Piers David Nash (born 8 August 1969) is an entrepreneur, an evangelist for genomic data-informed Precision Medicine, cancer biologist, blogger and technology futurist. He is the son of academic Roger Nash.
Early life and education
Born in Exeter, England, and grew up in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. In high school he competed in the Canada-Wide Science Fair in five successive years (1983–87), winning awards on each occasion and becoming one of the most highly awarded science fair participants in the history of the fair. In recognition of this he was selected to represent Canada as one of two youth delegates to the 1985 Nobel Prize lectures and ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar and was awarded the International Youth Year Ontario Gold Medal. He received a BSc with honours in biochemistry from the University of Guelph, and the Chemical Institute of Canada prize for the top of class. He received a PhD in 1999 from the University of Alberta working in the laboratory of Dr. Grant McFadden investigating poxviral immunomodulatory proteins. His doctoral thesis focused on the enzymology and biological properties of the Myxoma virus encoded serine proteinase inhibitor (serpin), SERP-1. He completed postdoctoral research with Anthony Pawson at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto from June 1999 to December 2003. In 2014, Nash received an MBA with a concentration in finance awarded with high honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Dr. Nash is Founder & General Manager of Nash Strategy & Innovation. He advices technology companies and startups in the genomics, healthcare, data science and data storage fields. He was founding Strategy Manager, Director of business & research development for the University of Chicago's Center for Data Intensive Science which developed the National Cancer Institute Genomic Data Commons. He was a professor in the Ben May Department for Cancer Research and a Scientist of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Chicago from 2004–2012 and a fellow of the Institute for Genomics and Systems Biology from 2006–2012. As a scientist he investigates protein–protein interactions involved in signal transduction, and the molecular mechanisms by which cells respond to external cues. His work at the University of Chicago focused on understanding the SH2 domain at a systems level and investigating the role of ubiquitination in controlling endocytosis and modulating signal transduction. Earlier work focused on the emergent properties of complex systems such as ultrasensitivity (all-or-none switches) at critical junctures in the cell cycle.
ResearchGate reports 54 peer-reviewed published works in a wide range of fields, including signal transduction, cell biology, molecular evolution, cell cycle, cognition and memory, meteorology, and pedagogy. Scopus notes an h-index of 29 and 4282 citations of 47 publications tracked in that database since 1996.
Nash, P. (1984). "Differential Effects of Wind Speed on Low Temperature Evaporation". Chinook. 6: 92–3.
Nash, C. H.; Nash, P. (1986). "Correlates of Colour Memory: A Neglected Field of Research". Future Health. 8: 15–6.
Nash, Piers D.; Davison, Laura (Winter 1989). "What Gifted Secondary School Students Tell about Their School Programs". Canadian Journal of Education. 14 (1): 109–18. JSTOR 1495206. doi:10.2307/1495206.
Maksymowych, WP; Nation, N; Nash, P; Macen, J; Lucas, A; McFadden, G; Russell, AS (1996). "Amelioration of antigen induced arthritis in rabbits treated with a secreted viral serine proteinase inhibitor". The Journal of rheumatology. 23 (5): 878–82. PMID 8724302.
Lucas, A.; Liu, L.-y.; Macen, J.; Nash, P.; Dai, E.; Stewart, M.; Graham, K.; Etches, W.; et al. (1996). "Virus-Encoded Serine Proteinase Inhibitor SERP-1 Inhibits Atherosclerotic Plaque Development After Balloon Angioplasty". Circulation. 94 (11): 2890–900. PMID 8941118. doi:10.1161/01.CIR.94.11.2890.
Nash, P.; Whitty, A; Handwerker, J; Macen, J; McFadden, G (1998). "Inhibitory Specificity of the Anti-inflammatory Myxoma Virus Serpin, SERP-1". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 273 (33): 20982–91. PMID 9694848. doi:10.1074/jbc.273.33.20982.
