Samuel Asfaha

Samuel Asfaha

Contact Information

Rm E6-325, Victoria Hospital
800 Commissioners Road East
London, ON N6A 5W9
Phone: 519.685.8500 ext 53293
Fax: 519.667.6820
The Asfaha Lab Website

Research Interests/Specialization

Stem Cells
Inflammation
Colorectal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Stem Cell Biology

Dr. Asfaha completed his undergraduate training in molecular biology, followed by his Ph.D in mucosal inflammation at the University of Calgary. His clinical training includes his MD degree from the University of Calgary, residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Alberta and his fellowship in Gastroenterology at University of Calgary. Following his clinical training, Dr. Asfaha completed postdoctoral research training at Columbia University in New York City, where he subsequently was promoted to junior faculty as an Instructor in the Division of Digestive &Liver Diseases. While at Columbia University he conducted ground breaking research into the cellular origin of colorectal and gastric cancer.

Dr. Asfaha was recruited to the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario and Lawson Health Institute as an Assistant Professor and Schulich Clinician-scientist. His research is focused on targeting the cellular origin of colorectal cancer and improving tissue repair in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). His expertise and accomplishments are illustrated by numerous national and international awards he has received and his publications.

Selected Publications

Published

  1. Good HJ, Larsen F, Shin AE, Zhang L, Derouet M, Meriwether D, Worthley D, Reddy ST, Wang TC, Asfaha S. Prostaglandin E2 and Akt Promote Stemness in Apc Mutant Dclk1+ Cells to Give Rise to Colitis-associated Cancer. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025;19(6):101469. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2025.101469. Epub 2025 Jan 28. PMID: 39884575; PMCID: PMC11999635.

  2. Shin AE, Tesfagiorgis Y, Larsen F, Derouet M, Zeng PYF, Good HJ, Zhang L, Rubinstein MR, Han YW, Kerfoot SM, Nichols AC, Hayakawa Y, Howlett CJ, Wang TC, Asfaha S. F4/80(+)Ly6C(high) Macrophages Lead to Cell Plasticity and Cancer Initiation in Colitis. Gastroenterology. 2023 Apr; 164(4):593-609, e.13. DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2023.01.002

  3. Kakar S, Derouet MF, Zhang L, Gillis CJ, Larsen F, Paul A, Flynn LE, Asfaha S. Development of a tissue-specific bioscaffold for intestinal stem cell culture. PLoS One. 2025 Aug 6;20(8):e0328898. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0328898. PMID: 40768435; PMCID: PMC12327626.

  4. Asfaha S, Jones NL. Reevaluating Stemness in the Intestinal Crypt. Gastroenterology. 2025 Feb;168(2):417. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2024.09.010. Epub 2024 Sep 14. PMID: 39278280.

  5. Kim SJ, Kiser PK, Asfaha S, DeKoter RP, Dick FA. EZH2 inhibition stimulates repetitive element expression and viral mimicry in resting splenic B cells. EMBO J. 2023 Dec 11;42(24):e114462. doi: 10.15252/embj.2023114462. Epub 2023 Nov 7. PMID: 37934086; PMCID: PMC10711652.

  6. Jiang Z, Wu F, Laise P, Takayuki T, Na F, Kim W, Kobayashi H, Chang W, et.al, Hayakawa Y, Dubeykovskaya ZA, Tan X, Chu TH, Nagar K, Tailor Y, Belin BR, Anand A, Asfaha S, Finlayson MO, Iuga AC, Califano A, Wang TC. Tff2 defines transit-amplifying pancreatic acinar progenitors that lack regenerative potential and are protective against Kras-driven carcinogenesis. Cell Stem Cell. 2023 Aug 3;30(8):1091-1109.

  7. Castillo-Azofeifa D, Fazio EN, Nattiv R, Good HJ, Wald T, Pest MA, de Sauvage FJ, Klein OD, Asfaha S. Atoh1+ secretory progenitors possess renewal capacity independent of Lgr5+ cells during colonic regeneration. EMBO J, 2019 Jan 11.

  8. Kim SJ, AsfahaS, Dick FA. CDK4 Inhibitors Thwart Immunity by Inhibiting Phospho-RB-NF-κB Complexes. Mol Cell, 2019 Jan 3; 73 (1): 1-2.

