Deron Herr, PhD
Associate Professor of Clinical Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Pharmacology
- Address
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620 N. Chestnut Street
Holmstedt Hall 151
Terre Haute, IN 47809 - PubMed:
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Bio
Originally from St. Louis, MO, I received my BS in biology at Truman State University before moving out west for graduate studies at the SDSU/UCSD joint doctoral program under the dual mentorship of Greg L. Harris (SDSU) and Julie D. Saba (CHORI/UCSF). Then, following a postdoc at TSRI with Jerold Chun, I began an academic research program in the Department of Pharmacology at the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. Upon returning to the US, I spent 2 years as a Research Associate Professor at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute before taking up my current position at IU. In parallel with my academic research, I have maintained an interest in early-stage translational drug development, having co-founded two biotech startups (Expression Drug Designs, LLC and Bahto Biosciences, LLC) and serving as the Senior Director of Biology for a seed-stage therapeutics company (Ligature Tx, Pte Ltd).
Key Publications
Selected publications (of >100)
Induction of pyroptosis by metabolism of docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA)
1. Srikanth M, Chandrasaharan K, Zhao X, Chayaburakul K, Ong WY, Herr DR. Metabolism of Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) Induces Pyroptosis in BV-2 Microglial Cells. Neuromolecular Med. 2018 Dec;20(4):504-514. doi: 10.1007/s12017-018-8511-0.
2. Herr DR, Yam TYA, Tan WSD, Koh SS, Wong WSF, Ong WY, Chayaburakul K‡. Ultrastructural Characteristics of DHA-Induced Pyroptosis. Neuromolecular Medicine. 2020 Jun;22(2):293-303. doi: 10.1007/s12017-019-08586-y.
3. Cheng AL, Chai YL, Lee JH, Low CYB, Ong HL, Dawe GS, Arumugam TV, Herr DR, Tan MGK, Lai MKP. Fyn-T Kinase Regulates DHA-Induced Pyroptosis in Immortalized Normal Human Astrocytes. Cells. 2025 Sep 30;14(19):1530. doi: 10.3390/cells14191530. PMID: 41090758; PMCID: PMC12523382.
S1PR2 as a drug target for the treatment of painful neuropathy
1. Herr DR, Grillet N, Schwander M, Rivera R, Mueller U, Chun J. (2007). Sphingosine 1-phosphate signaling is required for maintenance of hair cells largely via activation of S1P2. Journal of Neuroscience. Feb 7;27(6):1474-8. PMC6673597.
2. Deron R. Herr, Marie J. Y. Reolo, Peh Yee Xin, Wei Wang, Chang-Wook Lee, Rich Rivera, Ian C. Paterson, Jerold Chun. (2016) Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 2 (S1P2) attenuates reactive oxygen species formation and inhibits cell death: implications for otoprotective therapy. Nature Scientific Reports. 2016 Apr 15;6:24541. PMC4832229.
3. Wang W, Xiang P, Chew WS, Torta F, Bandla A, Lopez V, Seow WL, Lam BWS, Chang JK, Wong P, Chayaburakul K, Ong WY, Wenk MR, Sundar R‡, Herr DR. Activation of sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 2 attenuates chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. J Biol Chem. Editors' Pick and cover story. 2020 Jan 24;295(4):1143-1152. PMC6983853.
4. Lam BWS, Xiang P, Peng B, Soon LJJ, Yam ATY, Lim CMH, Zheng Y, Nguyen LN, Herr DR, Le MTN‡. Activation of S1P2 is protective against cisplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy. Cell Prolif. 2023 Sep 19:e13549. doi: 10.1111/cpr.13549.