Christov, Alexander; Dai, Erbin; Liu, Liying; Miller, Leslie W.; Nash, Piers; Lalani, Alshad; McFadden, Grant; Nation, Patric N.; et al. (1999). "Detection of transplant vasculopathy in a rat aortic allograft model by fluorescence spectroscopic optical analysis". Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. 24 (5): 346–59. PMID 10406475. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1096-9101(1999)24:5<346::AID-LSM5>3.0.CO;2-K.
Miller, L. W.; Dai, E.; Nash, P.; Liu, L.; Icton, C.; Klironomos, D.; Fan, L.; Nation, P. N.; et al. (2000). "Inhibition of Transplant Vasculopathy in a Rat Aortic Allograft Model After Infusion of Anti-Inflammatory Viral Serpin". Circulation. 101 (13): 1598–605. PMID 10747355. doi:10.1161/01.CIR.101.13.1598.
Lucas, A; Dai, E; Liu, L; Guan, H; Nash, P; McFadden, G; Miller, L (2000). "Transplant vasculopathy: Viral anti-inflammatory serpin regulation of atherogenesis". The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. 19 (11): 1029–38. PMID 11077219. doi:10.1016/S1053-2498(00)00190-X.
Nash, P; Barry, M; Seet, BT; Veugelers, K; Hota, S; Heger, J; Hodgkinson, C; Graham, K; et al. (2000). "Post-translational modification of the myxoma-virus anti-inflammatory serpin SERP-1 by a virally encoded sialyltransferase". The Biochemical Journal. 347 (Pt 2): 375–82. PMC 1220969 . PMID 10749666. doi:10.1042/0264-6021:3470375.
Christov, Alexander; Dai, Erbin; Drangova, Maria; Liu, Liying; Abela, George S.; Nash, Piers; McFadden, Grant; Lucas, Alexandra (2007). "Optical Detection of Triggered Atherosclerotic Plaque Disruption by Fluorescence Emission Analysis". Photochemistry and Photobiology. 72 (2): 242–52. PMID 10946579. doi:10.1562/0031-8655(2000)0720242ODOTAP2.0.CO2.
Nash, Piers; McFadden, Grant; Whitty, Adrian (2000). "Application of linear free energy relationships to the serpin–proteinase inhibition mechanism". FEBS Letters. 475 (1): 1–6. PMID 10854846. doi:10.1016/S0014-5793(00)01620-3.
Nash, Piers; Tang, Xiaojing; Orlicky, Stephen; Chen, Qinghua; Gertler, Frank B.; Mendenhall, Michael D.; Sicheri, Frank; Pawson, Tony; Tyers, Mike (2001). "Multisite phosphorylation of a CDK inhibitor sets a threshold for the onset of DNA replication". Nature. 414 (6863): 514–21. Bibcode:2001Natur.414..514N. PMID 11734846. doi:10.1038/35107009.
Berry, Donna M.; Nash, Piers; Liu, Stanley K.-W.; Pawson, Tony; McGlade, C.Jane (2002). "A High-Affinity Arg-X-X-Lys SH3 Binding Motif Confers Specificity for the Interaction between Gads and SLP-76 in T Cell Signaling". Current Biology. 12 (15): 1336–41. PMID 12176364. doi:10.1016/S0960-9822(02)01038-2.
Tong, J.; Elowe, S; Nash, P; Pawson, T (2002). "Manipulation of EphB2 Regulatory Motifs and SH2 Binding Sites Switches MAPK Signaling and Biological Activity". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 278 (8): 6111–9. PMID 12486127. doi:10.1074/jbc.M208972200.
Bladt, F.; Aippersbach, E.; Gelkop, S.; Strasser, G. A.; Nash, P.; Tafuri, A.; Gertler, F. B.; Pawson, T. (2003). "The Murine Nck SH2/SH3 Adaptors Are Important for the Development of Mesoderm-Derived Embryonic Structures and for Regulating the Cellular Actin Network". Molecular and Cellular Biology. 23 (13): 4586–97. PMC 164855 . PMID 12808099. doi:10.1128/MCB.23.13.4586-4597.2003.
