Research Interests

The Department of Biomedical Sciences is well equipped to train M.D./Ph.D. students for pursuing research that will lead to translation of basic laboratory findings into clinically applicable therapeutic intervention strategies. Outstanding faculty in the Department of Biomedical Sciences are eager to serve as research mentors to M.D./Ph.D. students. Current areas in neurobiology, infection and immunity, pathology, and biochemistry research interest include but are not limited to:

• The Epigenetics program is an NIH COBRE-funded (<$10 million) research program with emphasis in exploring abnormal epigenetic silencing events in the initiation of human cancers and the mechanisms of cancer progression and the role of chromatin structure in the regulation of eukaryotic transcription and replication; and sensing and regulation of DNA damage and repair with lung injury, cancer, and inflammation.
• The Microbiology and Immunology group is an NIH COBRE-funded (<$10 million) program with a directed research focus in infectious disease and host-pathogen interactions. Research programs currently are addressing questions related to both bacterial and viral pathogenesis, as well as host immunological responses. In addition, research collaborations are ongoing with regional biotechnology companies to address translational issues in host-pathogen interactions.
• There is a long-standing COBRE-funded neuroscience group focused on the neurobiology of disease, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV related pathologies of the nervous system; mechanisms of aging, lipid biochemistry, molecular cell signaling, endocrine physiology and neuron/glial response(s) to brain injury particularly in regards to the mechanisms of cellular communication involved in promoting neuronal survival and regeneration.
• Structure-function properties of neurotransmitter transporter systems as it relates to normal neurochemical processes and addiction.
• Cell signaling through calcium channel proteins in excitable and nonexcitable cells.
• Pathology associated with arsenic and cadmium induced toxicity and carcinogenicity in the breast, bladder, and kidney with a focus on the role of metallothioneins in these processes as well as the discovery and assessment of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of human cancer.

General School of Medicine & Health Sciences research information