43997-Ropa, Jim

Jim P. Ropa, PhD

Assistant Professor of Medical & Molecular Genetics

Phone
(317) 956-0355
Address
IB 454B
MMGE
IN
Indianapolis, IN

Bio

James (Jim) Ropa, PhD received his BS in biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame and earned his concurrent MS in Bioinformatics and PhD in Molecular and Cellular Pathology from the University of Michigan. He did his postdoctoral studies in experimental hematology under the mentorship of Drs. Hal Broxmeyer and Mark Kaplan at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He joined the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at Indiana University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in 2024.

Jim’s research is focused on improving outcomes for patients with blood and immune disorders using basic and translational science approaches. Blood and immune disorders such as hematologic malignancies and immune deficiency syndromes affect millions of people worldwide and account for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.

These disorders arise from mutations, deficiencies, or dysregulation of the hematopoietic system, often in the hematopoietic stem (HSC) and progenitor cell (HPC) compartment. Correction of this dysregulation through cellular therapies or via targeted manipulation of molecular programs are potential avenues of treatment for hematologic diseases. Thus, it is critical to understand the regulation of HSC/HPC function, how dysregulation causes disease, and how these mechanisms can be targeted for clinical utility. However, a comprehensive understanding of factors that regulate healthy and diseased HSC/HPC function is still being developed. 

Our research program studies intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect hematopoietic cell functional potency and how these processes can be targeted for improved treatment of hematologic disease. Our group has a specific interest in improving the potency of hematopoietic cells for use in hematopoietic cell therapies, including transplantation, gene editing, and immune effector cell therapies. Additionally, our group examines axes of regulation that are critical for both healthy and diseased cell growth and health, with a particular focus on the role of the regulatory serine protease Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) in disordered hematopoiesis and healthy hematopoietic cell functional potency. We employ combined data-driven and hypothesis driven approaches to gain a global understanding of molecular networks important for hematopoietic cell function and then flesh out mechanisms of regulation that will ultimately support patient-focused therapies. 

When he is not in the lab, Jim enjoys spending time with his family, coaching his kids’ soccer teams, distance running, and watching football.

Key Publications

Ropa J, Van't Hof W. The fulfilled promise and unmet potential of umbilical cord blood. Curr Opin Hematol. 2024 Jul 1;31(4):168-174. doi: 10.1097/MOH.0000000000000817. Epub 2024 Apr 4. PMID: 38602152. 

Miao H, Chen D, Ropa J, Purohit T, Kim E, Sulis ML, Ferrando A, Cierpicki T, Grembecka J. Combination of menin and kinase inhibitors as an effective treatment for leukemia with NUP98 translocations. Leukemia. 2024 Aug;38(8):1674-1687. doi: 10.1038/s41375-024-02312-9. Epub 2024 Jun 18. PMID: 38890447; PMCID: PMC11963213. 

Gutch S, Beasley L, Cooper S, Kaplan MH, Capitano ML, Ropa J. Protocol for enrichment and functional analysis of human hematopoietic cells from umbilical cord blood. STAR Protoc. 2024 Jun 21;5(2):103024. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103024. Epub 2024 Apr 23. PMID: 38662544; PMCID: PMC11061328. 

Alakhras NS, Zhang W, Barros N, Sharma A, Ropa J, Priya R, Yang XF, Kaplan MH. An IL-23-STAT4 pathway is required for the proinflammatory function of classical dendritic cells during CNS inflammation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Aug 6;121(32):e2400153121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2400153121. Epub 2024 Aug 1. PMID: 39088391; PMCID: PMC11317592. 

Denizli M, Ropa J, Beasley L, Ghosh J, DeVanna K, Spice T, Haneline LS, Capitano M, Kua KL. Glucose intolerance as a consequence of hematopoietic stem cell dysfunction in offspring of obese mice. Mol Metab. 2024 Oct;88:102008. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2024.102008. Epub 2024 Aug 12. PMID: 39142562; PMCID: PMC11395717. 

Broxmeyer HE, Luchsinger LL, Weinberg RS, Jimenez A, Frenet EM, Van't Hof W, Capitano ML, Hillyer CD, Kaplan MH, Cooper S, Ropa J. Insights into highly engraftable hematopoietic cells from 27-year cryopreserved umbilical cord blood. Cell Rep Med. 2023 Nov 21;4(11):101259. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101259. Epub 2023 Oct 31. PMID: 37913777; PMCID: PMC10694620. 

Trinh T, Ropa J, Cooper S, Aljoufi A, Sinn A, Capitano M, Broxmeyer HE, Kaplan MH. Age-related decline in LEPR+?hematopoietic stem cell function. Leukemia. 2023 Mar;37(3):712-716. doi: 10.1038/s41375-023-01815-1. Epub 2023 Jan 17. PMID: 36650272; PMCID: PMC9991916. 

Aljoufi A, Zhang C, Ropa J, Chang W, Palam LR, Cooper S, Ramdas B, Capitano ML, Broxmeyer HE, Kapur R. Physioxia-induced downregulation of Tet2 in hematopoietic stem cells contributes to enhanced self-renewal. Blood. 2022 Sep 15;140(11):1263-1277. doi: 10.1182/blood.2022015499. PMID: 35772013; PMCID: PMC9479026. 

Ropa J, Cooper S, Broxmeyer HE. Leukemia Inhibitory Factor Promotes Survival of Hematopoietic Progenitors Ex Vivo and Is Post-Translationally Regulated by DPP4. Stem Cells. 2022 Mar 31;40(3):346-357. doi: 10.1093/stmcls/sxac004. PMID: 35293568; PMCID: PMC9199847. 

Naidu SR, Capitano M, Ropa J, Cooper S, Huang X, Broxmeyer HE. Chromatin remodeling subunit BRM and valine regulate hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell function and self-renewal via intrinsic and extrinsic effects. Leukemia. 2022 Mar;36(3):821-833. doi: 10.1038/s41375-021-01426-8. Epub 2021 Oct 1. PMID: 34599272; PMCID: PMC9212754. 

Broxmeyer HE, Ropa J, Capitano ML, Cooper S, Racioppi L, Sankar U. CaMKK2 Knockout Bone Marrow Cells Collected/Processed in Low Oxygen (Physioxia) Suggests CaMKK2 as a Hematopoietic Stem to Progenitor Differentiation Fate Determinant. Stem Cell Rev Rep. 2022 Oct;18(7):2513-2521. doi: 10.1007/s12015-021-10306-8. Epub 2022 Mar 9. PMID: 35262902; PMCID: PMC10072181. 

Ropa J, Cooper S, Capitano ML, Van't Hof W, Broxmeyer HE. Human Hematopoietic Stem, Progenitor, and Immune Cells Respond Ex Vivo to SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein. Stem Cell Rev Rep. 2021 Feb;17(1):253-265. doi: 10.1007/s12015-020-10056-z. Epub 2020 Oct 21. PMID: 33089452; PMCID: PMC7577648. 

 

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