Nancy Carrasco is the C.N.H. Long Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Yale University and on the faculty in physiology and pharmacology at Vanderbilt University. Carrasco has conducted research across the fields of biochemistry, biophysics, and physiology. Her research on sodium/iodide symporter has become an important aspect in treating thyroid cancers. Carrasco is a leader in the study of membrane transporters and her work on NIS has become vital for the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of thyroid disorders and breast cancers.
At Yale, Carrasco took the C.N.H. Long Professor of Physiology chair in 2018 and researched cancer and the liver at the Cancer and Liver Center where she was also a member of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, the organizations of Genomics, Genetics and Epigenetics, and the Office of Cooperative Research. In 2019, Carrasco began a career as a professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She is expected to lead as chair of the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Vanderbilt. Nancy Carrasco was the first person to clone and extensively characterize at the molecular level the sodium/iodide symporter, and the key plasma membrane protein that activates the transport of iodide in the thyroid, lactating breast, and other tissues. Much of her research has been published in different prominent medical journals including Nature Medicine.
Nancy Carrasco is married to Samuel Zyman, a composer with a degree in Medicine and a doctorate in Music Composition who is currently a faculty member at the Juilliard School. Nancy and Samuel met on their first day of Medical School. They have a son, Erik Zyman, who has a doctorate in linguistics and is a faculty member at the University of Chicago.
Published Works
Martín M, Modenutti CP, Peyret V, Geysels RC, Darrouzet E, Pourcher T, Masini-Repiso AM, Martí MA, Carrasco N, Nicola JP. A Carboxy-Terminal Monoleucine-Based Motif Participates in the Basolateral Targeting of the Na+/I- Symporter. Endocrinology. 160: 156–168. PMID 30496374 DOI: 10.1210/en.2018-00603 Ferrandino G, Kaspari RR, Spadaro O, Reyna-Neyra A, Perry RJ, Cardone R, Kibbey RG, Shulman GI, Dixit VD, Carrasco N. Pathogenesis of hypothyroidism-induced NAFLD is driven by intra- and extrahepatic mechanisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 114: E9172-E9180. PMID 29073114 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1707797114 Ferrandino G, Kaspari RR, Reyna-Neyra A, Boutagy NE, Sinusas AJ, Carrasco N. An extremely high dietary iodide supply forestalls severe hypothyroidism in Na/I symporter knockout mice. Scientific Reports. 7: 5329. PMID 28706256 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04326-z Ravera S, Reyna-Neyra A, Ferrandino G, Amzel LM, Carrasco N. The Sodium/Iodide Symporter : Molecular Physiology and Preclinical and Clinical Applications. Annual Review of Physiology. 79: 261–289. PMID 28192058 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-physiol-022516-034125 Ferrandino G, Nicola JP, Sánchez YE, Echeverria I, Liu Y, Amzel LM, Carrasco N. Na+ coordination at the Na2 site of the Na+/I- symporter. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID 27562170 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1607231113 Renier C, Do J, Reyna-Neyra A, Foster D, De A, Vogel H, Jeffrey SS, Tse V, Carrasco N, Wapnir I. Regression of experimental NIS-expressing breast cancer brain metastases in response to radioiodide/gemcitabine dual therapy. Oncotarget. PMID 27363025 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.10238 Ravera S, Quick M, Nicola JP, Carrasco N, Amzel LM. Beyond non-integer Hill coefficients: A novel approach to analyzing binding data, applied to Na+-driven transporters. The Journal of General Physiology. 145: 555–63. PMID 26009546 DOI: 10.1085/jgp.201511365 Nicola JP, Carrasco N, Masini-Repiso AM. Dietary I absorption: expression and regulation of the Na/I symporter in the intestine. Vitamins and Hormones. 98: 1-31. PMID 25817864 DOI: 10.1016/bs.vh.2014.12.002 Oikawa T, Wauthier E, Dinh TA, Selitsky SR, Reyna-Neyra A, Carpino G, Levine R, Cardinale V, Klimstra D, Gaudio E, Alvaro D, Carrasco N, Sethupathy P, Reid LM. Model of fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinomas reveals striking enrichment in cancer stem cells. Nature Communications. 6: 8070. PMID 26437858 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9070 Nicola JP, Reyna-Neyra A, Saenger P, Rodriguez-Buritica DF, Gamez Godoy JD, Muzumdar R, Amzel LM, Carrasco N. Sodium/Iodide Symporter Mutant V270E Causes Stunted Growth but No Cognitive Deficiency. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 100: E1353-61. PMID 26204134 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2015-1824 Ravera S, Quick M, Nicola JP, Carrasco N, Amzel LM. Beyond non-integer Hill coefficients: A novel approach to analyzing binding data, applied to Na+-driven transporters. The Journal of General Physiology. 145: 555–63. PMID 26009546 DOI: 10.1085/jgp.201511365 Arriagada AA, Albornoz E, Opazo MC, Becerra A, Vidal G, Fardella C, Michea L, Carrasco N, Simon F, Elorza AA, Bueno SM, Kalergis AM, Riedel CA. Excess iodide induces an acute inhibition of the sodium/iodide symporter in thyroid male rat cells by increasing reactive oxygen species. Endocrinology. 156: 1540–51. PMID 25594695 DOI: 10.1210/en.2014-1371
Awards
Pew Award
Beckman Young Investigators Award, Beckman Foundation
Maria Sibylla Merian Award
Marshall S. Horwitz Faculty Prize for Research Excellence
The Pew Award is given based off biomedical research. The Beckman Young Investigators Award is given to young members in the early stages of their careers in chemical and life sciences, providing them with research support. Carrasco was the first person to be awarded the Maria Sibylla Merian Award, given by the Essen College of Gender Studies in 1998. The Light of Life Award is given by the Light of Life Foundation to research that has impacted the understanding of Thyroid cancers. The Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lecturer award is given to individuals who have provided major contributions to the research on thyroid.
