Cell Biology AoC Faculty

Andrew Arnold, Professor of Medicine and Genetics and Developmental Biology, Murray-Heilig Chair in Molecular Medicine, Director, Center for Molecular Medicine. M.D. Pathogenesis of parathyroid and other endocrine tumors, and role of the cyclin D1 oncogene in neoplasia, including breast cancer.

Stefan Brocke, Associate Professor of Immunology, M.D., Freie Universistaet Berlin School of Medicine.  Cellular and molecular mechanisms of brain injury in inflammatory and inflammation-associated disorders of the central nervous system.

Ernesto Canalis,Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Medicine, M.D., Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. The role of growth factors and their antagonists in skeletal function, such as osteoblast cell fate and function. The role of Notch and Nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) in osteoblasts in vivo and in vitro, and in disease models for Hajdu Cheney Syndrome and Lateral Meningocele Syndrome.

Leslie Caromile, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D. University of Washington. Investigating the mechanistic role of prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) in prostate cancer tumor vascularization, progression and metastasis; SNPs in PSMA and prostate cancer health disparities; novel PSMA targeted therapy using 3D bioprinted human prostate cancer tumor models.

Kevin Claffey, Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., Boston University School of Medicine. Angiogenesis in cancer progression and metastasis; Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression; Hypoxia-mediated gene regulation.

Robert B. Clark, Professor of Medicine, Division of Rheumatic Diseases; M.D., Stanford. Autoimmunity and tumor immunology.

Caroline N. Dealy, Associate Professor of Reconstructive Sciences, Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development, Ph.D., University of Connecticut. Regulation of articular cartilage differentiation and homeostasis by matrix and growth factors; genetic control of skeletal development and regeneration; stem cells for repair or regeneration of cartilage or limb tissue; stem cells as models for cartilage disease.

Anne Delany, Associate Professor of Medicine. Ph.D., Dartmouth Medical School. Function and regulation of the non-collagen matrix protein osteonectin/SPARC in bone; regulation of osteoblast gene expression by microRNAs; exploring how the extracellular matrix regulates gene expression in bone-metastatic prostate carcinoma.

Breno Diniz, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Ph.D., University of Sao Paulo.  How age-related changes in biological processes (the Pillars of Biological Aging) affect the development and outcomes of late-life mental and neuropsychiatric disorders and how it translates into the repurpose or development of novel interventions to treat and prevent these disorders across the lifespan.

Kimberly Dodge-Kafka, Professor of Cell Biology/Center for Cardiology and Cardiovascular Research; Ph.D., University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston. Molecular mechanism of signaling pathways in the heart.

Jeremy Egbert, Assistant Professor in Residence, Cell Biology, Ph.D., Washington State University. Physiological mechanisms of hormone signaling in the ovary, both within and between cells.

Mallika Ghosh, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., Indian Institute of Chemical Biology. Elucidating the role of a multifunctional transmembrane peptidase CD13 in cell-cell and cell-ECM communication and osteoclast and multinucleated giant cell fusion under pathological conditions.

Xiaoyan Guo, Assistant Professor of Genetics and Genome Sciences. Ph.D., Texas A&M University.  Understanding how mitochondria cross talk with the rest of the cell in health and diseases using CRISPR-based functional genomics.

Kshitiz Gupta, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering. Ph.D. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Unraveling the language cells employ to converse with each other, how the grammar and the content of the langage adapt to the environment, and how cells behave in response.

J. Travis Hinson, Assistant Professor of Cardiology and Genetics, M.D., Harvard. Human iPS disease modeling of cardiovascular disorders, functional genomics, regenerative medicine related to the heart, and CRISPR/CAS9 genomewide screens in iPS-cell assays.

Guo-Hua Fong, Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., University of Illinois. Developmental biology of the vascular system, VEGF-A receptor signal transduction, embryonic stem cells and gene knock-out in mice.

David Han, Associate Professor, Ph.D., Washington University, 1994. Apoptosis signaling using proteomics and mass spectrometry and bioinformatics technologies.

Marc Hansen, Professor of Medicine, M.S., University of Wisconsin, Ph.D. University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Molecular genetics of osteosarcoma and related bone diseases.

Marja Hurley, Professor of Medicine, M.D., University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Molecular mechanisms by which members of the fibroblast growth factor (FGFs) and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) families, (produced by osteoblasts, osteoclasts and stromal cells) regulate bone development, remodeling and disorders of bone. Fgf2 knockout and Fgf2 transgenic mice are utilized in loss and gain of function experiments to elucidate the role of FGF-2 in disorders of bone including osteoporosis.

Mayu Inaba-Oguro, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., Kyushu University, M.D., Ehime University School of Medicine. Molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate the asymmetric stem cell division; how niche signal is the spatially restricted with the emphasis on the novel stem cell specific structure, MT (microtubule based) -nanotubes.

Laurinda A. Jaffe, Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., UCLA. The cell biology of fertilization, and the regulation of meiosis and ovulation in ovarian follicles.

