Reza Hakkak, PhD
Professor and Chairman of Dietetics and Nutrition, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences/College of Health Related Professions
Phone: 501-364-1100

Reza Hakkak, Ph.D., a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences faculty member since 1990, is a nutritionist, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Dietetics and Nutrition in the College of Health Related Professions, Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine, and Professor of Maternal Child Health in the College of Public Health. Dr. Hakkak’s research is primarily in the areas of basic nutrition science research and nutrition education. His basic nutrition research interests include the influence of nutrition on cancer prevention, the influence of obesity on cancer promotion, and the effects of differing diets and nutrition on chemical carcinogenesis. Recently, his research interests have focused on links between obesity and breast cancer promotion.

In 2005, the Susan G. Komen Foundation awarded Dr. Hakkak a grant to further this research. When comparing data from obese and lean rats, he found that the carcinogen DMBA found in cigarette smoke, car exhaust and some cooked foods caused mammary tumors to increase more than two times in obese rats compared to lean rats. With this grant, Dr. Hakkak is studying how diet may play a role in women developing breast cancer.

Whitehead T, Holley AW, Kieber-Emmons T, Korourian S, Shaaf S and Hakkak R. 1H nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomic analysis of mammary tumors from lean and obese Zucker rats exposed to 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA). International Journal of Molecular Medicine, 20:573-80, 2007.

Hakkak R, MacLeod S, Shaaf S, Holley AW, Simpson P, Fuchs G, Jo CH, Kieber-Emmons T, Korourian S. Obesity Increases the Incidence of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-Induced Mammary Tumors in Ovariectomized Zucker Rat. International Journal of Oncology, 30:557-563, 2007.

Hakkak R, Korourian S, Ronis M, Johnston J, Badger TM. Soy protein isolate consumption protects against azoxymethane-induced colon tumors in male rats. Cancer Letters 106:27-32, 2001.

Hakkak R, Korourian S, Ronis M, Johnston J, Badger TM. Dietary whey protein protects against AOM- induced colon cancer in male rats. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. 10:555-558, 2001.

Hakkak R, Holley AW, Bunn RC, Winters A, MacLeod S. Effects of obesity on serum Insulin Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) levels in lean and obese female Zucker rats following DMBA treatment. FASEB J. 19:A993, 2005.

Hakkak R, Holley AW, MacLeod S, Simpson P, Korourian S. Obesity Promotes DMBA
Induced Mammary Tumor Development in Female Zucker Rats. FASEB J. 19:A774, 2005.

Hakkak R, Holley AW, Gno F, Owens R. Effects of obesity on serum adiponectin levels and breast cancer development in lean and obese female Zucker rats following DMBA treatment. FASEB J. 19:A993, 2005.

Hakkak R, Holley AW, Devareddy L, Arjmandi B. Effects of obesity on bone mass in female zucker rats following DMBA treatment. FASEB J. 19:A993, 2005.

Hakkak R, Holley AW, MacLeod S, Simpson P, Fuchs G, Jo CH, Kieber-Emmons T, Korourian S. Obesity Promotes 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-Induced Mammary Tumor Development in Female Zucker Rats. Breast Cancer Research, 7:R627-R633, 2005.

Whitehead T, Holley AW, Kieber-Emmons T, Korourian S, Hakkak, R. Metabolic phenotype of the DMBA-induced mammary tumor in obese female Zucker Rats. Am Assoc Cancer Res. 2005; 46:6074.

*To find additional publications by this author, please visit Pubmed Central, a National Institutes of Health-operated site for electronic distribution of life sciences research reports.

Susan G. Komen Foundation

USDA

Arkansas Biosciences Institute