Faculty: Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis

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

Associate 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  -  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 - Laboratory Site

•    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

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

Professor Xiaodong Cheng, Ph.D., - Faculty Profile - GSBS Profile
Epigenetic Modifications to DNA and Histones; Structural Biology - Laboratory Site

•     Readers, writers and erasers of  epigenetic modifications to DNA and histones 
•     Crosstalk and interplay between epigenetic modifications on DNA and histones
•     Small molecule inhibitors to reestablish the normal epigenomic state
•     Located in Houston

Associate 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