M., Thevelein, J. M., Poulin, R. and Ramotar, D. (2013). Agp2, a member of the yeast amino acid permease family, positively regulates polyamine transport at the transcriptional level. PLoS One 8(6): e65717.
12. Fadili, E. K., Andreev, E., Wang, Z. and Ramotar, D. (2013). Cellular responses to anthracyclines identify Ku70, a DNA repair factor that changes compartment and remains stable in leukemic cells. Am Cancer Sci 29(2): 73-87.
13. Marrakchi, R., Chouchani, C., Poschmann, J., Andreev, E., Cherif, M. and Ramotar, D. (2013). A functional autophagy pathway is required for rapamycin-induced degradation of the Sgs1 helicase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Biochem Cell Biol 91(3): 123-130.
14. Ramotar, D. (2013). Agp2: A master regulator of polyamine uptake that signals gene expression. OA Molecular & Cell Biology 1(1):5.
15. Ramotar, D. and Aouida, M. (2013). The bleomycin transporter.  In: Panasci, L. C., Aloyz, R. and Alaoui-Jamali, M. A. (Eds). Advances in DNA Repair in Cancer Therapy. Humana Press Inc, 187-209.
16. Yang, X., Fan, J., Ishchenko, A. A., Patel, D., Saparbaev, M. K. and Ramotar, D. (2012). Functional characterization of the Caenorhabditis elegans DNA repair enzyme APN-1. DNA Repair (Amst) 11(10): 811-822.
17. Mulangi, V., Phuntumart, V., Aouida, M., Ramotar, D. and Morris, P. (2012). Functional analysis of OsPUT1, a rice polyamine uptake transporter. Planta 235(1): 1-11.
18. Poschmann, J., Drouin, S., Jacques, P. E., El Fadili, K., Newmarch, M., Robert, F. and Ramotar, D. (2011). The peptidyl prolyl isomerase Rrd1 regulates the elongation of RNA polymerase II during transcriptional stresses. PLoS One 6(8): e23159.
19. Jouvet, N., Poschmann, J., Douville, J., Marrakchi, R. and Ramotar, D. (2011). RNA polymerase II degradation in response to rapamycin is not mediated through ubiquitylation. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 413(2): 248-253.
20. Marrakchi, R., Chouchani, C., Cherif, M., Boudabbous, A. and Ramotar, D. (2011). The isomerase Rrd1 mediates rapid loss of the Sgs1 helicase in response to rapamycin. Biochem Cell Biol 89(3): 332-340.
21. Jouvet, N., Poschmann, J., Douville, J., Bulet, L. and Ramotar, D. (2010). Rrd1 isomerizes RNA polymerase II in response to rapamycin. BMC Mol Biol 11: 92.
22. Aouida, M. and Ramotar, D. (2010). A new twist in cellular resistance to the anticancer drug bleomycin-A5. Curr Drug Metab 11(7): 595-602.
23. Daley, J. M., Zakaria, C. and Ramotar, D. (2010). The endonuclease IV family of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonucleases. Mutat Res 705(3): 217-227.
24. Wehmeier, S., Arnold, M. F., Marlow, V. L., Aouida, M., Myka, K. K., Fletcher, V., Benincasa, M., Scocchi, M., Ramotar, D. and Ferguson, G. P. (2010). Internalization of a thiazole-modified peptide in Sinorhizobium meliloti occurs by BacA-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Microbiology 156(Pt 9): 2702-2713.
25. Daley, J. M., Wilson, T. E. and Ramotar, D. (2010). Genetic interactions between HNT3/Aprataxin and RAD27/FEN1 suggest parallel pathways for 5' end processing during base excision repair. DNA Repair (Amst) 9(6): 690-699.
26. Khodami-pour, A., Aouida, M. and Ramotar, D. (2010). The Na+/H+ exchanger Nhx1 of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is essential to limit drug toxicity. Adv Stud Biol 2(1): 15-34. 
27. Aouida, M., Poulin, R. and Ramotar, D. (2010). The human carnitine transporter SLC22A16 mediates high affinity uptake of the anticancer polyamine analogue bleomycin-A5. J Biol Chem 285(9): 6275-6284.