Liu, Qin; Berry, Donna; Nash, Piers; Pawson, Tony; McGlade, C.Jane; Li, Shawn Shun-Cheng (2003). "Structural Basis for Specific Binding of the Gads SH3 Domain to an RxxK Motif-Containing SLP-76 Peptide". Molecular Cell. 11 (2): 471–81. PMID 12620234. doi:10.1016/S1097-2765(03)00046-7.
Leong, H.; Sloan, JR; Nash, PD; Greene, GL (2005). "Recruitment of Histone Deacetylase 4 to the N-Terminal Region of Estrogen Receptor". Molecular Endocrinology. 19 (12): 2930–42. PMID 16051668. doi:10.1210/me.2005-0178.
Dai, E.; Viswanathan, K; Sun, YM; Li, X; Liu, LY; Togonu-Bickersteth, B; Richardson, J; MacAulay, C; et al. (2006). "Identification of Myxomaviral Serpin Reactive Site Loop Sequences That Regulate Innate Immune Responses". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 281 (12): 8041–50. PMID 16407226. doi:10.1074/jbc.M509454200.
Liu, Bernard A.; Jablonowski, Karl; Raina, Monica; Arcé, Michael; Pawson, Tony; Nash, Piers D. (2006). "The Human and Mouse Complement of SH2 Domain Proteins—Establishing the Boundaries of Phosphotyrosine Signaling". Molecular Cell. 22 (6): 851–68. PMID 16793553. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2006.06.001.
Zhang, M; Veselits, M; O'Neill, S; Hou, P; Reddi, AL; Berlin, I; Ikeda, M; Nash, PD; et al. (2007). "Ubiquitinylation of Ig beta dictates the endocytic fate of the B cell antigen receptor". Journal of immunology. 179 (7): 4435–43. PMID 17878339. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.179.7.4435.
Machida, Kazuya; Thompson, Christopher M.; Dierck, Kevin; Jablonowski, Karl; Kärkkäinen, Satu; Liu, Bernard; Zhang, Haimin; Nash, Piers D.; et al. (2007). "High-Throughput Phosphotyrosine Profiling Using SH2 Domains". Molecular Cell. 26 (6): 899–915. PMID 17588523. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2007.05.031.
Sierra, M. I.; Wright, M. H.; Nash, P. D. (2010). "AMSH Interacts with ESCRT-0 to Regulate the Stability and Trafficking of CXCR4". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 285 (18): 13990–4004. PMC 2859561 . PMID 20159979. doi:10.1074/jbc.M109.061309.
Liu, B. A.; Jablonowski, K.; Shah, E. E.; Engelmann, B. W.; Jones, R. B.; Nash, P. D. (2010). "SH2 Domains Recognize Contextual Peptide Sequence Information to Determine Selectivity". Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. 9 (11): 2391–2404. PMC 2984226 . PMID 20627867. doi:10.1074/mcp.M110.001586.
Berlin, I.; Schwartz, H.; Nash, P. D. (2010). "Regulation of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Ubiquitination and Trafficking by the USP8•STAM Complex". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 285 (45): 34909–21. PMC 2966105 . PMID 20736164. doi:10.1074/jbc.M109.016287.
Berlin, I.; Higginbotham, K. M.; Dise, R. S.; Sierra, M. I.; Nash, P. D. (2010). "The Deubiquitinating Enzyme USP8 Promotes Trafficking and Degradation of the Chemokine Receptor 4 at the Sorting Endosome". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 285 (48): 37895–908. PMC 2988392 . PMID 20876529. doi:10.1074/jbc.M110.129411.
Liu, B. A.; Shah, E.; Jablonowski, K.; Stergachis, A.; Engelmann, B.; Nash, P. D. (2011). "The SH2 Domain-Containing Proteins in 21 Species Establish the Provenance and Scope of Phosphotyrosine Signaling in Eukaryotes". Science Signaling. 4 (202): ra83. PMC 4255630 . PMID 22155787. doi:10.1126/scisignal.2002105. Lay summary – Science Life (13 December 2011).
