PEMM Participating Faculty: M - Z

Carmen J. Marsit, Ph.D.

Photograph by Jon Gilbert Fox
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology, and of Community and Family Medicine
Research Description: My research is focused on understanding the role that exposures and lifestyle play in determining the character of the human epigenome. This highly interdisciplinary and collaborative work, relying on both laboratory biology as well as epidemiology and biostatistics, examines molecular alterations in human tissues and correlates these alterations to various epidemiologic and clinical measures to better understand the mechanisms by which exposures lead to pathologies.

Robert A. Maue, Ph.D.

Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology and of Biochemistry
Research Description: Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal development in the CNS, particularly as related to neurodegenerative diseases; neurotrophin and growth factor actions; regulation of neuronal ion channels and genes; molecular biology; electrophysiology.

Thomas McAllister, M.D.

Professor of Psychiatry
Research Description: Traumatic brain injury, neuropsychiatric disorders, neuropharmacology, functional MRI.

Todd Miller, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology
Research Description: Research in the Miller Laboratory focuses on the translational application of knowledge of cell signaling pathways to therapeutics for breast cancer. Our work spans the spectrum of basic cancer biology, through translational studies in mouse models and human tissues, and interfaces with clinical trials. We use an array of methods and technologies both in our lab and through interaction with core facilities, including mammalian tissue culture, molecular analyses of gene and protein expression, gene expression microarrays, chromatin immunoprecipitation, next-generation DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, protein microarrays, mass spectrometry, mouse models, and live animal imaging.

Mary Jo Mulligan-Kehoe, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Surgery, Vascular Section
Research Description: Inhibition of angiogenesis. In vitro studies examine the anti-angiogenic mechanisms of a recombinant plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 protein, rPAI-123. In vivo studies examine rPAI-123 inhibition of angiogenic blood vessels that support progression of atherosclerotic plaque and tumor. Development of a novel system designed to deliver rPAI-123 to sites of neo-angiogenesis in tumors.

Anikó Náray-Fejes-Tóth, M.D.

Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology
Research Description: Cellular and molecular biology of steroid hormone action in epithelial cells. In vivo studies using knockout and transgenic mice.

Eugene E. Nattie, M.D.

Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology
Research Description: Central chemoreceptors that sense changes in brain pH and stimulate breathing. The role of central chemoreception in the medullary raphe in the sudden infant death syndrome.

William G. North, Ph.D.

Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology
Research Description: Neuropeptides in breast cancer, in small-cell carcinoma, and in Alzheimer's disease.

Patricia A. Pioli, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Research Description: Reproductive immunology; sex hormone regulation of macrophage immune function and signal transduction

Richard J. Powell, M.D.

Professor of Surgery and Radiology
Research description: Defining the endothelial cell regulated pathways that control smooth muscle cell phenotype.

William F.C. Rigby, M.D.

Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology
Research Description: Posttranscriptional regulation of cytokine and CD40 ligand gene expression, RNA-protein infections, Von Hippel-Lindau regulation of mRNA stability.

R. Brooks Robey, M.D., F.A.S.N.

Associate Professor of Medicine and of Physiology and Neurobiology
Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development (VA)
Research Description: Regulation and function of mammalian hexokinases with specific emphasis on the interface between metabolism and cell survival in both adaptive (ischemic preconditioning) and maladaptive (cancer) contexts.

Bill D. Roebuck, Ph.D.

Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research Description: Modulation of acute and chronic toxicity and carcinogenic processes by cancer chemopreventive agents; evaluation of the effects of dietary dithiolethiones on prevention of liver cancer; chemoprevention of cancer.

Eva Rzucidlo, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Surgery
Research description: Intimal hyperplasia and restenosis of stents is like a cancer of the arteries. This is due to the plasticity of the vascular smooth muscle cell. Statins have been noted to have significant benefits for patients with cardiovascular disease. Clarifying how statins exert their beneficial effects on reducing cardiovascular events, as well as improving graft patency, may improve our understanding of which patients would benefit most from statin therapy and could also focus future pharmaceutical research on more specific effective treatments. We are investigating the effect of statins on the mTOR pathway, which we have shown to be an important regulator of VSMC phenotypic modulation.

Yolanda Sanchez, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research Description: Checkpoint signaling events triggered during the response to DNA damage or replication interference, how they regulate cell cycle progression, DNA repair and cell death. The role of checkpoints in the etiology of cancer and as drug targets for therapeutic enhancers of genotoxic cancer drugs.

Rodney C. Scott, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Neurology
Professor in Paediatric Neuroloscience at UCL-Institute of Child Health, UK
Research Description: Status epilepticus, brain damage and dysfunction in childhood epilepsy.

