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Photo of Lauren Aleksunes Pharm.D., Ph.D., D.A.B.T.
Lauren Aleksunes, Pharm.D., Ph.D., D.A.B.T.
Professor – Pharmacology and Toxicology Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology Division

Lauren Aleksunes’Lab 

Recent Publications

  1. Toth, E, Li, H, Frost, K, Sample, P, Jilek, J, Greenfield, S, You, D, Kozlosky, D, Goedken, M, Paine, MF et al.. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis increases plasma retention of sorafenib-glucuronide in a mouse model by altering hepatocyte hopping. Acta Pharm Sin B. 2024;14 (11):4874-4882. doi: 10.1016/j.apsb.2024.09.004. PubMed PMID:39664440 PubMed Central PMC11628858
  2. Kinkade, CW, Rivera-Núñez, Z, Brinker, A, Buckley, B, Waysack, O, Kautz, A, Meng, Y, Ohman Strickland, P, Block, R, Groth, SW et al.. Urinary mycoestrogens and gestational weight gain in the UPSIDE pregnancy cohort. Environ Health. 2024;23 (1):103. doi: 10.1186/s12940-024-01141-8. PubMed PMID:39567992 PubMed Central PMC11580541
  3. Kinkade, CW, Brinker, A, Buckley, B, Waysack, O, Fernandez, ID, Kautz, A, Meng, Y, Shi, H, Brunner, J, Ohman-Strickland, P et al.. Sociodemographic and dietary predictors of maternal and placental mycoestrogen concentrations in a US pregnancy cohort. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2024; :. doi: 10.1038/s41370-024-00722-6. PubMed PMID:39363096
  4. Taylor, R, Basaly, V, Kong, B, Yang, I, Brinker, AM, Capece, G, Bhattacharya, A, Henry, ZR, Otersen, K, Yang, Z et al.. Effects of therapeutically approved individual bile acids on the development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis a low bile acid mouse model. Toxicol Sci. 2024;202 (2):179-195. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae110. PubMed PMID:39302723
  5. Aleksunes, LM, Gray, JP, Meshanni, J, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Repurposing FDA-approved drugs to treat chemical weapon toxicities: Interactive case studies for trainees. Pharmacol Res Perspect. 2024;12 (4):e1229. doi: 10.1002/prp2.1229. PubMed PMID:38965070 PubMed Central PMC11223991
  6. Wen, X, Doherty, C, Thompson, LE, Kim, C, Buckley, BS, Jaimes, EA, Joy, MS, Aleksunes, LM. Determination of unbound platinum concentrations in human plasma using ultrafiltration and precipitation methods. J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods. 2024;128 :107535. doi: 10.1016/j.vascn.2024.107535. PubMed PMID:38955285 PubMed Central PMC11551886
  7. Kinkade, CW, Aleksunes, LM, Brinker, A, Buckley, B, Brunner, J, Wang, C, Miller, RK, O'Connor, TG, Rivera-Núñez, Z, Barrett, ES et al.. Associations between mycoestrogen exposure and sex steroid hormone concentrations in maternal serum and cord blood in the UPSIDE pregnancy cohort. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2024;260 :114405. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2024.114405. PubMed PMID:38878407 PubMed Central PMC11441442
  8. Gutgarts, V, Gerardine, S, Shingarev, RA, Knezevic, A, Zabor, EC, Latcha, S, Joy, MS, Aleksunes, LM, Jaimes, EA. Evaluation of Cisplatin-Induced Acute Kidney Injury in Patients Coprescribed Serotonin Receptor Antagonists: A Retrospective Analysis. Kidney360. 2024;5 (8):1094-1100. doi: 10.34067/KID.0000000000000464. PubMed PMID:38814726 PubMed Central PMC11371355
  9. Chung, E, Wen, X, Jia, X, Ciallella, HL, Aleksunes, LM, Zhu, H. Hybrid non-animal modeling: A mechanistic approach to predict chemical hepatotoxicity. J Hazard Mater. 2024;471 :134297. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134297. PubMed PMID:38677119 PubMed Central PMC11519847
  10. Galetin, A, Brouwer, KLR, Tweedie, D, Yoshida, K, Sjöstedt, N, Aleksunes, L, Chu, X, Evers, R, Hafey, MJ, Lai, Y et al.. Membrane transporters in drug development and as determinants of precision medicine. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2024;23 (4):255-280. doi: 10.1038/s41573-023-00877-1. PubMed PMID:38267543 PubMed Central PMC11464068
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Tracy Anthony, Ph.D.
Professor EOHSI Division of ToxicologySchool of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Research Interests

The Anthony Lab studies homeostatic responses to changes in nutrient supply and environmental stress. Our experiments aim to identify dietary components and cellular processes that prevent and treat serious diseases and promote healthspan. Over the years my group has published numerous high impact publications which delineate mechanisms of metabolic and proteostasis control by diet, drugs, genetics and environmental stressors. These works have spanned many organ systems including endocrine, gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, immune, lymphatic, muscular and the central nervous system. With respect to diet and nutrient supply, we study how amino acid insufficiency or imbalance alters tissue proteostasis in the whole animal. We use experimental models that alter amino acid availability and work to understand how altering the supply of amino acids, in total or individually, is sensed and communicated under different metabolic states. We also are interested in metabolic and molecular responses to exercise and the crosstalk between diet and physical activity. Current projects in the laboratory may be grouped into the following areas:

Homeostatic responses to amino acid insufficiency

Alterations in amino acid availability and balance are sensed by overlapping signal transduction cascades. Two major signaling nodes responsive to amino acid supply in mammals are the: 1) Integrated Stress Response (ISR), also called the Amino Acid Response (AAR) and 2) mechanistic Target Of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway. While the mTORC1 pathway functions as a sensor of amino acid abundance to stimulate growth, the ISR/AAR is activated by amino acid deprivation to slow growth and instead favor cytoprotective and adaptive processes. How these signaling pathways work together to regulate gene-specific translation and promote cellular resilience is a major research focus of the lab. This project uses genetic strains of mice with targeted deficiencies in the ISR/AAR in combination of sophisticated molecular biology and stable isotope techniques to assess control of proteostasis and metabolism in tissues of mice.

Mechanisms of toxicity by asparaginase

Asparaginase is an important part of the remission induction regimen for treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer. The enzyme breaks down circulating asparagine and glutamine, creating a physiologically relevant model of amino acid deficiency. In leukemic cells which express very little asparagine synthetase (the enzyme that makes asparagine), asparaginase inflicts a lethal amino acid starvation. Yet for reasons not completely understood, cancer patients may unpredictably suffer severe complications, such as thromboembolism, liver failure and pancreatitis. Our lab was the first to report that phosphorylation of the translation factor, eIF2, by the amino acid sensor, GCN2, is activated by asparaginase. We were also the first to describe the ISR as the body’s first responder to asparaginase exposure. Since then we have gone on to show the impact of obesity and age on liver responses to asparaginase and we continue to use this agent as a research tool and study it to improve its efficacy to treat cancer and other diseases. This project utilizes a combination of biochemical, dietary, metabolic and molecular approaches in mice to identify mechanisms by which asparaginase causes metabolic complications and cell death. These results will be used to increase the safety and efficacy of asparaginase and to develop improved personalized approaches to the treatment of serious diseases.

ER stress and the Unfolded Protein Response

Chemical, environmental or nutritional perturbations that disrupt homeostasis within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) activate a mechanism called the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR, also called the ER Stress Response). Phosphorylation of the translation factor eIF2 by PERK constitutes one arm of the UPR which serves to alleviate cell stress and re-establish homeostasis through a reprogramming of gene expression driven by the transcription factor ATF4. My laboratory is interested in exploring how the PERK-eIF2-ATF4 arm of the UPR contributes to the overall cellular effort to promote cellular adaptation and survival in response to a wide variety of environmental insults and proteotoxic stress agents.

Dietary protein, exercise, muscle growth and metabolic homeostasis

The interface of dietary protein and exercise as it relates to optimization of lean body mass is a longstanding area of interest and study. Previous projects in the lab include identifying metabolic and transcriptional signatures in the muscle of exercised horses, and varying the composition, distribution, source and/or timing of dietary protein on mTORC1 signaling and protein synthesis in mice. Information gained in this area will be targeted to relevant populations to improve performance and promote recovery and resilience.

 

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William Belden, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Rutgers UniversitySchool of Environmental and Biological Sciences- Department of Animal Science
Photo of Alison Bernstein Ph.D.
Alison Bernstein, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology

Dr. Bernstein’s Lab

Photo of Martin J Blaser M.D.
Martin J Blaser, M.D.
Porfessor – Director of CABM Rutgers UniversityCenter for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine – Rutgers Behavioral Health Systems

Martin J. Blaser holds the Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome at Rutgers University, where he also serves as Professor of Medicine and Microbiology, and as Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine.  Previously, he served as Chair of the Department of Medicine at New York University. A physician and microbiologist, Dr. Blaser has been studying the relationships we have with our persistently colonizing bacteria. His work over 30 years focused on Campylobacter species and Helicobacter pylori, which also are model systems for understanding the interactions of residential bacteria with their hosts. Over the last 20 years, he has also been actively studying the relationship of the human microbiome with health and important diseases including asthma, obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Dr. Blaser has served as the advisor to many students, post-doctoral fellows, and junior faculty. He currently serves as Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council for Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB). He holds 28 U.S. patents, and has authored over 600 original articles. He wrote Missing Microbes, a book targeted to general audiences, now translated into 20 languages.

