John Nitiss

John Nitiss is a professor of pharmacology and the associate head for research in the UIC College of Pharmacy. He also serves as assistant dean for research on the Rockford campus of the College of Pharmacy. 

Nitiss studies how anticancer drugs work, with a focus on the role of enzymes involved in DNA replication and repair. His laboratory developed yeast as an experimental system to probe how chemotherapy drugs target and kill cancer cells, and how cancer cells develop resistance to therapies. His current research includes applying these conceptual approaches to mammalian cell models. The research adds understanding to how cells respond to DNA damage, how tumor cells develop resistance to drugs and how scientists can test new and more effective treatments.