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Faculty
Although the majority of our faculty members and our administrative center are located on the Virginia Harris Cockrell Cancer Research Center at Science Park, our department is uniquely structured with faculty and research support cores present on both the MD Anderson Smithville (Science Park) and Houston (Texas Medical Center) campuses, thus connecting these campuses to facilitate collaboration and growth. Our faculty members are affiliated with the Genetics and Epigenetics Graduate Program of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center UT Health Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Faculty and laboratory membership and participation in the Center for Cancer Epigenetics (CCE), an MD Anderson Center of Excellence that includes members from both Smithville and Houston, further unites these campuses.
Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis Faculty
Smithville Faculty Members
Professor C. Marcelo Aldaz, M.D., Ph.D. Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Breast Cancer Genomics
• Role of WWOX the FRA16D chromosomal fragile site gene in cancer and human disease
• Identification and characterization of drivers of breast cancer initiation and progression
• Biomarkers of translational relevance in breast cancer
• Comparative breast cancer genomics and preclinical model development
Professor Blaine Bartholomew, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
ATP-Dependent Chromatin Remodelers in Cancer - Laboratory Site
• Role of ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers in development and cancer
• Approaches to examine gene expression, chromatin structure, and genomic long-range interactions
• Structure and function of ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers
• Dynamics of chromatin, replication independent chromatin assembly and reorganization
Professor Mark Bedford, Ph.D., Director PAAC - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Epigenetics and Cancer - Laboratory Site
• Arginine methylation, an epigenetic modification
• Mouse models of altered arginine methyltransferase (PRMT) expression
• Transcriptome studies (RNA-seq, ChIP-seq) in altered PRMT expression environments
• Protein Array and Analysis Core (PAAC): state-of-the-art microarrays to screen for proteins that recognize post-translational modifications
Professor Fernando Benavides, D.V.M., Ph.D., D.A.C.L.A.M.
Director Laboratory Animal Genetic Services - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
• Positional cloning (forward genetics) and phenotyping of spontaneous mouse mutations
• Spontaneous mutations influencing skin and hair follicle biology
• New animal models of cancer
• Genetic quality control of laboratory rodents (background characterization, speed congenics)
Associate Professor Shawn Bratton, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Apoptosis and Autophagy - Laboratory Site
• Regulation of caspases, inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins, and IAP antagonists
• Mechanisms of TRAIL resistance in prostate cancer
• Novel roles of BCL2 family members in heat shock-induced apoptosis
• Biochemistry of autophagy and its role in prostate cancer
Professor Taiping Chen, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Epigenetics and Development - Laboratory Site
• Crosstalk between DNA methylation and histone modifications
• DNA methylation and histone modifications in embryogenesis, gametogenesis, and stem cell functions
• Epigenetic dysregulation in developmental disorders and cancer
Professor Lezlee Coghlan, D.V.M., M.S.
Director Animal Resources - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
• Animal models of early epithelial cancers
• Novel imaging technologies to identify early epithelial cancers
• Infectious and parasitic diseases of rodents
• Managing animal resources
Associate Professor Francesca Cole, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
DNA Repair by Homologous Recombination - Laboratory Site
• Regulation of homologous recombination in vivo
• Mechanisms underlying germ line mutagenesis
• Relationships between alternate repair pathways during meiosis
• Therapeutic strategies to perturb alternate repair pathways in cancer
Professor and Chair Sharon Y. R. Dent, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Cancer Epigenetics - Laboratory Site
• Chromatin modifying enzymes - histone acetyltransferases, histone deacetylases and ubiquitn specific proteases in normal cells and in disease
• Cross-talk between methylation, acetylation and phosphorylation on histones and non-histone proteins
• Epigenetic changes regulating stem cell identity, cell differentiation and tumorigenesis
• Changes in post-translational modifications in histones and other proteins involved in neurodegeneration
Assistant Professor Collene Jeter, Ph.D.
Co-Director Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Core, Confocal Manager - Faculty Profile
• High resolution multispectral confocal imaging
• Volume imaging and three-dimensional image reconstruction
• Spatiotemporal relationships at the cellular and molecular level (time-lapse, FRET, FRAP)
• UVA-laser microirradiation induced DNA damage and dynamics of DNA repair processes
Professor David Johnson, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Epigenetics, DNA Repair and Cancer - Laboratory Site
• Mouse models of E2F transcription factors in cancer development
• Regulation of E2F1 function by post-translational modifications
• Transcription-independent functions of E2F1 in DNA repair
• The RB Tumor suppressor-E2F1 pathway in liver carcinogenesis
Associate Professor Bin Liu, Ph.D.
Bioinformatics Service - Faculty Profile
• Bioinformatics
• Cancer genomics
• Integrative genomic studies
Assistant Professor Yue Lu, Ph.D.
