Name/Degree(s)

Rank

ITTD-Related Research Interest

Cancer

The Role of Cyclooxygenase-2 in Cancer

Johnson, David MD

Professor of
Medicine

Evaluate cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors in the adjuvant therapy of lung cancer. Use biomarkers of drug efficacy to evaluate success in clinical trials.

DuBois, Raymond MD, PhD

Professor of
Medicine

Determine the mechanisms by which constitutive cyclooxygenase-2 expression contributes to tumor growth.

Marnett, Lawrence PhD

Professor of
Biochemistry

Determine molecular basis of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition and develop novel selective cyclooxygenase-2-based therapeutics.

Lybrand, Terry PhD

Professor of
Chemistry

Use molecular modeling to define the structural determinants of the selective binding of inhibitors to cyclooxygenase-2.

Effective Cancer Therapies Through Functional, Bio-inspired Nanoparticles

Matrisian, Lynn PhD

Professor of
Cancer Biology

Develop novel nanoparticle-based reagents for the detection and eradication of micrometastatic disease.

Harth, Eva PhD

Asst. Professor
of Chemistry

Develop targeted cancer chemotherapeutic agents based on the expression of matrix metaloproteinases.

Hallahan, Dennis MD

Professor of
Radiation Oncology

Develop nanoparticle-based anti-cancer agents using genetically engineered antibodies directed against tumor-specific targets.

Therapeutic Approaches to Treatment of Colon Cancer by Interruption of Wnt Signaling

Beauchamp, Daniel MD

Professor of
Surgery

Identify molecules that alter claudin signaling in colon cancer.  Identify inhibitors of Wnt signaling to correct abnormalities in cancer cells.

Coffey, Robert MD

Professor of
Medicine

Develop mouse models to test the effectiveness of anti-cancer agents and study the synergy between EGFR inhibitors and other agents.

Lee, Ethan MD, PhD

Asst. Professor
of Cell & Dev. Biology

Develop anti-tumor agents based on the stimulation of b-catenin degradation and inhibition of axin degradation to correct defects in Wnt signaling.

Interruption of PI-3-Kinase-Dependent Signaling as an Approach to Cancer Treatment

Arteaga, Carlos MD

Professor of
Medicine

Develop anti-cancer agents based on alterations in PI-3-kinase signaling pathways leading to "PIP3 addiction".

Brown, Alex PhD

Associate
Professor of Pharmacology

Develop high-throughput screening methodologies to analyze the effects of PI-3-kinase pathway modulation in tumor cells.

Discovery of Signaling Pathways that Modulate Taxane Sensitivity

Pietenpol, Jennifer PhD

Professor of
Biochemistry

Evaluate patterns of response and resistance to single agent taxanes.  Identify new targets for use in combination taxane-based therapies.

Bone Formation and Resorption as Targets for Drug Discovery

Mundy, Greg

Professor of
Medicine

Develop agents that promote osteoblast differentiation and bone formation through increasing BMP2 transcription.

Clinical Trials

Rothenberg, Mace MD

Professor of
Medicine

Test molecularly-targeted agents in clinical trials that provide correlative pharmacokinetic, molecular, and/or imaging studies.

Cardiovascular Disease

Dietary Lipids, Oxidative Stress, Antioxidants, and Cardiovascular Disease

Morrow, Jason MD

Professor of
Medicine

Determine the role of oxidative stress in atherosclerosis and hypertension.  Evaluate the effects of novel, potent antioxidants in vivo.

Porter, Ned A. PhD

Professor of
Chemistry

Identify and quantify peroxidation products of polyunsaturated fatty acids.  Develop new antioxidants for the treatment of atherosclerosis.

Brown, Nancy J. MD

Professor of
Medicine

Explore the role of oxidative stress, inflammation, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 expression in cardiovascular remodeling and hypertension.

Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders

Rational Design of New Therapeutics for schizophrenia and Parkinson's Disease

Conn, Jeffrey PhD

Professor of
Pharmacology

Develop agents that modulate chemical and electrical signaling in neuronal pathways key to schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease.

Davis, Thomas L., PhD

Assoc. Professor
of Neurology

Develop and evaluate novel, biochemically-based agents as novel treatments for Parkinson's disease.

Meltzer, Herbert, PhD

Professor of
Psychiatry

Develop new agents for schizophrenia based on the role of specific receptor subtypes in the mechanism of action of antipsychotic drugs.