Martin J. Blaser, MD

Photo of Kristin Borbely
Kristin Borbely
Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Central Administration
Photo of Brian Buckley Ph.D.
Brian Buckley, Ph.D.
Executive Director – Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Central Administration

Dr. Buckley’s Complete List of Publications (PDF)

Recent Publications

  1. Kinkade, CW, Rivera-Núñez, Z, Brinker, A, Buckley, B, Waysack, O, Kautz, A, Meng, Y, Ohman Strickland, P, Block, R, Groth, SW et al.. Urinary mycoestrogens and gestational weight gain in the UPSIDE pregnancy cohort. Environ Health. 2024;23 (1):103. doi: 10.1186/s12940-024-01141-8. PubMed PMID:39567992 PubMed Central PMC11580541
  2. Kinkade, CW, Brinker, A, Buckley, B, Waysack, O, Fernandez, ID, Kautz, A, Meng, Y, Shi, H, Brunner, J, Ohman-Strickland, P et al.. Sociodemographic and dietary predictors of maternal and placental mycoestrogen concentrations in a US pregnancy cohort. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2024; :. doi: 10.1038/s41370-024-00722-6. PubMed PMID:39363096
  3. Taylor, R, Basaly, V, Kong, B, Yang, I, Brinker, AM, Capece, G, Bhattacharya, A, Henry, ZR, Otersen, K, Yang, Z et al.. Effects of therapeutically approved individual bile acids on the development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis a low bile acid mouse model. Toxicol Sci. 2024;202 (2):179-195. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae110. PubMed PMID:39302723
  4. Wren, M, Robson, M, Buckley, B. A Novel Biomonitoring Method to Detect Pyrethroid Metabolites in Saliva of Occupationally Exposed Workers as a Tool for Risk Assessment. Hum Ecol Risk Assess. 2024;30 (3-4):269-288. doi: 10.1080/10807039.2024.2329625. PubMed PMID:39221113 PubMed Central PMC11360145
  5. Wen, X, Doherty, C, Thompson, LE, Kim, C, Buckley, BS, Jaimes, EA, Joy, MS, Aleksunes, LM. Determination of unbound platinum concentrations in human plasma using ultrafiltration and precipitation methods. J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods. 2024;128 :107535. doi: 10.1016/j.vascn.2024.107535. PubMed PMID:38955285 PubMed Central PMC11551886
  6. Kinkade, CW, Aleksunes, LM, Brinker, A, Buckley, B, Brunner, J, Wang, C, Miller, RK, O'Connor, TG, Rivera-Núñez, Z, Barrett, ES et al.. Associations between mycoestrogen exposure and sex steroid hormone concentrations in maternal serum and cord blood in the UPSIDE pregnancy cohort. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2024;260 :114405. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2024.114405. PubMed PMID:38878407 PubMed Central PMC11441442
  7. Chow, MD, Otersen, K, Wassef, A, Kong, B, Yamarthy, S, Rizzolo, D, Yang, I, Buckley, B, Lu, A, Crook, N et al.. Effects of intestine-specific deletion of FGF15 on the development of fatty liver disease with vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Hepatol Commun. 2024;8 (6):. doi: 10.1097/HC9.0000000000000444. PubMed PMID:38780301 PubMed Central PMC11124683
  8. Taylor, R, Yang, Z, Henry, Z, Capece, G, Meadows, V, Otersen, K, Basaly, V, Bhattacharya, A, Mera, S, Zhou, P et al.. Characterization of individual bile acids in vivo utilizing a novel low bile acid mouse model. Toxicol Sci. 2024;199 (2):316-331. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae029. PubMed PMID:38526215
  9. Kozlosky, D, Doherty, C, Buckley, B, Goedken, MJ, Miller, RK, Huh, DD, Barrett, ES, Aleksunes, LM. Fetoplacental Disposition and Toxicity of Cadmium in Mice Lacking the Bcrp Transporter. Toxicol Sci. 2023;197 (2):132-46. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfad115. PubMed PMID:37941438 PubMed Central PMC10823776
  10. Zhang, R, Walker, L, Wen, X, Doherty, C, Gorczyca, L, Buckley, B, Barrett, ES, Aleksunes, LM. Placental BCRP transporter reduces cadmium accumulation and toxicity in immortalized human trophoblasts. Reprod Toxicol. 2023;121 :108466. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2023.108466. PubMed PMID:37660740 PubMed Central PMC10591833
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See complete list of Dr. Buckley’s publications in PubMed

 

Photo of Stephen K Burley M.D.
Stephen K Burley, M.D.
Professor and Henry Rutgers Chair Rutgers UniversityCenter for Integrative Proteomics Research

Scholar Page

Awards & Honors

  • Director, Center for Integrative Proteomics Research (CIPR)
  • Director, Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics Protein Data Bank (RCSB PDB)
  • Founding Director, Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine at Rutgers (iQB@R)
  • Senator, Rutgers University Senate
  • Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
  • Member, Cancer Institute of New Jersey

Research Summary

Stephen Burley currently serves as Henry Rutgers Chair and University Professor, Founding Director of the Institute for Quantitative Biomedicine, and Director of the RCSB Protein Data Bank at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He is also a Member of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, where he Co-Leads the Cancer Pharmacology Research Program. Burley is an expert in structural biology, proteomics, bioinformatics, structure/fragment based drug discovery, and clinical medicine/oncology.

From 2008 to 2012, Burley was a Distinguished Lilly Research Scholar in Lilly Research Laboratories. Prior to joining Lilly, Burley served as the Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of SGX Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company that was acquired by Lilly in 2008. Until 2002, Burley was the Richard M. and Isabel P. Furlaud Professor at The Rockefeller University and an Investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

He has authored/coauthored more than 280 scholarly scientific articles. Following undergraduate training in applied mathematics and physics, Burley received an M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School in the joint Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program and, as a Rhodes Scholar, received a D.Phil. in Structural Biology from Oxford University. He trained in internal medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and did post-doctoral work with Gregory A. Petsko at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nobel Laureate William N. Lipscomb, Jr. at Harvard University. With William J. Rutter and others at the University of California San Francisco and Rockefeller, Burley co-founded Prospect Genomics, Inc., which was acquired by SGX in 2001. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the New York Academy of Sciences, and recipient of a Doctor of Science (Honoris causa) from his alma mater the University of Western Ontario.

 

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Kerry Butch
Program Specialist Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology
Jessica Cervelli
Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology
Photo of Suzie Chen Ph.D.
Suzie Chen, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor Rutgers – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Research Areas

The main interest in my laboratory is to study the molecular mechanisms of melanoma development using a line of transgenic mice (TG-3) generated in my lab several years ago. From mapping studies, we have determined that about 70 kb of host sequences have been deleted by the insertion of the transgene. The host DNA had been deleted from a region of mouse chromosome 10 which is syntenic to the long arm of human chromosome 6. This region of human chromosome 6 has been shown to be highly rearranged in a large number of human nonfamilial malignant melanomas. A combination of techniques were used to identify intron 3 of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (Grm1) as the gene disrupted by the insertion of the transgene. The metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) belong to a family of seven transmembrane domain, G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Expression of mGluRs is usually restricted to neuronal cells, but the signaling pathways activated by these receptors are widely distributed in both neural and non-neural cells. Mice with null mutations in Grm1 display reductions in hippocampal long term potentiation, and abnormalities of motor coordination and associative learning. In the TG-3 line, we showed that Grm1 is expressed only in ear tumors, but not normal ear as demonstrated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR, Western immunoblots, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry. Co-localization of Grm1 and the melanocyte-marker Tyrp-1 was detected only in tumors and not in the normal counterparts. Based on these results, a new transgenic line was generated with targeted Grm1 expression to melanocytes, by using Grm1 cDNA under the melanocyte-specific Dct (dopachrome tautomerase) promoter. Founder of Dct-Grm1 exhibited melanotic tumors on the tail at 7.5 months of age. High levels of Grm1 expression were observed in tail tumors but not in normal tail. Histopathological analysis showed these tumors to be very similar to those of TG-3. These results provide the compelling evidence suggesting the improtance of Grm1 signaling in melanocytic neoplasia.

Together with Dr. J. Goydos at CINJ, we begin to explore the potential role of the aberrant expression of Grm1 in human melanoma development and progression. Our data on human melanoma biopsy samples (7/19) showed expression of Grm1. Grm1 expression was not detected in two benign nevi and one normal skin samples. Similar analyses were also done with 18 human melanoma cell lines, 12/18 of these cell lines showed Grm1 expression, these results were confirmed by immunofluorescence. Co-localization of Grm1 and Tyrp1 (a melanocyte-specific marker) was detected only in lines that also showed Grm1 expression.

Research Highlights

  • Melanoma research
  • Melanoma research from bench to the clinic.