  9. Park H, Lad S, Boland K, Johnson K, Readio N, Jin G, AsfahaS, Patterson KS, Singh A, Yang X, Londono D, Singh A, Trempus C, Gordon D, Wang TC, Morris RJ. Bone marrow-derived epithelial cells and hair follicle stem cells contribute to development of chronic cutaneous neoplasms. Nat Commun, 2018 Dec 13; 9 (1): 5293.

  10. Hayakawa Y, Tsuboi M, Asfaha S, Kinoshita H, Niikura R, Konishi M, Hata M, Oya Y, Kim W, Middelhoff M, Hikiba Y, Higashijima N, Ihara S, Ushiku T, Fukayama M, Tailor Y, Hirata Y, Guha C, Yan KS, Koike K, Wang TC. BHLHA15positive Secretory Precursor Cells Can Give Rise to Tumors in Intestine and Colon in Mice. Gastroenterology, 2018 Nov 15.

  11. Chen X, Deng H, Churchill MJ, Luchsinger LL, Du X, Chu TH, Friedman RA, Middelhoff M, Ding H, Tailor YH, Wang ALE, Liu H, Niu Z, Wang H, Jiang Z, Renders S, Ho SH, Shah SV, Tishchenko P, Chang W, Swayne TC, Munteanu L, Califano A, Takahashi R, Nagar KK, Renz BW, Worthley DL, Westphalen CB, Hayakawa Y, Asfaha S, Borot F, Lin CS, Snoeck HW, Mukherjee S, Wang TC. Bone Marrow Myeloid Cells Regulate Myeloid-Biased Hematopoietic Stem Cells via a Histamine-Dependent Feedback Loop. Cell Stem Cell, 2017 Dec 7; 21 (6): 747-760.

  12. Sey MSL, Liu A, Asfaha S, Siebring V, Jairath V, Yan B. Performance report cards increase adenoma detection rate. Endosc Int Open, 2017 Jul 1; 5 (7): E675-E682.

  13. Hayakawa Y, Sakitani K, Konishi M, Asfaha S, Niikura R, Tomita H, Renz BW, Tailor Y, Macchini M, Middelhoff M, Jiang Z, Tanaka T, Dubeykovskaya ZA, Kim W, Chen X, Urbanska AM, Nagar K, Westphalen CB, Quante M, Lin CS, Gershon MD, Hara A, Zhao CM, Chen D, Worthley DL, Koike K, Wang TC. Nerve Growth Factor Promotes Gastric Tumorigenesis through Aberrant Cholinergic Signaling. Cancer Cell, 2017 Jan 9; 31 (1): 21-34.

  14. Saha S, Aranda E, Hayakawa Y, Bhanja P, Atay S, Brodin NP, Li J, Asfaha S, Liu L, Tailor Y, Zhang J, Godwin AK, Tome WA, Wang TC, Guha C, Pollard JW. Macrophage-derived extracellular vesicle-packaged WNTs rescue intestinal stem cells and enhance survival after radiation injury. Nat Commun, 2016 Oct 13; 7: 13 096.

  15. Westphalen CB, Takemoto Y, Tanaka T, Macchini M, Jiang Z, Renz BW, Chen X, Ormanns S, Nagar K, Tailor Y, May R, Cho Y, Asfaha S, Worthley DL, Hayakawa Y, Urbanska AM, Quante M, Reichert M, Broyde J, Subramaniam PS, Remotti H, Su GH, Rustgi AK, Friedman RA, Honig B, Califano A, Houchen CW, Olive KP, Wang TC. Dclk1 Defines Quiescent Pancreatic Progenitors that Promote Injury-Induced Regeneration and Tumorigenesis. Cell Stem Cell, 2016 Apr 7; 18 (4): 441-55.

  16. Dubeykovskaya Z, Si Y, Chen X, Worthley DL, Renz BW, Urbanska AM, Hayakawa Y, Xu T, Westphalen CB, Samuel Asfaha Printed June 5, 2019 15 Dubeykovskiy A, Chen D, Friedman RA, Asfaha S, Nagar K, Tailor Y, Muthupalani S, Fox JG, Kitajewski J, Wang TC. Neural innervation stimulates splenic TFF2 to arrest myeloid cell expansion and cancer. Nat Commun, 2016 Feb 4; 7: 10517.