Meiler, Jens PhD

Asst. Professor
of Chemistry

Use molecular modeling to outline structure-activity relationships for the rational design of therapeutics for neurological disease.

New Approaches for the Treatment of Seizure Disorders

George, Alfred MD

Professor of
Medicine

Develop rationally-designed sodium channel blockers suited to correct epilepsy-associated ion channel dysfunction.

MacDonald, Robert MD, PhD

Professor of
Neurology

Develop a high-throughput screen for identifying functional defects in variant GABAA receptors found in patients with epilepsy.

G-protein Regulation of Exocytotic Transmitter Release

Currie, Kevin PhD

Asst. Professor of
Anesthesiology

Identify novel therapeutic targets based on the effects of G-bg subunits on exocytotic neurotransmitter release.

Hamm, Heidi PhD

Professor of
Pharmacology

Use photoactivatable peptides to delineate sites of interactions between G-protein-coupled receptors and their effectors.

Novel Approaches to the Treatment of Mood Disorders

Shelton, Richard C. MD

Professor of
Psychiatry

Use multidisciplinary approaches from basic molecular investigation to improved clinical phenotyping to identify new targets for depression therapy.

Blakely, Randy PhD

Professor of
Pharmacology

Define the roles of neurotransmitter transporter variants in disease states and identify targets for therapeutic intervention to correct these variants.

Robertson, David MD

Professor of
Medicine

Identify potential therapeutic targets based on specific biochemical variants that play a role in cardiovascular, psychiatric, or neurologic disorders.

Therapeutic Agents for the Treatment of Demyelinating Diseases

Appel, Bruce MD

Asst. Professor of
Biological Sciences

Develop screens for compounds that influence the number and distribution of oligodendrocytes and promote remyelination of neurons.

Diabetes

Therapeutics to Facilitate Pancreatic Islet Function in Diabetes

Powers, Alvin C. MD

Professor of
Medicine

Screen potential therapeutic agents for diabetes using in vitro screens of islet function, intact islets, and in vivo methodologies.

Niswender, Kevin MD, PhD

Asst. Professor
of Medicine

Identify agents that restore islet function in states of insulin and leptin resistance as seen in diabetes and obesity.

Infectious Disease and Bio-Defense

Multidisciplinary Approach to the Development of New Anti-Viral Agents

Wright, David PhD

Asst. Professor
of Chemistry

Develop and screen new peptide-based therapeutics to block infection by the human metapneumovirus.

Crowe, James MD

Professor of
Pediatrics

Develop methodology to generate new target antigens and understand the antigen-antibody interaction in order to develop antibody-based anti-viral agents.

New Methodologies for the Control of Disease Vector Insects

Zwiebel, Laurence PhD

Professor of
Biological Sciences

Establish assays for the role of arrestins and G-proteins in olfaction in order to develop new methods to control disease vector mosquito populations.

Technology/Hit Generation

High-Throughput Screening

Weaver, C. David PhD

Res. Assoc.
Professor of Pharmacology

Support basic and translational research programs with the development of high-throughput screening assays directed towards the development of small molecule tools and potential therapeutics.

Molecular Recognition

Mernaugh, Ray PhD

Res. Assoc.
Professor of Biochemistry

Support basic and translational research programs through the development of antibody reagents for screening or therapeutic purposes.

Chemical Synthesis

Orton, Darren PhD

Res. Asst.
Professor of
Chemistry

Support basic and translational research through the synthesis of known and unknown molecules to be used as potential therapeutic or diagnostic tools.

Synthesis/Natural Products

Enantioselective Synthesis and Total Synthesis

Johnston, Jeffrey PhD

Professor of
Chemistry

Development of stereocontrolled reactions targeting the synthesis of
enantioenriched polyfunctional small molecules and natural products.

Nature Product Biosynthesis

Bachmann, Brian PhD

Asst. Professor
of Chemistry

Use primarily biochemical, enzymatic, and retrobiosynthetic techniques to produce complex natural products and their analogs.

Total Synthesis of Natural Products

Sulikowski, Gary PhD

Professor of
Chemistry

Use primarily organic synthetic methodology to construct complex natural products and their analogs.

Mechanisms of DNA Damage

Rizzo, Carmelo PhD

Professor of Chemistry

Define the structural and DNA sequence requirements for DNA cross-link formation.  Develop quantitative methods to assess degree of DNA damage by reactive electrophiles.