Bioinformatics Service - Faculty Profile
• Bioinformatics approaches for answering biological questions using next-generation sequencing
• Genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic changes in cancer
• New computational algorithms and statistical models for analyzing high-throughput sequencing data
Associate Professor Kevin McBride, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Programmed DNA Damage and Immune System Diversity - Laboratory Site
• Regulation and role of the mutator enzyme Activation-Induced Cytidine Deaminase (AID) in antibody diversification and B cell oncogenesis
• Programmed DNA damage, DNA methylation and epigenetic reprogramming during development
• Gammaherpesvirus pathogenesis and impact on B cell development
• Recombinant antibody cloning and production
Professor Ellen Richie, Ph.D., Assistant Dean GSBS - Faculty Profile
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GSBS
Profile
Thymus Development and Homeostasis
• Role of thymic epithelial cells in regulating T cell
development and T cell receptor repertoire selection
•
Molecular pathways that commit embryonic endodermal progenitors to a
thymic epithelial fate
• Regulation of thymus organogenesis,
homeostasis and involution
• Therapeutic strategies for
regenerating a functional thymus after age- or stress-induced involution
Assistant Professor Nidhi Sahni, Ph.D. - Faculty
Profile - GSBS
Profile
Systems Biology of Human Cancer
• Genetic and epigenetic influences on cancer and immune system
heterogeneity
• Computational genomics; identification of
driver mutations via CRISPR screens
• Functional
characterization of genetic and epigenetic changes in cancer cell
models
• Identification of new cancer biomarkers and drug targets
Associate Professor Manu Sebastian, D.V.M., Ph.D., D.A.C.V.P., D.A.B.T., D.A.C.L.A.M.
Director Research Histology, Pathology and Imaging Core - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
• Phenotypic evaluation of genetically engineered mice for cancer and other diseases
• In vivo evaluation of cancer therapeutics for efficacy
• In vivo evaluation of cancer therapeutics for safety and regulatory approval
• Tissue biomarkers for monitoring efficacy and safety of cancer therapeutics
Professor Jianjun Shen, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Director Molecular Biology Resource Center and Next-Generation Sequencing Facility
• Manager of a CPRIT funded next-generation sequencing (NGS) facility
• Molecular, proteomic and genomic approaches to study cancer and other diseases
• Biomarkers for early cancer detection
• Obesity associated pancreatic cancer risk
Associate Professor Xuetong "Snow" Shen, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Chromatin Remodelers and Eukaryotic Chromatin - Laboratory Site
• ATP-dependent chromatin remodelers and histone modification
• DNA damage response
• Cancer epigenetics
• Role of nuclear actin – from basic mechanisms to human diseases
Professor Richard Wood, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
DNA Polymerases and DNA Repair - Laboratory Site
• Role and mechanism of DNA polymerase theta (POLQ) in DNA repair
• DNA interstrand cross-link repair
• Importance of DNA polymerase zeta in UV damage response and cell proliferation
Assistant Professor Han Xu, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Computational and Systems Biology
• CRISPR-based genetic and epigenetic perturbation screens
• Machine-learning and statistical algorithms for the design and analysis of high-throughput biological experiments
• Transcriptional and epigenetic regulatory networks
Additional Smithville Faculty Members
- Donghang Cheng, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Bedford Laboratory
- Evangelia Koutelou, Ph.D., Instructor, Dent Laboratory
- Swarnalatha Manickavinayaham, Ph.D., Instructor, Johnson Laboratory
- Yunxiang Mu, Ph.D., Instructor, McBride Laboratory
- Maciej Zelazowski, Ph.D., Instructor, Cole Laboratory
Houston Faculty Members
Professor Michelle Barton, Ph.D., Dean GSBS - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Chromatin, Epigenetics and Cancer - Laboratory Site
• Chromatin structure and function
• The p53 tumor suppressor protein
• The E3 ubiquitin ligase and histone reader TRIM24
• Embryonic stem cells, liver regeneration and breast cancer
Associate Professor Joya Chandra, Ph.D. (Joint Appointment) - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Oxidative Environment of Cancer Cells - Laboratory Site
• Reactive oxygen species (ROS) in normal and cancer cells
• Therapeutic strategies exploiting ROS to eliminate cancer cells
• ROS in pediatric blood and brain cancers
• Modulation of ROS by diet and exercise to improve cancer therapy and survivorship
Assistant Professor Marcos Estécio, Ph.D., Co-Director Epigenomics Profiling Core
Cancer Epigenetics - Faculty Profile
• Origin and function of DNA methylation in cancer
• Cross-talk between genetic and epigenetic events in colorectal carcinomas
• Function of the nuclear lamina in gene regulation
• DNA Methylation Analysis Core: Gene specific and genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation
Assistant Professor Abhinav Jain, Ph.D., Co-Director Epigenomics Profiling Core
Cancer Epigenetics - Faculty Profile
•Transcriptome profiling to illuminate functions of tumor suppressor p53 in human embryonic stem cells
•Comparative genomics to identify and delineate functions of long-non coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in cancer
•Readers of histone post-translational modifications and cancer epigenetics
•High-Throughput ChIP-Seq Resource: Innovative, cost-effective high-throughput technologies for ChIP and library preparation to study chromatin enrichment of proteins across the genome
Assistant Professor Margarida Almeida Santos, Ph.D. - Faculty
Profile - GSBS
Profile
DNA Damage and Epigenetics in Cancer Stem
Cells - Laboratory Site
• DNA damage response and chromatin modifications in cancer stem
cells
• Mouse models of MLL-fusion leukemias with
perturbations in DNA damage response and epigenetic regulation
• DNA damage and epigenetic targeted therapies for MLL-rearranged leukemias
Adjunct Faculty Members
- Karen Vasquez, Ph.D. Division of Pharmacology and Toxicolgy, University of Texas at Austin