28. Zakaria, C., Kassahun, H., Yang, X., Labbe, J. C., Nilsen, H. and Ramotar, D. (2010). Caenorhabditis elegans APN-1 plays a vital role in maintaining genome stability. DNA Repair (Amst) 9(2): 169-176.
29. Aouida, M., Khodami-Pour, A. and Ramotar, D. (2009). Novel role for the Saccharomyces cerevisiae oligopeptide transporter Opt2 in drug detoxification. Biochem Cell Biol 87(4): 653-661.
30. Azam, S., Jouvet, N., Jilani, A., Vongsamphanh, R., Yang, X., Yang, S. and Ramotar, D. (2008). Human glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase plays a direct role in reactivating oxidized forms of the DNA repair enzyme APE1. J Biol Chem 283(45): 30632-30641.
31. Azam, S., Drobetsky, E. and Ramotar, D. (2007). Overexpression of the cis/trans isomerase PTPA triggers caspase 3-dependent apoptosis. Apoptosis 12(7): 1243-1255.
32. Choudhury, S. A., Asefa, B., Webb, A., Ramotar, D. and Chow, T. Y. (2007). Functional and genetic analysis of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RNC1/TRM2: evidences for its involvement in DNA double-strand break repair. Mol Cell Biochem 300(1-2): 215-226.
33. Aouida, M. and Ramotar, D. (2007). A potential mechanism of resistance to the anticancer drug bleomycin. Res Adv Cancer 7: 101-110.
34. Tounekti, K., Aouida, M., Leduc, A., Poschmann, J., Yang, X., Belhadj, O. and Ramotar, D. (2006). Deletion of the chromatin remodeling gene SPT10 sensitizes yeast cells to a subclass of DNA-damaging agents. Environ Mol Mutagen 47(9): 707-717.
35. Aouida, M. and Ramotar, D. (2006). Bleomycin holds the key for improved anticancer therapy. Cancer Therapy 4: 171-182.
36. Douville, J., David, J., Lemieux, K. M., Gaudreau, L. and Ramotar, D. (2006). The Saccharomyces cerevisiae phosphatase activator RRD1 is required to modulate gene expression in response to rapamycin exposure. Genetics 172(2): 1369-1372.
37. Vongsamphanh, R., Wagner, J. R. and Ramotar, D. (2006). Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ogg1 prevents poly(GT) tract instability in the mitochondrial genome. DNA Repair (Amst) 5(2): 235-242.
38. Shatilla, A., Ishchenko, A. A., Saparbaev, M. and Ramotar, D. (2005). Characterization of Caenorhabditis elegans exonuclease-3 and evidence that a Mg2+-dependent variant exhibits a distinct mode of action on damaged DNA. Biochemistry 44(38): 12835-12848.
39. Ishchenko, A. A., Yang, X., Ramotar, D. and Saparbaev, M. (2005). The 3'->5' exonuclease of Apn1 provides an alternative pathway to repair 7,8-dihydro-8-oxodeoxyguanosine in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Cell Biol 25(15): 6380-6390.
40. Shatilla, A., Leduc, A., Yang, X. and Ramotar, D. (2005). Identification of two apurinic/apyrimidinic endonucleases from Caenorhabditis elegans by cross-species complementation. DNA Repair (Amst) 4(6): 655-670.
41. Aouida, M., Leduc, A., Poulin, R. and Ramotar, D. (2005). AGP2 encodes the major permease for high affinity polyamine import in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J Biol Chem 280(25): 24267-24276.
42. Desnoyers, J., Ramotar, D., Mathonnet, G., Leger, C. and Drobetsky, E. A. (2005). What a difference a wavelength makes: the role of p53 in nucleotide excision repair of UV-induced DNA damage. In: Sage, E., Drouin, R. and Rouabhia, M. (Eds). From DNA Photolesions to Mutations, Skin Cancer, and Cell Death. RSCPublishing, 5 (13): 219-233. 
43. Ramotar, D., David, J. and Drobetsky, E. (2005). The role of a yeast homologue of the human phosphatase activator hPTPA in the cellular response to oxidative DNA damage. In: Sage, E., Drouin, R. and Rouabhia, M. (Eds). From DNA Photolesions to Mutations, Skin Cancer, and Cell Death. RSCPublishing, 5(7): 103-123.