Research Areas

Cancer Biology

  • Adam Dupuy
    • genetics of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
    • cancer gene discovery using transposon mutagenesis
  • Amit Choudhury
    • understand trafficking and signaling of VEGF receptors during tumor angiogenesis
  • Hank Qi
    • Epigenetic mechanism by histone demethylases in cancer cell "stemness"
  • Tina Tootle
    • mechanisms of prostaglandin mediated cell migration and cytoskeleton remodeling
  • Charles Yeaman
    • cellular mechanisms of tumor cell migration and invasion
 

Cell Biology

  • Ramesh Bhalla
    • Elucidate redox-mediated cellular mechanisms associated with vascular smooth muscle migration and proliferation
  • Jackie Bickenbach
    • molecular basis for epidermal stem cells
  • Amit Choudhury
    • elucidate mechanisms of sorting and trafficking of membrane rafts
  • John Engelhardt
    • redox mediated signal transduction pathways in disease
    • receptor signaling and endosomal control of NADPH oxidases
    • cell biology of adeno-associated virus (AAV) transduction
  • C. Andrew Frank
    • Synaptic transmission and muscle to nerve retrograde signaling in Drosophila
  • Masataka Kawai
    • molecular mechanisms of force generation in striated muscles
    • reconstitution of the thin filament in cardiac muscles
    • the positive allosteric effect of tropomyosin on the interaction of actin and myosin molecules
    • The mechanisms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in actin and tropomyosin molecules
  • Fang Lin
    • Understand the involvement of G protein signaling pathways in the migration of primordial germ cells (PGC)
    • Identify G proteins as well as G protein-coupled receptors that regulate gastrulation movement
  • Hank Qi
    • Histone demethylases in transcriptional regulation towards cell differentiation and proliferation
  • Tom Rutkowski
    • mechanisms by which cells adapt or succumb to chronic protein misfolding stresses
    • systems biology of the endoplasmic reticulum stress response--how perturbation of ER protein folding in development and disease is sensed by the pathways of the response and integrated to yield discrete changes in cellular physiology
  • Tina Tootle
    • Mechanisms of prostaglandin mediated cytoskeleton remodeling during Drosophila oogenesis
    • Using border cell migration as a model for understanding prostaglandin mediated invasive cell migration
  • Charles Yeaman
    • understanding cellular mechanisms involved in development and maintenance of epithelial cell polarity
    • investigating role of Ras-like GTPases and Exocyst in epithelial membrane trafficking
    • functions of primary cilia in regulating epithelial cell growth and differentiation


Developmental Biology

  • Botond Banfi
    • NADPH oxidase regulation in hair cell development in the inner ear
  • Amit Choudhury
    • understand role of syntaxins in embryonic development and vasculogenesis 
  • Robert Cornell
    • understanding gene pathways that regulate establishment and maintenance of neural crest lineages using the zebrafish as a model
    • understanding why disruption of ion channel TRPM7 causes melanocyte death and embryonic paralysis
    • the role of transcription factor AP-2 proteins in neural crest specification and survival
    • the role of transcription factor Irf6 in normal craniofacial development
  • John Engelhardt
    • transcriptional control of submucosal gland formation in the airway
    • somatic cell reprogramming by nuclear transfer and the development of new genetic models
  • C. Andrew Frank
    • Examining the development of the Drosophila neuromuscular junction in the context of unstable synaptic function
  • Fang Lin
    • Investigate G protein signaling in zebrafish embryogenesis
  • Hank Qi
    • Histone modifications and signaling pathways in craniofacial development
  • Robert Tomanek
    • regulation of prenatal and early postnatal formation of coronary blood vessels
  • Tina Tootle
    • Using Drosophila, in particular oogenesis, to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of prostaglandin action
 


Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy

  • Botond Banfi
    • molecular mechanisms that underlie defects in cystic fibrosis and deafness, with a focus on ROS and NADPH oxidase
  • Ramesh Bhalla

    • Development of gene therapy for vascular proliferative diseases

  • Jackie Bickenbach
    • using epidermal stem cells and reprogrammed cells to repair defective tissues
  • Amit Choudhury
    • modulation of membrane trafficking using recombinant viral vector(s) to regulate tumor angiogenesis
  • Adam Dupuy 
    • using sleeping beauty transposon system to generate tissue specific models of cancer in mice 
  • John Engelhardt 
    • development of gene therapies for inherited and environmentally induced diseases
    • development of recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors for gene therapy
    • investigation of the pathogenesis and treatment of cystic fibrosis lung disease
    • mechanisms underlying ischemia/reperfusion injury and applications of gene therapy in the liver
  • C. Andrew Frank
    • Using Drosophila genetics  and pharmacology to understand signaling pathways that link stable synaptic function and disorders of the nervous system
  • Nicholas Pantazis
    • protection against the neurodegeneration induced by ethanol exposure of the developing brain
    • development of therapeutic paradigms to ameliorate the brain damage found in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)
  • Tom Rutkowski
    • Elucidating the mechanistic link between endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis and lipid metabolim in the liver
    • Understanding how dysregulation of the ER stress response contributes to diseases of liver function (metabolic syndrome, hepatitis, alcoholic steatosis
  • Robert Tomanek
    • non-invasive therapeutic interventions that stimulate angiogenesis and improve prospects of survival after heart disease
  • Charles Yeaman
    • molecular mechanisms of renal cystogenesis with a focus on primary cilia dysfunction

 

Neurobiology

  • Martin Cassell
    • delineating the microcircuitry and network organization of brain systems involved in emotion and emotion-linked associative learning
    • vascular supply of the human central and peripheral nervous systems
    • functional neuroanatomy of the brain renin-angiotensin system
  • C. Andrew Frank
    • Using electrophysiology to understand the phenomenology and molecular mechanism of synaptic homeostasis, how synapses maintain stable function
  • Nicholas Pantazis
    • understand the molecular mechanism(s) underlying alcohol-induced neuronal death in the developing brain
    • the roles of calcium, nitric oxide, and growth factors in protecting the developing brain against alcohol-induced neurodegeneration
 

Stem Cell Biology

  • Jackie Bickenbach
    • the effect of aging on epidermal stem cells
    • reprogramming skin keratinocytes and fibroblasts into pluripotent cells
  • John Engelhardt
    • characterization of stem cells in the airway and biology of lung stem cell niches
  • Gregory Leno
    • Understanding the epigenetic changes during reprogramming of somatic cells by SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer), with an emphasis on chromatin remodeling
    • elucidating requirements for reactivation of DNA replication in nuclei from terminally differentiated cells
 

Vascular Biology

  • Ramesh Bhalla
    • Understanding redox regulation of cell to cell and cell to matrix interactions
  • Martin Cassell
    • vascular supply of the human central and peripheral nervous systems as it relates to Parkinson’s disease
  • Amit Choudhury
    • delineate mechanisms of VEGF receptors trafficking during angiogenesis
  • Fang Lin
    • Elucidate the functions of Gβγ/PI3Kγ in zebrafish angiogenesis
  • Robert Tomanek
    • regulation of vasculogenesis and angiogenesis by signaling and interactions of key growth factors
    • regulatory roles of metabolic (hypoxia) and mechanical (stretch) factors
    • angiogenesis in adult hearts subjected to ischemia and infarction