Liu, Bernard A; Engelmann, Brett W; Jablonowski, Karl; Higginbotham, Katherine; Stergachis, Andrew B; Nash, Piers D (2012). "SRC Homology 2 Domain Binding Sites in Insulin, IGF-1 and FGF receptor mediated signaling networks reveal an extensive potential interactome". Cell Communication and Signaling. 10 (1): 27. PMC 3514216 . PMID 22974441. doi:10.1186/1478-811X-10-27.
Clarke, Michael; Lohan, Amanda J; Liu, Bernard; Lagkouvardos, Ilias; Roy, Scott; Zafar, Nikhat; Bertelli, Claire; Schilde, Christina; et al. (2013). "Genome of Acanthamoeba castellanii highlights extensive lateral gene transfer and early evolution of tyrosine kinase signaling". Genome Biology. 14 (2): R11. PMC 4053784 . PMID 23375108. doi:10.1186/gb-2013-14-2-r11.
Engelmann, Brett W.; Kim, Yohan; Wang, Miaoyan; Peters, Bjoern; Rock, Ronald S.; Nash, Piers D. (2014). "The development and application of a quantitative Peptide microarray based approach to protein interaction domain specificity space". Molecular & Cellular Proteomics. 13 (12): 3647–3662. PMC 4256512 . PMID 25135669. doi:10.1074/mcp.O114.038695.
Bartelt, R.R.Light, J.,Vacaflores, A., Butcher, A., Pandian, M., Nash, P., Houtman, J.C.D. (2015) Regions outside of conserved PxxPxR motifs drive the high affinity interaction of GRB2 with SH3 domain ligands. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Cell Research. 1853 (10): 2560-2569.
Nash, Piers; Lucas, Alexandra; McFadden, Grant (1997). "Serp-1, A Poxvirus-Encoded Serpin, Is Expressed as a Secreted Glycoprotein that Inhibits the Inflammatory Response to Myxoma Virus Infection". In Church, Frank C.; Cunningham, Dennis D.; Ginsburg, David; et al. Chemistry and Biology of Serpins. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. 425. pp. 195–205. ISBN 978-1-4613-7461-9. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-5391-5_19.
Lalani, A.; Nash, P.; Seet, B.; Robichaud, J.; McFadden, G. (1999). "Interaction of DNA virus proteins with host cytokines". In Cann, A. DNA Viruses: A Practical Approach. Practical Approach Series. Oxford University Press. pp. 177–208.
Zalai, Christian V.; Nash, Piers; Dai, Erbin; Liu, Li Ying; Lucas, Alexandra (2002). "The Potential Role of Serine Proteinase Inhibitors for the Prevention of Plaque Rupture". In Brown, David L. Cardiovascular Plaque Rupture. CRC Press. pp. 447–82. ISBN 978-0-8247-0276-2.
Pawson, T.; Nash, P. (2003). "Modular protein interaction domains in cellular communication". Handbook of Cell Signaling. 1. pp. 379–85.
Pawson, Tony; Gish, Gerald D.; Nash, Piers (2006). "The SH2 Domain: a Prototype for Protein Interaction Modules". In Cesareni, Giovanni; Gimona, Mario; Sudol, Marius; et al. Modular Protein Domains. Wiley. pp. 5–36. ISBN 978-3-527-60589-7.
Pawson, Tony; Nash, Piers (2011). "Modular Protein Interaction Domains in Cellular Communication". In Dennis, Edward A.; Bradshaw, Ralph A. Transduction Mechanisms in Cellular Signaling: Cell Signaling Collection. Academic Press. pp. 19–31. ISBN 978-0-12-383863-6.
Review Articles
Nash, Piers D.; Opas, Michal; Michalak, Marek (1994). "Calreticulin: Not just another calcium-binding protein". Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. 135 (1): 71–8. PMID 7816058. doi:10.1007/BF00925962.