Scholarly Activities

  • 2014 – present Council member of PanAmerican Society for Pigment Cell Research
  • 2011 – present VA Oncology Study Section
  • 2004 – present Member, NCI Special Emphasis Panel
  • 2000 – present Planning and Review Committee for the Annual Retreat on Cancer Research
  • 2004-2010 National Institute of Health Grant
  • 2007-2012 National Institute of Health Grant
  • 2009-2011 State of New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research Grant

Recent Publications

  1. Arnold, MR, Chen, S, Unni, VK. Alpha-synuclein knockout impairs melanoma development and alters DNA damage repair in the TG3 mouse model in a sex-dependent manner. bioRxiv. 2024; :. doi: 10.1101/2024.12.01.626256. PubMed PMID:39677631 PubMed Central PMC11642733
  2. Marinaro, C, Sauer, J, Natale, CA, Ridky, T, Chen, S. An In Vivo Study of LNS8801, a GPER Agonist, in a Spontaneous Melanoma-Prone Mouse Model, TGS. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2024; :. doi: 10.1111/pcmr.13197. PubMed PMID:39282758
  3. Pompili, SVB, Fanzini, S, Schachner, M, Chen, S. In Vitro and In Vivo Studies of Melanoma Cell Migration by Antagonistic Mimetics of Adhesion Molecule L1CAM. Int J Mol Sci. 2024;25 (9):. doi: 10.3390/ijms25094811. PubMed PMID:38732030 PubMed Central PMC11084881
  4. Fateeva, A, Eddy, K, Chen, S. Current State of Melanoma Therapy and Next Steps: Battling Therapeutic Resistance. Cancers (Basel). 2024;16 (8):. doi: 10.3390/cancers16081571. PubMed PMID:38672652 PubMed Central PMC11049326
  5. Fateeva, A, Chen, S. Study on the Complex Melanoma. Cancers (Basel). 2024;16 (5):. doi: 10.3390/cancers16050843. PubMed PMID:38473205 PubMed Central PMC10931287
  6. Eddy, K, Gupta, K, Eddin, MN, Marinaro, C, Putta, S, Sauer, JM Jr, Chaly, A, Freeman, KB, Pelletier, JC, Fateeva, A et al.. Assessing Longitudinal Treatment Efficacies and Alterations in Molecular Markers Associated with Glutamatergic Signaling and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in a Spontaneous Melanoma Mouse Model. JID Innov. 2024;4 (2):100262. doi: 10.1016/j.xjidi.2024.100262. PubMed PMID:38445232 PubMed Central PMC10914525
  7. Fateeva, A, Eddy, K, Chen, S. Overview of current melanoma therapies. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2024;37 (5):562-568. doi: 10.1111/pcmr.13154. PubMed PMID:38063139 PubMed Central PMC11161550
  8. Fateeva, A, Chen, S. Editorial: The role of immunotherapy in melanomas. Front Oncol. 2023;13 :1293040. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1293040. PubMed PMID:37841439 PubMed Central PMC10569413
  9. Spencer, KR, Portal, DE, Aisner, J, Stein, MN, Malhotra, J, Shih, W, Chan, N, Silk, AW, Ganesan, S, Goodin, S et al.. A phase I trial of riluzole and sorafenib in patients with advanced solid tumors: CTEP #8850. Oncotarget. 2023;14 :302-315. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.28403. PubMed PMID:37036756 PubMed Central PMC10085060
  10. Eddy, K, Gupta, K, Pelletier, JC, Isola, AL, Marinaro, C, Rasheed, MA, Campagnolo, J, Eddin, MN, Rossi, M, Fateeva, A et al.. A Spontaneous Melanoma Mouse Model Applicable for a Longitudinal Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Study. J Invest Dermatol. 2023;143 (10):2007-2018.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2023.03.1664. PubMed PMID:36997110 PubMed Central PMC10524215
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Photo of Emanuel DiCicco-Bloom M.D.
Emanuel DiCicco-Bloom, M.D.
Professor Rutgers UniversityDepartment of Neuroscience and Cell Biology – Child Health Institute of New Jersey

Gene and growth factor regulation of neurogenesis during mammalian brain development, with a focus on models of human neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, schizophrenia and environmental teratogens. One direction of research explores the roles of extracellular growth factors, such as IGF1, bFGF and PACAP, in regulating proliferation of neural precursors in cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum, working via cell cycle machinery, especially cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. Another area of interest examines the effects of environmental teratogens, including methylmercury and neurotherapeutic valproic acid, on neural stem cell proliferation in prenatal cortex and postnatal hippocampus, defining effects on proliferation and programmed cell death, as well as neurogenesis and behavioral consequences. Finally, we are defining the roles of the autism-associated gene, Engrailed 2, in development of cerebellum and hindbrain, as well as secondary effects on forebrain structure and functions. These studies are performed in neural stem cell cultures, and in embryonic and postnatal rodent brains, altering growth factors, genes and microRNAs by using knock out technology, gene over/under expression methods (transfection, in utero electroporation) and pharmacological approaches with subsequent analyses of mRNAs, proteins, cell and tissue morphology and animal behaviors.

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Linda Everett
Department Administrator, Pharmacology and Toxicology Rutgers University – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology
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Philip Furmanski, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor Rutgers University – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Dr. Furmanski’s background is in cancer molecular and cell biology, mechanisms of tumor progression, experimental therapeutics of cancer and other invasive/infectious processes, preclinical and human clinical trials. He has expertise in a number of areas, including pathogenesis of environmental toxin-induced disease, role of macrophages in inflammatory processes related to environmental exposures, health effects of nanoparticles, genetic and epigenetic regulation of cellular functions, among others. As a result of long service to the scientific community on a number of Editorial Boards, grant review committees, advisory boards, he is very active as a mentor for junior faculty and those newly moving into the field (as well as more senior members) in many aspects of the scientific and administrative process, including interactions with industry (big pharma, biotech, materials and devices).

Scholarly Activities

  • Member and Inaugural Chair, Pathology C (Cancer Molecular Pathobiology/CAMP) Study Section, National Institutes of Health, June 2001 – October 2003
  • Member, Advisory Committee for Oncologic Sciences, Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health, January – June 1999 – June 2000
  • Member, National Institutes of Health Reviewers Reserve, July 1993 – July 1998
  • Member, Pathology B Study Section, Division of Research Grants, National Institutes of Health, October 1988 – June 1993
  • Chairman, Cancer Biology and Immunology Contracts Review Committee, National Cancer                 Institute,   May 1985 – October 1987

Recent Publications

  1. Abratenko, P, Alterkait, O, Andrade Aldana, D, Arellano, L, Asaadi, J, Ashkenazi, A, Balasubramanian, S, Baller, B, Barr, G, Barrow, D et al.. First Simultaneous Measurement of Differential Muon-Neutrino Charged-Current Cross Sections on Argon for Final States with and without Protons Using MicroBooNE Data. Phys Rev Lett. 2024;133 (4):041801. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.133.041801. PubMed PMID:39121397
  2. Abratenko, P, Alterkait, O, Andrade Aldana, D, Arellano, L, Asaadi, J, Ashkenazi, A, Balasubramanian, S, Baller, B, Barr, G, Barrow, D et al.. First Search for Dark-Trident Processes Using the MicroBooNE Detector. Phys Rev Lett. 2024;132 (24):241801. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.241801. PubMed PMID:38949335
  3. Abratenko, P, Alterkait, O, Andrade Aldana, D, Anthony, J, Arellano, L, Asaadi, J, Ashkenazi, A, Balasubramanian, S, Baller, B, Barr, G et al.. First Measurement of η Meson Production in Neutrino Interactions on Argon with MicroBooNE. Phys Rev Lett. 2024;132 (15):151801. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.151801. PubMed PMID:38683006
  4. Eddy, K, Gupta, K, Eddin, MN, Marinaro, C, Putta, S, Sauer, JM Jr, Chaly, A, Freeman, KB, Pelletier, JC, Fateeva, A et al.. Assessing Longitudinal Treatment Efficacies and Alterations in Molecular Markers Associated with Glutamatergic Signaling and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in a Spontaneous Melanoma Mouse Model. JID Innov. 2024;4 (2):100262. doi: 10.1016/j.xjidi.2024.100262. PubMed PMID:38445232 PubMed Central PMC10914525
  5. Abratenko, P, Alterkait, O, Andrade Aldana, D, Arellano, L, Asaadi, J, Ashkenazi, A, Balasubramanian, S, Baller, B, Barr, G, Barrow, D et al.. Search for Heavy Neutral Leptons in Electron-Positron and Neutral-Pion Final States with the MicroBooNE Detector. Phys Rev Lett. 2024;132 (4):041801. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.041801. PubMed PMID:38335355
  6. Abratenko, P, Alterkait, O, Andrade Aldana, D, Anthony, J, Arellano, L, Asaadi, J, Ashkenazi, A, Balasubramanian, S, Baller, B, Barr, G et al.. First Double-Differential Measurement of Kinematic Imbalance in Neutrino Interactions with the MicroBooNE Detector. Phys Rev Lett. 2023;131 (10):101802. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.101802. PubMed PMID:37739352
  7. Kabeya, V, Puthussery, S, Furmanski, A. Barriers and facilitators to genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer amongst Black African women in Luton (UK). J Genet Couns. 2024;33 (2):425-444. doi: 10.1002/jgc4.1742. PubMed PMID:37403830
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Photo of Michael A. Gallo Ph.D., D.A.B.T.
Michael A. Gallo, Ph.D., D.A.B.T.
Professor Emeritus Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology

Dr. Gallo is a Professor in the Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology, and a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences. Dr Gallo is an Adjunct Professor both in the School of Public Health and in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy of Rutgers University. He is a founding member of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute where he served as Director of Toxicology, and as Director of the NIEHS Center of Excellence. He was the founding Director of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Associate Dean for Research. Dr. Gallo is a renowned toxicologist with expertise in the area of dioxins and PCBs, experimental models in pharmacology and toxicology, cytoplasmic and cell surface receptors, hormone biology and mechanisms of hormonal and environmental carcinogenesis. His avocation is History of Toxicology. Dr. Gallo served on several NIH committees including the ALTOX-4 Study Section, Chair of the Board of Scientific Councilors of the National Toxicology Program, and member of the NIEHS Board of Councilors. He also served as Chair of the NCI Centers Review committee, as well as a member of several NAS/NRC Expert committees including Drinking Water and Health; Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children; Risk Assessment Methodology; and the National Research Council/Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research and Medicine. He served the US-EPA as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board, and the Dioxin Review Science Advisory Board. Dr. Gallo was Chair of the New Jersey Governor’s Pesticide Control Council, and the New Jersey Cancer Risk Commission. Dr. Gallo serves as a consultant to the academic, government and private sectors.

Research Areas

Dioxins; Experimental Models; Pharmacology and Toxicology; Ocular Toxicity; Cytoplasmic Receptors; Hormones; Mechanisms of Carcinogenesis; Cell Surface Receptors; and Chemical Carcinogenesis

Scholarly Activities

  • 2011: Society of Toxicology Education Award
  • 2001: Chair, Hormonal Carcinogenesis Gordon Research Conference
  • 2000: Ambassador of Toxicology, Mid-Atlantic Society of Toxicology
  • 1985: Chair, Mechanisms of Toxicity Gordon Research Conference
  • 1985: UMDNJ Exceptional Merit Award
  • 1979: Russell Sage College Outstanding Alumni
  • 1971-1972: NIH Post Doctoral Fellow
  • 1968-1971 NIH Pre-Doctoral Fellow

Recent Publications

  1. Ferrante, M, Gallo, MB, Gende, LB, Consolo, VF, Álvarez, VA, González, JS. Synthesis and characterization of gelatin/chondroitin sulfate microgels with NaCl: Preliminary research toward wound healing applications. Int J Biol Macromol. 2024; :138953. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.138953. PubMed PMID:39706417
  2. Wesley, SR, Gallo, M, Apata, T, Dis, JV, Hollenbach, SJ. Impact of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals, Climate, and Air Pollution on Pregnancy Outcomes: A Scoping Review. Semin Reprod Med. 2024; :. doi: 10.1055/s-0044-1800961. PubMed PMID:39694048
  3. Novara, L, Antonioni, A, Vacca, L, Rosato, E, Lombardo, R, De Nunzio, C, Young Research Group of the Italian Society of Urodynamics. Letter to the Editor: How Useful are Current Chatbots Regarding Urology Patient Information? Comparison of the Ten Most Popular Chatbots' Responses About Female Urinary Incontinence. J Med Syst. 2024;48 (1):111. doi: 10.1007/s10916-024-02131-6. PubMed PMID:39676073
  4. Cirronis, M, Giampreti, A, Eleftheriou, G, Gallo, M, Contessa, G, Faraoni, L, Butera, R, Bacis, G. Coma and confirmed epileptiform activity induced by Amanita pantherina poisoning. Toxicon. 2024;254 :108208. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2024.108208. PubMed PMID:39662530
  5. Chen, MS, Liu, KC, Gallo, MC, Kusnezov, N, Chung, BC, Hwang, D, Christ, AB, Heckmann, ND. Characterizing the Rotational Profile of the Distal Femur: A Roadmap for Distal Femoral Replacement Surgery. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2024; :. doi: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-24-00207. PubMed PMID:39661775
  6. Gallo, L, Kim, P, Churchill, IF, Gallo, M, Yuan, M, Voineskos, SH, Thoma, A, Pusic, AL, Klassen, AF, Cano, SJ et al.. Measuring the Impact of Surgical and Non-surgical Facial Cosmetic Interventions Using FACE-Q Aesthetic Module Scales: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Plast Surg (Oakv). 2024; :22925503231225480. doi: 10.1177/22925503231225480. PubMed PMID:39553513 PubMed Central PMC11562317
  7. Kim, PJ, Gallo, L, Chen, J, Yuan, M, Gallo, M, Main, C, Coroneos, C. A 10-year Retrospective Review of Patient-to-Patient Transmitted Pathogens in Culture-Positive Burn Wounds at a Tertiary Burn Center. Plast Surg (Oakv). 2024; :22925503241249760. doi: 10.1177/22925503241249760. PubMed PMID:39553510 PubMed Central PMC11561929
  8. Milkovich, J, Churchill, IF, Gallo, L, Kim, P, Gallo, M, Thoma, A, Voineskos, SH, Main, C, Coroneos, CJ. The Impact of Surgical Wait Time and Hospital Stay on the Incidence of Burn Wound Infection and Related Complications at a Single Tertiary Hospital Centre: A 10-Year Experience. Plast Surg (Oakv). 2024; :22925503241249756. doi: 10.1177/22925503241249756. PubMed PMID:39553508 PubMed Central PMC11561922
  9. Semelak, JA, Gallo, M, González Flecha, FL, Di Pino, S, Pertinhez, TA, Zeida, A, Gout, I, Estrin, DA, Trujillo, M. Mg2+ binding to coenzyme A. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2025;763 :110202. doi: 10.1016/j.abb.2024.110202. PubMed PMID:39536960
  10. Gallo, M, Ferrari, E, Giovati, L, Pertinhez, TA, Artesani, L, Conti, S, Ciociola, T. The Variability of the Salivary Antimicrobial Peptide Profile: Impact of Lifestyle. Int J Mol Sci. 2024;25 (21):. doi: 10.3390/ijms252111501. PubMed PMID:39519054 PubMed Central PMC11547034
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Photo of Carol Gardner Ph.D.
Carol Gardner, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Flow Cytometry/Cell Sorting & Confocal Microscopy Core Rutgers University – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Research Areas

Mechanisms of hepatotoxicity caused by lipopolysaccharide or acetaminophen, including cellular and molecular effects on isolated hepatocytes, liver macrophages and endothelial cells; characterization of subpopulations of liver macrophages and endothelial following toxicant injury; modulating the immune response to hepatotoxicants to modify liver injury by using knockout mice; and mechanisms of tissue repair following toxicant-induced injury.

Research Highlights

  • Studies on polarization of liver macrophage and endothelial cell populations in rats and mice following acetaminophen intoxication.
  • Examination of drug interactions in mice treated with acetaminophen and an anthelminthic drug.
  • Effects of loss of caveolin on acetaminophen hepatotoxicity in mice.

Recent Publications

  1. Malaviya, R, Gardner, CR, Rancourt, RC, Smith, LC, Abramova, EV, Vayas, KN, Gow, AJ, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Lung injury and oxidative stress induced by inhaled chlorine in mice is associated with proinflammatory activation of macrophages and altered bioenergetics. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2023;461 :116388. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2023.116388. PubMed PMID:36690086 PubMed Central PMC9960611
  2. Radbel, J, Meshanni, JA, Gardner, CR, Le-Hoang, O, Cervelli, J, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL. Novel method to assess resident alveolar macrophage efferocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils by flow cytometry. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2023;460 :116359. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2022.116359. PubMed PMID:36565939 PubMed Central PMC9870943
  3. Torres, M, Carranza, C, Sarkar, S, Gonzalez, Y, Osornio Vargas, A, Black, K, Meng, Q, Quintana-Belmares, R, Hernandez, M, Angeles Garcia, JJF et al.. Urban airborne particle exposure impairs human lung and blood Mycobacterium tuberculosis immunity. Thorax. 2019;74 (7):675-683. doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2018-212529. PubMed PMID:31036772 PubMed Central PMC7162557
  4. Chmielowski, RA, Abdelhamid, DS, Faig, JJ, Petersen, LK, Gardner, CR, Uhrich, KE, Joseph, LB, Moghe, PV. Athero-inflammatory nanotherapeutics: Ferulic acid-based poly(anhydride-ester) nanoparticles attenuate foam cell formation by regulating macrophage lipogenesis and reactive oxygen species generation. Acta Biomater. 2017;57 :85-94. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2017.05.029. PubMed PMID:28522412 PubMed Central PMC5546209
  5. Xu, D, Wang, H, Gardner, C, Pan, Z, Zhang, PL, Zhang, J, You, G. The role of Nedd4-1 WW domains in binding and regulating human organic anion transporter 1. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2016;311 (2):F320-9. doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.00153.2016. PubMed PMID:27226107 PubMed Central PMC5243221
  6. Mandal, M, Gardner, CR, Sun, R, Choi, H, Lad, S, Mishin, V, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. The spleen as an extramedullary source of inflammatory cells responding to acetaminophen-induced liver injury. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2016;304 :110-20. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2016.04.019. PubMed PMID:27163765 PubMed Central PMC5147741
  7. Jan, YH, Heck, DE, Dragomir, AC, Gardner, CR, Laskin, DL, Laskin, JD. Acetaminophen reactive intermediates target hepatic thioredoxin reductase. Chem Res Toxicol. 2014;27 (5):882-94. doi: 10.1021/tx5000443. PubMed PMID:24661219 PubMed Central PMC4033643
  8. Massa, CB, Scott, P, Abramova, E, Gardner, C, Laskin, DL, Gow, AJ. Acute chlorine gas exposure produces transient inflammation and a progressive alteration in surfactant composition with accompanying mechanical dysfunction. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2014;278 (1):53-64. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2014.02.006. PubMed PMID:24582687 PubMed Central PMC4361901
  9. Liu, Y, Gardner, CR, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Classical and alternative activation of rat hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells by inflammatory stimuli. Exp Mol Pathol. 2013;94 (1):160-7. doi: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2012.10.015. PubMed PMID:23103612 PubMed Central PMC3562401
  10. Gardner, CR, Hankey, P, Mishin, V, Francis, M, Yu, S, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Regulation of alternative macrophage activation in the liver following acetaminophen intoxication by stem cell-derived tyrosine kinase. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2012;262 (2):139-48. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2012.04.027. PubMed PMID:22575169 PubMed Central PMC3377817
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Photo of Lawrence I Golbe M.D.
Lawrence I Golbe, M.D.
Professor Emeritus Rutgers UniversityNeurology- Clinical Academic Building