Eric S. Levine, Professor of Neuroscience, Ph.D., Princeton University. Synaptic physiology and plasticity, roles of nerve growth factors and endogenous cannabinoids in hippocampus and cortex.

Bruce Liang, Professor of Medicine, M.D., Harvard Medical School. Signal transduction, cardiac and vascular cell biology, receptors, G proteins, transgenic mice.

Leslie M. Loew, Professor of Cell Biology; Professor of Computer Science and Engineering; Ph.D., Cornell. Morphological determinants of cell physiology; image-based computational models of cellular biology; synapse biophysics; new optical methods for probing living cells.

Nilanjana Maulik, Professor of Surgery; Ph.D., University of Calcutta. Molecular and Cellular signaling during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion.

Lisa M. Mehlmann, Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., Kent State University. The regulation of meiosis in mammalian oocytes, as well as the cytoplasmic events that occur during the time an oocyte transitions from an immature cell to a mature egg capable of fertilization.

Pedro Mendes, Professor, Center for Quantitative Medicine; Ph.D., University of Wales. Computational systems biology: better understanding biological systems through the use of computer models.

Patrick Murphy, Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., University of California-San Francisco.  Unraveling the complex interplay between recruited immune cells and the endothelial lining of the vasculature in chronic inflammation, with a focus on alternative splicing and changes in the sub-endothelial matrix as critical determinants of that interaction.

Masako Nakanishi, Assistant Professor in Residence, Center for Molecular Oncology, Ph.D., UConn Health.  Pathogenesis of gastrointestinal inflammation and cancer, mouse tumor models, the role of lipid metabolism, microbiome, nutritional intervention.

Rachael Norris, Assistant Professor in Residence, Cell Biology, Ph.D., UConn Health. Investigating the trafficking of cellular signaling proteins in mouse ovarian follicles, by combining immunolabeling with serial section electron microscopy.

Hideyuki Oguro, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., University of Tokoyo. Molecular and cellular mechanisms that regulate blood-forming hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) development, self-renewal, mobilization, and malignant transformation; Generation of HSCs from human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Joel S. Pachter, Professor of Immunology; Ph.D., NYU. Elucidate the mechanisms by which leukocytes and pathogens invade the central nervous system.

Vladimir Rodionov, Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., Moscow State University. Research in this laboratory is focused on molecular mechanisms of intracellular transport and organization of microtubule cytoskeleton.

Annabelle Rodriguez-Oquendo, Professor of Cell Biology, M.D., New Jersey Medical School. Genetic link between healthy HDL cholesterol, heart disease, and infertility in women.

Daniel W. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine. Molecular genetics of colorectal cancer; signaling pathways in the development of tumors; toxicogenomics.

Archana Sanjay, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Ph.D.Regulation of bone remodeling; osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation and function.

Vanessa M. Scanlon, Assistant Professor of Reconstructive Sciences, Ph.D. UConn Health. Understanding the role the bone marrow microenvironment on hematopoietic progenitor cell fate.

Linda Shapiro, Professor of Cell Biology; Ph.D., University of Michigan. Molecular mechanisms by which large cell surface peptidases regulate numerous pathologic processes ranging from angiogenesis, tumor cell invasion, chronic and acute inflammatory diseases and cardiovascular disease.

Henry Smilowitz, Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Pre-clinical experimental therapeutics of cancer using glioma, intracerebral melanoma, as well as breast, head & neck and bladder cancer models.   A.) Gold nanoparticles as radiation enhancers (with an emphasis on glioma), B.) Gold and iron nanoparticles for hyperthermia and hyperthermia mediated radiation enhancement (with an emphasis on head & neck cancer), C.) Combination of radiation therapy and immunotherapy for intracerebral tumors.

Mark R. Terasaki, Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley. Mechanism of nuclear envelope breakdown; structure and function of the endoplasmic reticulum.

Paola Vera-Licona, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Computational Systems Biology of Cancer, reverse-engineering of biological networks, network theory, development and application of algorithms for mathematical modeling and analysis of biological networks, and discovery and development of combinations of targeted therapies.

Yanlin Wang, Professor of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, M.D., Weifang Medical University, Ph.D., The University of Texas Medical Branch. Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of kidney disease with a focus on the roles of inflammatory cells and fibroblasts in the pathogenesis of kidney injury and fibrosis.

Zhao-Wen Wang, Professor of Neuroscience. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurotransmitter release; potassium and calcium channel function; Synaptic localization of potassium channels.

Siu-Pok Yee, Associate Professor of Cell Biology, PhD, MC master University. Specialties include molecular biology, mouse genetics and mouse developmental biology.

Lixia Yue, Professor of Cell Biology, Center for Cardiology and Cardiovascular Biology; Ph.D., McGill University. TRP channels and Ca2+ signaling mechanisms; Physiological and pathological functions of TRP channels in heart, brain, and kidney.

Dong Zhou, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Ph.D., Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine. Exploring the mechanisms of the transition from acute kidney injury (AKI) to chronic kidney diseases (CKD).

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