McFadden, G; Graham, K; Ellison, K; Barry, M; Macen, J; Schreiber, M; Mossman, K; Nash, P; et al. (1995). "Interruption of cytokine networks by poxviruses: Lessons from myxoma virus". Journal of leukocyte biology. 57 (5): 731–8. PMID 7759953.
McFadden, G.; Lalani, A.; Everett, H.; Nash, P.; Xu, X. (1998). "Virus-encoded receptors for cytokines and chemokines". Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology. 9 (3): 359–368. doi:10.1006/scdb.1998.0245.
Nash, Piers; Barrett, John; Cao, Jing-Xin; Hota-Mitchell, Sheela; Lalani, Alshad S.; Everett, Helen; Xu, Xiao-Ming; Robichaud, Janine; Hnatiuk, Shawna; Ainslie, Cheryl; Seet, Bruce T.; McFadden, Grant (1999). "Immunomodulation by viruses: The myxoma virus story". Immunological Reviews. 168: 103–20. PMID 10399068. doi:10.1111/j.1600-065X.1999.tb01286.x.
Upton, C.; Macen, J.L.; Schreiber, M.; McFaddeni, G. (1991). "Myxoma virus expresses a secreted protein with homology to the tumor necrosis factor receptor gene family that contributes to viral virulence". Virology. 184 (1): 370–82. PMID 1651597. doi:10.1016/0042-6822(91)90853-4.
Pawson, Tony; Nash, Piers (2000). "Protein–protein interactions define specificity in signal transduction". Genes & Development. 14 (9): 1027–47. PMID 10809663. doi:10.1101/gad.14.9.1027 (inactive 2017-01-15).
Pawson, Tony; Gish, Gerald D; Nash, Piers (2001). "SH2 domains, interaction modules and cellular wiring". Trends in Cell Biology. 11 (12): 504–11. PMID 11719057. doi:10.1016/S0962-8924(01)02154-7.
Pawson, Tony; Raina, Monica; Nash, Piers (2002). "Interaction domains: From simple binding events to complex cellular behavior". FEBS Letters. 513 (1): 2–10. PMID 11911873. doi:10.1016/S0014-5793(01)03292-6.
Pawson, T.; Nash, P (2003). "Assembly of Cell Regulatory Systems Through Protein Interaction Domains". Science. 300 (5618): 445–52. PMID 12702867. doi:10.1126/science.1083653.
Wright, Michelle H.; Berlin, Ilana; Nash, Piers D. (2011). "Regulation of Endocytic Sorting by ESCRT–DUB-Mediated Deubiquitination". Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics. 60 (1–2): 39–46. PMID 21448666. doi:10.1007/s12013-011-9181-9.
Liu, Bernard A.; Engelmann, Brett W.; Nash, Piers D. (2012). "High-throughput analysis of peptide-binding modules". Proteomics. 12 (10): 1527–46. PMC 4255589 . PMID 22610655. doi:10.1002/pmic.201100599.
Liu, Bernard A.; Engelmann, Brett W.; Nash, Piers D. (2012). "The language of SH2 domain interactions defines phosphotyrosine-mediated signal transduction". FEBS Letters. 586 (17): 2597–605. PMID 22569091. doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2012.04.054.
Nash, Piers D. (2012). "Why modules matter". FEBS Letters. 586 (17): 2572–4. PMID 22710154. doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2012.04.049.
Liu, B. A.; Nash, P. D. (2012). "Evolution of SH2 domains and phosphotyrosine signalling networks". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 367 (1602): 2556–73. PMC 3415846 . PMID 22889907. doi:10.1098/rstb.2012.0107.
Honors and awards
Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar, Canadian delegate 1985.
International Youth Year Gold Medal (Ontario, Canada)
Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International
Cancer Research Foundation Young Investigator Award
Leukemia Research Foundation New Investigator Award
Edward Mallinckrodt Jr. Foundation New Investigator
V Foundation Scholar