 

HOSPITAL AFFILIATIONS:
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital – New Brunswick – New Brunswick, NJ
SPECIALTY:
Neurology – American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology
RESIDENCY:
Neurology, New York University – Bellevue Hospital, New York City, NY, US
Medicine, Hahnemann Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, US
INTERESTS:
Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), parkinsons disease, movement disorders
DEGREE:
New York University, New York, NY, US
Brown University, Providence, RI, US
Photo of Marion Gordon Ph.D.
Marion Gordon, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology Rutgers University – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Dr. Gordon received her BS in Chemistry (1973) and PhD. in the Rutgers-UMDNJ joint graduate program in Biochemistry in 1986. Dr. Gordon’s last year of graduate school was completed at Harvard Medical School in the Anatomy and Cell Biology Department, where she stayed to do post doctoral training. After a second post doctoral fellowship in the Anatomy and Cell Biology Department at Tufts Medical School she joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor, and remained there for 7 years. She came to the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy in 1998, and is presently an Associate Professor in the Pharmacology and Toxicology Department.

Dr. Gordon has been continuously funded by NIH since 1988. She teaches the PharmD students in their P1 and P2 years in the Pathophysiology and in Pharmacology I and II courses. She has served on the thesis committees of 31 graduate students, and in her laboratory she has trained 2 MD research residents, 8 medical and graduate students (2 from Tufts Medical School), 13 pharmacy students (including 2 honors research students), as well as 1 MIT and 9 Rutgers undergraduate students. She has been thesis advisor to 1 M.S. student and 3 Ph.D. students in the Joint Program in Toxicology.

Dr. Gordon has served on the editorial boards for Developmental Dynamics, Anatomical Record, and on the editorial board of Matrix Biology. She currently serves on the Anterior Eye Disease Study Section of the NIH. She has been very active in the American Association of Anatomists, serving this national society as an executive officer for 5 years.

Research Areas

Dr. Gordon’s research examines corneal development and functional integrity as it relates to extracellular matrix. Projects involve the contribution of diverse collagens to corneal transparency, how they facilitate the attachment of epithelial and stromal cell layers, and what role the molecules play in wound healing. Dr. Gordon is also interested in collagen pathologies, especially fibrosis, in other organs. These investigations examine how Fibril-Associated Collagens with Interrupted Triple helices (FACITs) play a role in normal and pathological assembly of fibrils in the lung, liver, umbilical arteries and fetal membranes. The laboratory has also studied the roles of 3 transmembranous molecules, EMMPRIN, collagen XVII, and collagen XXIII, in development, wound healing, and cancer.

Research Highlights

Collagens, wound healing, fibrosis, corneal development, collagen pathologies, sulfur mustard injury, chemical counterterrorism

Scholarly Activities

  • 1988-1991: Individual National Research Service Award: “Avian Cornea Developmental Regulation of Collagens”
  • 1995: Invited to the laboratory of Dr. Ulla Wewer as an “Expert Guest Researcher” for collaborative research at the institute of Pathological Anatomy, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 2000: Young Faculty Participation Award from the American Association of Anatomists
  • 2000- : Faculty for the National Eye Institute sponsored course “Fundamental Issues in Vision Research,” at the Marine Biological Laboratories, Woodshole, MA (Topic: “Corneal Extracellular Matrix”). The National Eye Institute has direct input into course topics, sponsors the course, financially supports the students, and has a representative present during the entire course.
  • 2000-2007: Co-director of the Signal Transduction Core of the NIEHS Center for Excellence at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute
  • 2002: Program organizer for the “Matrix and Morphogenesis” conference, Boston, MA
  • 2004: appointed to the Editorial Board of Developmental Dynamics
  • 2004: appointed to the Board of Reviewers for Anatomical Record
  • 2004-2005: Member of the Federation of Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Excellence in Science Award committee
  • 2004-2008: Elected to an executive position in a national society: Co-chair of the Program Committee of the American Association of Anatomists, a core member society of FASEB (the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology)
  • 2007-2009: Invited by the Douglass Residence Campus Dean Carmen Twillie Ambar to be on the Faculty Advisory Committee for the Douglass Project for Rutgers Women in Math, Science and Engineering
  • 2007- : Member of Advisory Cabinet for the “Fundamentals Issues in Vision Research” course, taught at the MBL in Woods Hole, MA
  • 2007- Faculty advisor for Pharmacy Profession Fraternity, Alpha Zeta Omega
  • 2008: Moderator for the American Association of Anatomists annual meeting Keynote Address by Harold f. Dvorak, MD, entitled “Angiogenesis: the Importance of Anatomy,” Experimental Biology 2008 meeting, San Diego, CA
  • 2008: Symposium chair for “Deciphering the Actions of Angiogenesis Inhibitors: Surprises and New Directions,” American Association of Anatomists, Experimental Biology 2008 meeting, San Diego, CA
  • 2008:  Moderator for the 36th Annual Scientific Session of the New Jersey Thoracic Society meeting
  • 2008: Special Guest Editor for Developmental Dynamics volume 237, issue 10, special issue entitled: Special Focus on the Extracellular Matrix, in Memory of Dr. Elizabeth D. Hay
  • 2008- : Co-director of the Diseases of the Integument Core, a unit of the NIEHS Center for Environmental Exposures and Disease
  • 2009: Moderator for the symposium entitled “Corneal Wound Healing and Cell Biology” at the annual Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting
  • 2009-2013: NIH Center for Scientific Review regular standing study section member–Anterior Eye Disease