Dysregulation of lipids in metabolic and neurodegenerative diseases
1. Wee Siong Chew, Federico Torta, Shanshan Ji, Hyung Won Choi, Xueling Sim, Chin Meng Khoo, Eric Yin Hao Khoo, Wei Yi Ong, Rob Martinus Van Dam, Markus R. Wenk‡, E. Shyong Tai‡, Deron R. Herr. Large-scale lipidomics identifies associations between plasma sphingolipids and T2DM incidence. JCI Insight. 2019 Jun 4;5(13):e126925. PMC6629294
2. Chua XY, Chai YL, Chew WS, Chong JR, Ang HL, Xiang P, Camara K, Howell AR, Torta F, Wenk MR, Hilal S, Venketasubramanian N, Chen CP, Herr DR*, Lai MKP*. Immunomodulatory sphingosine 1-phosphates as plasma biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular cognitive impairment. Alzheimer's Research & Therapy. 2020 Sep 30;12(1):122. PMID: 32998767 PMCID: PMC7528375
3. Chong JR, Chai YL, Xing H, Herr DR, Wenk MR, Francis PT, Ballard C, Aarsland D, Silver DL, Chen CP, Cazenave-Gassiot A, Lai MKP. Decreased DHA-containing phospholipids in the neocortex of dementia with Lewy bodies are associated with soluble Aβ42, phosphorylated α-synuclein, and synaptopathology. Brain Pathology. 2023 Nov;33(6):e13190. Epub 2023 Jul 18. PMID: 37463072; PMCID: PMC10580008.
4. Chua XY, Ho LTY, Xiang P, Chew WS, Lam BWS, Chen CP, Ong WY, Lai MKP, Herr DR. Preclinical and Clinical Evidence for the Involvement of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Signaling in the Pathophysiology of Vascular Cognitive Impairment. Neuromolecular Medicine. 2021 Mar;23(1):47-67. Epub 2020 Nov 12. PMID: 33180310.
5. Chua XY, Torta F, Chong JR, Venketasubramanian N, Hilal S, Wenk MR, Chen CP, Arumugam TV, Herr DR, Lai MKP. Lipidomics profiling reveals distinct patterns of plasma sphingolipid alterations in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Alzheimer's Research & Therapy. 2023 Dec 12;15(1):214. PMID: 38087395; PMCID: PMC10714620.
Novel roles of receptor-mediated sphingosine 1-phosphate signaling
1. Choi JW*, Gardell SE*, Herr DR*, Rivera R, Lee CW, Noguchi K, Teo ST, Yung YC, Lu M, Kennedy G, Chun J. (2010). FTY720 (fingolimod) efficacy in an animal model of multiple sclerosis requires astrocyte sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P1) modulation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. 2011 Jan 11;108(2):751-6.
2. Wei Wang, Tatsuma Hind, Brenda Wan Shing Lam, and Deron R. Herr‡. Sphingosine 1-phosphate signaling induces SNAI2 expression to promote cell invasion in breast cancer cells. FASEB J. 2019 Jun;33(6):7180-7191. PMID: 30844311
3. Wee Siong Chew, Federico Torta, Shanshan Ji, Hyung Won Choi, Xueling Sim, Chin Meng Khoo, Eric Yin Hao Khoo, Wei Yi Ong, Rob Martinus Van Dam, Markus R. Wenk‡, E. Shyong Tai‡, Deron R. Herr‡. Large-scale lipidomics identifies associations between plasma sphingolipids and T2DM incidence. JCI Insight. 2019 Jun 4;5(13):e126925. PMC6629294
4. Chua XY, Chai YL, Chew WS, Chong JR, Ang HL, Xiang P, Camara K, Howell AR, Torta F, Wenk MR, Hilal S, Venketasubramanian N, Chen CP, Herr DR‡, Lai MKP‡. Immunomodulatory sphingosine-1-phosphates as plasma biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular cognitive impairment. Alzheimer's Research & Therapy. 2020 Sep 30;12(1):122. PMC7528375
5. Herr DR, Lee CW, Wang W, Ware A, Rivera R, Chun J. Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptors are essential mediators of eyelid closure during embryonic development. J Biol Chem. 2013 Oct 11;288(41):29882-9. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M113.510099. Epub 2013 Sep 3. PMID: 24003216; PMCID: PMC3795286.
| Year | Degree | Institution |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Postdoctoral Training | Scripps Research Institute |
| 2004 | PhD | University of California, San Diego |
| 1995 | BS | Truman State University |
I am a pharmacologist whose research focusses on the characterization of druggable, disease-relevant cellular processes, primarily in the areas of neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Current research interests include development of a disease-modifying therapeutic for the treatment of pain, and characterizing pyroptosis in the brain.
I am currently participating in the design and implementation of a drug repurposing study that is being performed at the National University of Singapore under Professor Christopher Chen. This Phase 1b special population study is evaluating the safety of repurposing antiretrovirals for the treatment of mild cognitive impairment.