Nicholas William Shworak, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Medicine
Research Description: Roles of heparan sulfate biosynthetic enzymes in cardiovascular diseases. Using transgenic approaches an enzyme has been identified that protects against a common form of degenerative heart valve disease. We are now testing its involvement in protecting against vascular inflammation. Development of novel drugs or approaches to treat cardiovascular disorders. In addition, we are being to explore the role of this molecule within the central nervous system.

Mark Spaller, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Assistant Professor (Adjunct) of Chemistry
Research Description: Discovery and development of cellular probes and therapeutic agents targeting protein-protein interactions; chemical biology; peptide and organic small molecule synthesis; combinatorial chemistry; chemical libraries for in vitro and cell-based screening; biophysical analysis of protein-ligand interactions.

Michael J. Spinella, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research Description: Mechanistic links between stem cell pluripotency and cancer and identification of downstream genes signaling induced differentiation of solid tumors, especially in response to retinoids; finding causative genes in those tumors that are cured with differentiation and cytotoxic therapy.

Michael B. Sporn, M.D.

Oscar M. Cohn '34 Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research Description: Chemoprevention of cancer and other diseases caused by inflammatory and oxidative stress; transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta); development of new synthetic triterpenoids and rexinoids as drugs, studies on molecular mechanism of action.

Radu V. Stan, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Pathology and of Microbiology and Immunology
Research Description: Endothelial structures involved in vascular permeability in normal and disease states such as inflammation and cancer (angiogenesis). The regulation and function of components of endothelial microdomains, such as lipid rafts, caveolae, transendothelial channels, fenestrae, and vesiculo-vacuolar organelles.

Bruce A. Stanton, Ph.D.

Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Andrew C. Vail Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology, Director of the Lung Biology Program, Director of the Superfund Basic Research Program, Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Research Development Program, Director of the Epithelial Biology Training Program.
Research Description: Ion channel regulation in kidney and lung, Cystic Fibrosis, molecular pathogenesis of Pseudomonas infection, and gene environment interactions.

Harold M. Swartz, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Radiology and of Physiology and Neurobiology and of Community and Family Medicine
Adjunct Professor of Chemistry, Dartmouth College
Adjunct Professor of Engineering, Thayer School of Engineering
Research Description: The development and application of Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) to viable systems, including human subjects and animal models, especially 1. oximetry for cancer and peripheral vascular disease. 2. techniques for after-the-fact dosimetry to meet the need for rapid and accurate triage in a population that has potentially been exposed to doses that could cause the acute radiation syndrome (ARS).

Jeffrey S. Taube, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Research Description: Neurobiology of spatial orientation and navigation, learning and memory. Understanding 1) the neurobiological basis of spatial cognition and navigation, and 2) the neurobiological mechanisms underlying learning and memory. We use single cell chronic unit recording techniques in rodents to correlate the activity of neurons with the animal's behavior.

Craig Tomlinson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Pharmacology and Toxicology.
Research Description: Our laboratory studies the role of aryl hydrocarbon receptor in adult-onset diseases from in utero exposures to environmental toxicants, pancreatic cancer, and the development of high throughput genomics as a tool to predict the outcome of gene/environment interactions.

Matthew P. Vincenti, Ph.D.

Research Associate Professor of Medicine
Research Description: Regulation of matrix metalloproteinase gene expression in arthritis and cancer. The major goal of this work is to understand how inflammatory signal transduction activates metalloproteinase transcription.

Paul J. Whalen, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences
Research Description: Uses functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the role of prefrontal and limbic circuits in the evaluation of events that predict biologically relevant outcomes. This work has implications for the understanding of the emotion fear as well as disorders of fear management (e.g., anxiety disorders).

Charles R. Wira, Ph.D.

Professor of Physiology and Neurobiology
Research Description: Physiology of reproduction; cellular and molecular actions of sex hormones regulation of the mucosal immune system in the rodent and human female reproductive tract as it relates to protection against sexually transmitted diseases including HIV-1.

Heather A. Wishart, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Psychiatry
Research Description: Functional and Structual Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Neurobiological basis of heterogeneity in multiple sclerosis. A hallmark of multiple sclerosis (MS) is its interindividual heterogeneity. Dr. Wishart's research program uses structural and functional MRI and genotyping to discover neurobiological mechanisms of heterogeneity in symptomatology, course and treatment response in MS, with the ultimate aim of improving early, individualized characterization and treatment of the disease.

Hermes H. Yeh, Ph.D.

William W. Brown Professor and Chair, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology
Research Description: Cellular and molecular mechanisms of neuroreceptor interactions and plasticity in the adult and developing CNS.