Recent Publications

  1. Joseph, LB, Gordon, MK, Zhou, P, Hahn, RA, Lababidi, H, Croutch, CR, Sinko, PJ, Heck, DE, Laskin, DL, Laskin, JD et al.. Sulfur mustard corneal injury is associated with alterations in the epithelial basement membrane and stromal extracellular matrix. Exp Mol Pathol. 2022;128 :104807. doi: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2022.104807. PubMed PMID:35798063 PubMed Central PMC10044521
  2. Joseph, LB, Gordon, MK, Kang, J, Croutch, CR, Zhou, P, Heck, DE, Laskin, DL, Laskin, JD. Characterization of the rabbit conjunctiva: Effects of sulfur mustard. Exp Mol Pathol. 2021;121 :104656. doi: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2021.104656. PubMed PMID:34081961 PubMed Central PMC9006340
  3. DeSantis-Rodrigues, A, Hahn, RA, Zhou, P, Babin, M, Svoboda, KKH, Chang, YC, Gerecke, DR, Gordon, MK. SM1997 downregulates mustard-induced enzymes that disrupt corneal epithelial attachment. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2021;304 (9):1974-1983. doi: 10.1002/ar.24597. PubMed PMID:33554453 PubMed Central PMC11236088
  4. Chang, YC, Hahn, RA, Gordon, MK, Laskin, JD, Gerecke, DR. A type IV collagenase inhibitor, N-hydroxy-3-phenyl-2-(4-phenylbenzenesulfonamido) propanamide (BiPS), suppresses skin injury induced by sulfur mustard. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2020;401 :115078. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2020.115078. PubMed PMID:32479919 PubMed Central PMC7470515
  5. Chang, YC, Wang, JD, Chang, HY, Zhou, P, Hahn, RA, Gordon, MK, Laskin, JD, Gerecke, DR. Expression of Laminin γ2 Proteolytic Fragments in Murine Skin Following Exposure to Sulfur Mustard. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2020;303 (6):1642-1652. doi: 10.1002/ar.24405. PubMed PMID:32421930 PubMed Central PMC7394410
  6. Svoboda, KKH, Gordon, MK. Extracellular matrix: The proteins that function throughout the body. Anat Rec (Hoboken). 2020;303 (6):1509-1513. doi: 10.1002/ar.24404. PubMed PMID:32421924
  7. Eveleth, DD, Eveleth, JJ, Subramaniam, A, Hahn, R, Zhou, P, Gordon, MK, Bradshaw, RA. An Engineered Human Fibroblast Growth Factor-1 Derivative, TTHX1114, Ameliorates Short-term Corneal Nitrogen Mustard Injury in Rabbit Organ Cultures. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2018;59 (11):4720-4730. doi: 10.1167/iovs.18-24568. PubMed PMID:30267094 PubMed Central PMC6155473
  8. Chang, YC, Gordon, MK, Gerecke, DR. Expression of Laminin 332 in Vesicant Skin Injury and Wound Repair. Clin Dermatol (Wilmington). 2018;2 (1):. . PubMed PMID:30058002 PubMed Central PMC6063082
  9. Chang, YC, Soriano, M, Hahn, RA, Casillas, RP, Gordon, MK, Laskin, JD, Gerecke, DR. Expression of cytokines and chemokines in mouse skin treated with sulfur mustard. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2018;355 :52-59. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2018.06.008. PubMed PMID:29935281 PubMed Central PMC6438172
  10. Gordon, MK, DeSantis-Rodrigues, A, Hahn, R, Zhou, P, Chang, Y, Svoboda, KK, Gerecke, DR. The molecules in the corneal basement membrane zone affected by mustard exposure suggest potential therapies. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2016;1378 (1):158-165. doi: 10.1111/nyas.13226. PubMed PMID:27737494 PubMed Central PMC5221489
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Photo of Andrew Gow Ph.D.
Andrew Gow, Ph.D.
Professor Rutgers University – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Education

  • BSc,  (Hons)  University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
  • MEd,  Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
  • PhD, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
  • Post-Doc, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Research Areas

Mechanisms of nitric oxide signaling in a wide variety of pathophysiological conditions; molecular mechanisms involved in controlling nitric oxide signaling and the role of nitric oxide in cardiopulmonary diseases such as emphysema, acute lung injury, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, sickle cell disease and diabetes; Nitric oxide in inflammatory cells such as macrophages and microglia.

Research

Our laboratory investigates mechanisms of Nitric Oxide signaling in a wide variety of pathophysiological conditions.  We seek to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in controlling Nitric Oxide signaling and answer the question as to how nature uses such a simple molecule to control a multitude of biological processes and in almost every organism.  In particular, we investigate the role of Nitric Oxide in cardiopulmonary diseases such as emphysema, acute lung injury, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, sickle cell disease and diabetes.  We are particularly interested in the function of Nitric Oxide in inflammatory cells such as macrophages and microglia.  It is thought that by better understanding the mechanisms involved in Nitric Oxide signaling that we can design appropriate pharmacological interventions for human diseases in which Nitric Oxide metabolism is disrupted.

Research Highlights

  • S-nitrosylation of pulmonary collectins
  • Role of nitric oxide in lung disease
  • Mechanisms regulating nitric oxide biosynthesis

Scholarly Activities

  • 2001, Florence R.C. Murray Fellowship
  • 2000, Translational Medicine Award, Duke University
  • 1998, Chartered Chemist, Royal Society of Chemistry
  • 1997, Young Investigator Award, International Nitric Oxide Society
  • 1996, Young Investigator Award, Oxygen Society
  • 1995-97, National Research Service Award, National Institutes of Health-NHLBI in Lung Cell and Molecular Biology
  • 1993-95, Russell Conwell Research Fellowship

Recent Publications

  1. Lu, FT, Gupta, D, Fiedler, N, Satish, U, Black, KG, Legard, A, De Resende, A, Guo, C, Gow, AJ, Kipen, HM et al.. Mechanisms Underlying Acute Cognitive Impairment following Carbon Dioxide Inhalation in a Randomized Crossover Trial. Environ Health Perspect. 2024;132 (10):107702. doi: 10.1289/EHP14806. PubMed PMID:39466336 PubMed Central PMC11515854
  2. Aggarwal, T, Bellomo, A, Stevenson, ER, Herbert, J, Laskin, DL, Gow, AJ, Izgu, EC. Protocol for detecting nitrative stress in biological lipid membranes in murine cells and tissues. STAR Protoc. 2024;5 (3):103268. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103268. PubMed PMID:39215997 PubMed Central PMC11403049
  3. Atochina-Vasserman, E, Meshanni, J, Stevenson, E, Zhang, D, Sun, R, Ona, N, Reagan, E, Abramova, E, Guo, CJ, Wilkinson, M et al.. Targeted delivery of TGF-β mRNA to lung parenchyma using one-component ionizable amphiphilic Janus Dendrimers. Res Sq. 2024; :. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4656663/v1. PubMed PMID:39041040 PubMed Central PMC11261981
  4. Smith, LC, Abramova, E, Vayas, K, Rodriguez, J, Gelfand-Titiyevksiy, B, Roepke, TA, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL. Transcriptional profiling of lung macrophages following ozone exposure in mice identifies signaling pathways regulating immunometabolic activation. Toxicol Sci. 2024;201 (1):103-117. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae081. PubMed PMID:38897669 PubMed Central PMC11347782
  5. Radbel, J, Meshanni, JA, Vayas, KN, Le-Hoang, O, Abramova, E, Zhou, P, Joseph, LB, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL et al.. Effects of ozone exposure on lung injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress in a murine model of nonpneumonic endotoxemia. Toxicol Sci. 2024;200 (2):299-311. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae062. PubMed PMID:38749002 PubMed Central PMC11285192
  6. Bellomo, A, Herbert, J, Kudlak, MJ, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL. Identification of early events in nitrogen mustard pulmonary toxicity that are independent of infiltrating inflammatory cells using precision cut lung slices. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2024;486 :116941. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2024.116941. PubMed PMID:38677601
  7. Malaviya, R, Meshanni, JA, Sunil, VR, Venosa, A, Guo, C, Abramova, EV, Vayas, KN, Jiang, C, Cervelli, JA, Gow, AJ et al.. Role of macrophage bioenergetics in N-acetylcysteine-mediated mitigation of lung injury and oxidative stress induced by nitrogen mustard. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2024;485 :116908. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2024.116908. PubMed PMID:38513841
  8. Malin, SK, Remchak, ME, Heiston, EM, Battillo, DJ, Gow, AJ, Shah, AM, Liu, Z. Intermediate versus morning chronotype has lower vascular insulin sensitivity in adults with obesity. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2024;26 (5):1582-1592. doi: 10.1111/dom.15456. PubMed PMID:38246697 PubMed Central PMC11001524
  9. Gutierrez, B, Aggarwal, T, Erguven, H, Stone, MRL, Guo, C, Bellomo, A, Abramova, E, Stevenson, ER, Laskin, DL, Gow, AJ et al.. Direct assessment of nitrative stress in lipid environments: Applications of a designer lipid-based biosensor for peroxynitrite. iScience. 2023;26 (12):108567. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108567. PubMed PMID:38144454 PubMed Central PMC10746523
  10. Remchak, ME, Dosik, JK, Pappas, G, Gow, AJ, Shah, AM, Malin, SK. Exercise blood pressure and heart rate responses to graded exercise testing in intermediate versus morning chronotypes with obesity. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2023;325 (4):H635-H644. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00149.2023. PubMed PMID:37505468 PubMed Central PMC10642995
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Photo of Grace L. Guo MBBS, Ph.D.
Grace L. Guo, MBBS, Ph.D.
Professor Rutgers University – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Biographical Info

Dr. Grace L. Guo is a Professor at the Department Pharmacology and Toxicology in the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy of Rutgers University. Dr. Guo obtained her MBBS degree from the West China University of Medical Sciences in 1993 and a PhD degree in Toxicology from the University of Kansas Medical Center in 2001, as well as post-doctoral training at the NCI, NIH in 2004. From 2004-2012, Dr. Guo has been a faculty at the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Research Areas

The Guo lab focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying intestine-liver crosstalk through nuclear receptor signaling pathways, which are pivotal for regulating bile acids, lipid homeostasis, and chemical disposition. A significant area of study is the bile acids-farnesoid X receptor (FXR)-fibroblast growth factor 15/19 (FGF15/19) axis, a critical regulator of hepatic functions and associated pathologies.

Dr. Guo and her research team have pioneered insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which FXR operates in a tissue-specific manner to maintain bile acid homeostasis, particularly in the context of gut-liver interactions. Their work has implications for understanding and addressing non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), now called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), as well as the pathogenesis of liver and colon cancers and liver regeneration processes.

 

Dr. Guo’s research background is extensive, focusing on the functional characterization of bile acid signaling in hepatic diseases using animal models. Her expertise also covers lipid regulation, drug and toxin metabolism and transport, and their modulation by nuclear hormone receptors and cell signaling pathways. This comprehensive research contributes to a nuanced understanding of liver disease mechanisms and potential therapeutic avenues.