  17. Hayakawa Y, Ariyama H, Stancikova J, Sakitani K, Asfaha S, Renz BW, Dubeykovskaya ZA, Shibata W, Wang H, Westphalen CB, Chen X, Takemoto Y, Kim W, Khurana SS, Tailor Y, Nagar K, Tomita H, Hara A, Sepulveda AR, Setlik W, Gershon MD, Saha S, Ding L, Shen Z, Fox JG, Friedman RA, Konieczny SF, Worthley DL, Korinek V, Wang TC. Mist1 Expressing Gastric Stem Cells Maintain the Normal and Neoplastic Gastric Epithelium and Are Supported by a Perivascular Stem Cell Niche. Cancer Cell, 2015 Dec 14; 28 (6): 800-14.

  18. Asfaha S. Intestinal stem cells and inflammation. Curr Opin Pharmacol, 2015 Dec 1; 25: 62-6.

  19. Asfaha S, Hayakawa Y, Muley A, Stokes S, Graham TA, Ericksen RE, Westphalen CB, von Burstin J, Mastracci TL, Worthley DL, Guha C, Quante M, Rustgi AK, Wang TC. Krt19(+)/Lgr5(-) Cells Are Radioresistant Cancer-Initiating Stem Cells in the Colon and Intestine. Cell Stem Cell, 2015 Jun 4; 16 (6): 627-38.

  20. Worthley DL, Churchill M, Compton JT, Tailor Y, Rao M, Si Y, Levin D, Schwartz MG, Uygur A, Hayakawa Y, Gross S, Renz BW, Setlik W, Martinez AN, Chen X, Nizami S, Lee HG, Kang HP, Caldwell JM, Asfaha S, Westphalen CB, Graham T, Jin G, Nagar K, Wang H, Kheirbek MA, Kolhe A, Carpenter J, Glaire M, Nair A, Renders S, Manieri N, Muthupalani S, Fox JG, Reichert M, Giraud AS, Schwabe RF, Pradere JP, Walton K, Prakash A, Gumucio D, Rustgi AK, Stappenbeck TS, Friedman RA, Gershon MD, Sims P, Grikscheit T, Lee FY, Karsenty G, Mukherjee S, Wang TC. Gremlin 1 identifies a skeletal stem cell with bone, cartilage, and reticular stromal potential. Cell, 2015 Jan 15; 160 (12): 269-84.

  21. Westphalen CB*, Asfaha S*, Hayakawa Y, Takemoto Y, Lukin DJ, Nuber AH, Brandtner A, Setlik W, Remotti H, Muley A, Chen X, May R, Houchen CW, Fox JG, Gershon MD, Quante M, Wang TC. Long-lived intestinal tuft cells serve as colon cancer-initiating cells. J Clin Invest, 2014 Mar 1; 124 (3): 1283-95, *Co-first Author

  22. Shibata W, Ariyama H, Westphalen CB, Worthley DL, Muthupalani S, Asfaha S, Dubeykovskaya Z, Quante M, Fox JG, Wang TC. Stromal cell-derived factor-1 overexpression induces gastric dysplasia through expansion of stromal myofibroblasts and epithelial progenitors. Gut, 2013 Feb 1; 62 (2): 192-200.

  23. Asfaha S, Dubeykovskiy AN, Tomita H, Yang X, Stokes S, Shibata W, Friedman RA, Ariyama H, Dubeykovskaya ZA, Muthupalani S, Ericksen R, Frucht H, Fox JG, Wang TC. Mice that express human interleukin-8 have increased mobilization of immature myeloid cells, which exacerbates inflammation and accelerates colon carcinogenesis. Gastroenterology, 2013 Jan 1; 144 (1): 155-66.

  24. Quante M, Bhagat G, Abrams JA, Marache F, Good P, Lee MD, Lee Y, Friedman R, Asfaha S, Dubeykovskaya Z, Mahmood U, Figueiredo JL, Kitajewski J, Shawber C, Lightdale CJ, Rustgi AK, Wang TC. Bile acid and inflammation activate gastric cardia stem cells in a mouse model of Barrett-like metaplasia. Cancer Cell, 2012 Jan 17; 21 (1): 36-51.

  25. Yang XD, Ai W, Asfaha S, Bhagat G, Friedman RA, Jin G, Park H, Shykind B, Diacovo TG, Falus A, Wang TC. Histamine deficiency promotes inflammation-associated carcinogenesis through reduced myeloid maturation and accumulation of CD11b+Ly6G+ immature myeloid cells. Nat Med, 2011 Jan 1; 17 (1): 87-95.

View a list of all of Dr. Asfaha's publications