Scholarly Activities

2024                          ASPET Division of Toxicology Career Award

2023                          James R. Gillette Drug Metabolism and Disposition Best Paper of 2022 in the Drug Metabolism category, ASPET

2021                          Inaugural Presidential Outstanding Faculty Scholar Award, Rutgers University

2021                          Expertscape World Expert in Hepatocytes

2020                          Fellow of AASLD

Dr. Guo’s Google Scholar Citations

Recent Publications

  1. Yang, Z, Zarbl, H, Kong, B, Taylor, R, Black, K, Kipen, H, Basaly, V, Fang, M, Guo, GL. Liver-gut axis signaling regulates circadian energy metabolism in shift workers. FASEB J. 2024;38 (22):e70203. doi: 10.1096/fj.202402102R. PubMed PMID:39588921 PubMed Central PMC11590413
  2. Taylor, R, Basaly, V, Kong, B, Yang, I, Brinker, AM, Capece, G, Bhattacharya, A, Henry, ZR, Otersen, K, Yang, Z et al.. Effects of therapeutically approved individual bile acids on the development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis a low bile acid mouse model. Toxicol Sci. 2024;202 (2):179-195. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae110. PubMed PMID:39302723
  3. Burchat, N, Vidola, J, Pfreundschuh, S, Sharma, P, Rizzolo, D, Guo, GL, Sampath, H. Intestinal Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase-1 Regulates Energy Balance via Alterations in Bile Acid Homeostasis. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024;18 (6):101403. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2024.101403. PubMed PMID:39278403 PubMed Central PMC11546130
  4. Jin, J, Nguyen, LTG, Wassef, A, Sadek, R, Schmitt, TM, Guo, GL, Rasmussen, TP, Zhong, XB. Correlations of Long Noncoding RNA HNF4A-AS1 Alternative Transcripts with Liver Diseases and Drug Metabolism. Drug Metab Dispos. 2024;52 (11):1345-1355. doi: 10.1124/dmd.124.001873. PubMed PMID:39168525
  5. Chow, MD, Otersen, K, Wassef, A, Kong, B, Yamarthy, S, Rizzolo, D, Yang, I, Buckley, B, Lu, A, Crook, N et al.. Effects of intestine-specific deletion of FGF15 on the development of fatty liver disease with vertical sleeve gastrectomy. Hepatol Commun. 2024;8 (6):. doi: 10.1097/HC9.0000000000000444. PubMed PMID:38780301 PubMed Central PMC11124683
  6. Jin, J, Nguyen, LTG, Wassef, A, Sadek, R, Schmitt, TM, Guo, GL, Rasmussen, TP, Zhong, XB. Identification and Functional Characterization of Alternative Transcripts of LncRNA HNF1A-AS1 and Their Impacts on Cell Growth, Differentiation, Liver Diseases, and in Response to Drug Induction. Noncoding RNA. 2024;10 (2):. doi: 10.3390/ncrna10020028. PubMed PMID:38668386 PubMed Central PMC11053763
  7. Taylor, R, Yang, Z, Henry, Z, Capece, G, Meadows, V, Otersen, K, Basaly, V, Bhattacharya, A, Mera, S, Zhou, P et al.. Characterization of individual bile acids in vivo utilizing a novel low bile acid mouse model. Toxicol Sci. 2024;199 (2):316-331. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae029. PubMed PMID:38526215
  8. Yang, X, Wang, J, Chang, CY, Zhou, F, Liu, J, Xu, H, Ibrahim, M, Gomez, M, Guo, GL, Liu, H et al.. Leukemia inhibitory factor suppresses hepatic de novo lipogenesis and induces cachexia in mice. Nat Commun. 2024;15 (1):627. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-44924-w. PubMed PMID:38245529 PubMed Central PMC10799847
  9. Yang, Z, Zarbl, H, Guo, GL. Circadian Regulation of Endocrine Fibroblast Growth Factors on Systemic Energy Metabolism. Mol Pharmacol. 2024;105 (3):179-193. doi: 10.1124/molpharm.123.000831. PubMed PMID:38238100 PubMed Central PMC10877735
  10. Bhattacharya, A, Taylor, RE, Guo, GL. In vivo mouse models to study bile acid synthesis and signaling. Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int. 2023;22 (5):466-473. doi: 10.1016/j.hbpd.2023.08.009. PubMed PMID:37620226 PubMed Central PMC10790561
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Rita Hahn
Research Associate Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology
Tasha Hester, MS
Lab Technician – Dr. Bernstein’s Lab Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology
Yi-Hua Jan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor Rutgers UniversityEOHSI- Toxicology
Photo of Frederick Kauffman Ph.D.
Frederick Kauffman, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus Rutgers University – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Research Areas

Biochemical Pharmacology and Toxicology. A major focus of work has been to define events regulating the metabolism of drugs and foreign chemicals in intact cells and tissues. Emphasis has been directed primarily at the metabolism of biologically active compounds via Phase II conjugation reactions. Recent research projects include: identifying isoforms of sulfotransferase and sulfatase in neural tissue, and investigating their possible involvement in modulating levels and activities of neuorsteroids in the central nervous system; and, secondly using a unique model of estrogen-dependent mammary tumors in ACI rats to explore relationships between the metabolism of estradiol and the occurrence and progression of hormone-dependent breast tumors.

Scholarly Activities

  • Fogarty Senior International Fellow, Department of Molecular Pathology, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School. University of Dundee, Scotland. Jan. 1995-Aug.1995, and subsequent summers 1996 and 1997.
  • Visiting Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina. Sao Paulo, Brazil. December, 1993-Feb. 1994
  • Visiting Scholar, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University. Summer, 1988.

Recent Publications

  1. Mesia-Vela, S, Sanchez, RI, Roberts, KG, Reuhl, KR, Conney, AH, Kauffman, FC. Dietary clofibrate stimulates the formation and size of estradiol-induced breast tumors in female August-Copenhagen Irish (ACI) rats. Toxicology. 2008;246 (1):63-72. doi: 10.1016/j.tox.2007.12.025. PubMed PMID:18280627 PubMed Central PMC2441444
  2. Stakhiv, TM, Mesia-Vela, S, Kauffman, FC. Phase II antioxidant enzyme activities in brain of male and female ACI rats treated chronically with estradiol. Brain Res. 2006;1104 (1):80-91. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2006.05.093. PubMed PMID:16822482
  3. Mesia-Vela, S, Sanchez, RI, Reuhl, KR, Conney, AH, Kauffman, FC. Phenobarbital treatment inhibits the formation of estradiol-dependent mammary tumors in the August-Copenhagen Irish rat. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2006;317 (2):590-7. doi: 10.1124/jpet.105.096867. PubMed PMID:16421288
  4. Kauffman, FC. Sulfonation in pharmacology and toxicology. Drug Metab Rev. 2004;36 (3-4):823-43. doi: 10.1081/dmr-200033496. PubMed PMID:15554249
  5. Sanchez, RI, Mesia-Vela, S, Kauffman, FC. Induction of NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase and glutathione S-transferase activities in livers of female August-Copenhagen Irish rats treated chronically with estradiol: comparison with the Sprague-Dawley rat. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2003;87 (2-3):199-206. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2003.08.007. PubMed PMID:14672740
  6. Mesia-Vela, S, Sanchez, RI, Li, JJ, Li, SA, Conney, AH, Kauffman, FC. Catechol estrogen formation in liver microsomes from female ACI and Sprague-Dawley rats: comparison of 2- and 4-hydroxylation revisited. Carcinogenesis. 2002;23 (8):1369-72. doi: 10.1093/carcin/23.8.1369. PubMed PMID:12151356
  7. Pignatello, MA, Kauffman, FC, Levin, AA. Liarozole markedly increases all trans-retinoic acid toxicity in mouse limb bud cell cultures: a model to explain the potency of the aromatic retinoid (E)-4-[2-(5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-5,5,8,8-tetramethyl-2-naphthylenyl)-1-propenyl] benzoic acid. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2002;178 (3):186-94. doi: 10.1006/taap.2001.9340. PubMed PMID:11858735
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Eunchong (Joe) Kim
Laboratory Manager Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Pharmacology and Toxicology
Photo of Ah-Ng Tony Kong Ph.D.
Ah-Ng Tony Kong, Ph.D.
Glaxo Endowed Chair in Pharmaceutics; Graduate Director Rutgers UniversityErnest Mario School of Pharmacy

 

Grants/FundingDr. Kong is currently funded by NIH R01CA200129, R01AT007065 and R01AT009152.
Education & TrainingPhD – Pharmaceutics, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics – State University of New York, Buffalo, NY
BS – Pharmacy with First Class Standing – University of Alberta, Canada
Post-Doctoral Fellowship – Molecular Biology of Phase I/Phase II Drug Metabolizing Enzymes – National Institutes of Health
Post-Doctoral Fellowship – Cellular and Molecular Signaling of T-cell Activation – National Institutes of Health
Research InterestsNatural & Botanical Products Drug Discovery & Development, Epigenetics/epigenomics of oxidative stress/inflammation induced diseases including cancer and their prevention/treatment with botanicals/phytochemicals/drugs, Nrf2-mediated anti-oxidative stress/inflammation, Pharmacokinetics (PK)/pharmacodynamics (PD) studies and modeling. Dr. Kong’s current research focuses on, 1) Studies of botanical/dietary/herbal medicinal phytochemicals-mediated epigenetics/epigenomics signaling and diseases prevention such as cancer chemoprevention, 2) Nrf2-mediated redox signaling in anti-oxidative stress, anti-inflammatory, and Phase II drug metabolizing enzymes (DME) /Phase III transporters, 3) Pharmacokinetics (PK)/ pharmacodynamics (PD) studies and PKPD modeling of botanicals/dietary phytochemicals/drugs. Dr. Kong is currently funded by NIH R01CA200129, and R01AT009152.
Scholarly Activities– Member, President’s Committee on Academic Program (CAPR)
– Director of the Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences
– Founding Editor-in-Chief, Current Pharmacology Reports (Springer)
– Serving on NIH study section panels

Publications

NIH Biosketch
My Google Scholar Page
PubMed Author Search
Awards2018 – Clarivate Analytics (formerly Thomson Reuters) Highly Cited Researcher – among an elite group recognized for exceptional research performance demonstrated by production of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in Web of Science.
2018 – Overseas Visiting Professor, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
2016 – Fellow (Elected), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2014 – Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher – in recognition of ranking among the top 1% of researchers for most cited documents, in Pharmacology and Toxicology
2013 – Visiting Professor, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
2012 – Visiting Professor, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
2011 – Guest Professor, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China
2009-2013 – Elected Member-at-Large, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2004 – Fellow (Elected), American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS)
2003 – Alumni Association Distinguished Visitor” under the Alumni Association Rotating Visiting Professorship Program, The King Edward VII College of Medicine and The Faculties of Medicine, Universities of Malaya and Singapore
1998 – Recognized by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy as Teacher of the Year
1998 – “Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award” from the first professional year class, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy
1996 – “Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award” from the first professional year class, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy
1994 – Young Investigator Award in Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics and Drug Metabolism from the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), Sponsored by Burroughs Wellcome Fund

 

Photo of Debra L Laskin Ph.D
Debra L Laskin, Ph.D
Distinguished Professor and Chair Roy A. Bowers Endowed Chair Rutgers University – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Research Areas

The overall focus of our research is immunotoxicology. We are particularly interested in inflammatory mechanisms of tissue injury. Our focus is on macrophages. Although the involvement of macrophages in protecting against invading pathogens and tumor cells is well documented, studies from my laboratory have demonstrated that macrophages also have a “dark side”. Thus, they can be activated to release excessive quantities of proinflammatory and cytotoxic mediators that actually promote tissue injury. An analysis of this process represents the main focus of our research. Two rodent models are being utilized to investigate the role of macrophages and inflammatory mediators in toxicity: the lung and the liver. In each of these tissues, we found that exposure of animals to xenobiotics such as acetaminophen and endotoxin in the liver and ozone, nano/microparticles, mustard vesicants, and chlorine is associated with localized accumulation of macrophages. Moreover, macrophages isolated from the lung or liver of animals treated with tissue specific toxicants are “activated” to release increased quantities of inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor alpha, nitric oxide and superoxide anion. To analyze the role of these cytotoxic mediators in toxicity, both pharmacologic inhibitors and transgenic mice are being utilized. Another aspect of our studies is to elucidate biochemical and molecular mechanisms mediating macrophage activation in the lung. This has involved investigations on signaling molecules, transcription factors, epigenetic regulators and microvesicles. We have also begun to assess the role of macrophages in tissue repair with a focus on impaired resolution of inflammation as a mechanism underlying tissue injury.

Research Highlights

  • Demonstrated that macrophages and inflammatory contribute to tissue injury induced by diverse pulmonary and hepatic toxicants
  • Discovered that pulmonary injury induced by ozone is mediated by cytotoxic reactive nitrogen species
  • Demonstrated that macrophage derived tumor necrosis factor –alpha plays a key role in both tissue injury and tissue repair
  • Identified distinct macrophage subpopulations that play unique role in tissue injury and tissue repair

Recent Awards and Honors

  • Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Award (2022)
  • Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences Chancellor Distinguished Mentor Award (2021)
  • American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), Toxicology Division Career Investigator Award (2021)
  • Society of Toxicology, Mechanisms Specialty Section Career Investigator Award (2018)
  • Society of Toxicology Education Award (2017)
  • Society of Toxicology, Inhalation and Respiratory Specialty Section Career Investigator Award (2015)
  • Society of Toxicology, Women in Toxicology Mentoring Award (2014)
  • Rutgers University Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research (2009)
  • Rutgers University Board of Trustees Award for Excellence in Research (2009)
  • Dermatology Specialty Section, Society of Toxicology, “Paper of the Year” Award (2009)
  • Named Roy Bowers Endowed Chair, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy (2007)

Other Recent Activities

  • Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Research institute of Fragrance Materials (2023-present)
  • President; Inhalation and Respiratory Specialty Section, Society of Toxicology 2018-2019
  • Vice Chair-elect: Inhalation and Respiratory Specialty Section, Society of Toxicology (2016-present)
  • Chair, Toxicology Division, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (2014-2015)
  • Member, NIH Systemic Injury by Environmental Exposure (SIEE) Review Panel (2014-2019)
  • Deputy Director NIEHS Center for Environmental Exposures and Disease (2009-present)
  • Associate Editor, Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology (2001-present)
  • Director Flow Cytometry/Cell Sorting and Confocal Microscopy Core Facility, EOHSI (1986-present)

Recent Publications

  1. Aggarwal, T, Bellomo, A, Stevenson, ER, Herbert, J, Laskin, DL, Gow, AJ, Izgu, EC. Protocol for detecting nitrative stress in biological lipid membranes in murine cells and tissues. STAR Protoc. 2024;5 (3):103268. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103268. PubMed PMID:39215997 PubMed Central PMC11403049
  2. Armeli, F, Mengoni, B, Laskin, DL, Businaro, R. Interplay among Oxidative Stress, Autophagy, and the Endocannabinoid System in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Role of the Nrf2- p62/SQSTM1 Pathway and Nutraceutical Activation. Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2024;46 (7):6868-6884. doi: 10.3390/cimb46070410. PubMed PMID:39057052 PubMed Central PMC11276139
  3. Aleksunes, LM, Gray, JP, Meshanni, J, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Repurposing FDA-approved drugs to treat chemical weapon toxicities: Interactive case studies for trainees. Pharmacol Res Perspect. 2024;12 (4):e1229. doi: 10.1002/prp2.1229. PubMed PMID:38965070 PubMed Central PMC11223991
  4. Smith, LC, Abramova, E, Vayas, K, Rodriguez, J, Gelfand-Titiyevksiy, B, Roepke, TA, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL. Transcriptional profiling of lung macrophages following ozone exposure in mice identifies signaling pathways regulating immunometabolic activation. Toxicol Sci. 2024;201 (1):103-117. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae081. PubMed PMID:38897669 PubMed Central PMC11347782
  5. Radbel, J, Meshanni, JA, Vayas, KN, Le-Hoang, O, Abramova, E, Zhou, P, Joseph, LB, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL et al.. Effects of ozone exposure on lung injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress in a murine model of nonpneumonic endotoxemia. Toxicol Sci. 2024;200 (2):299-311. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae062. PubMed PMID:38749002 PubMed Central PMC11285192
  6. Bellomo, A, Herbert, J, Kudlak, MJ, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL. Identification of early events in nitrogen mustard pulmonary toxicity that are independent of infiltrating inflammatory cells using precision cut lung slices. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2024;486 :116941. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2024.116941. PubMed PMID:38677601
  7. Malaviya, R, Meshanni, JA, Sunil, VR, Venosa, A, Guo, C, Abramova, EV, Vayas, KN, Jiang, C, Cervelli, JA, Gow, AJ et al.. Role of macrophage bioenergetics in N-acetylcysteine-mediated mitigation of lung injury and oxidative stress induced by nitrogen mustard. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2024;485 :116908. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2024.116908. PubMed PMID:38513841
  8. Gutierrez, B, Aggarwal, T, Erguven, H, Stone, MRL, Guo, C, Bellomo, A, Abramova, E, Stevenson, ER, Laskin, DL, Gow, AJ et al.. Direct assessment of nitrative stress in lipid environments: Applications of a designer lipid-based biosensor for peroxynitrite. iScience. 2023;26 (12):108567. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108567. PubMed PMID:38144454 PubMed Central PMC10746523
  9. Laskin, JD, Ozkuyumcu, K, Zhou, P, Croutch, CR, Heck, DE, Laskin, DL, Joseph, LB. Skin Models Used to Define Mechanisms of Action of Sulfur Mustard. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2023;17 :e551. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2023.177. PubMed PMID:37849329 PubMed Central PMC11420828
  10. Malaviya, R, Laskin, JD, Businaro, R, Laskin, DL. Targeting Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha to Mitigate Lung Injury Induced by Mustard Vesicants and Radiation. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2023;17 :e553. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2023.178. PubMed PMID:37848400 PubMed Central PMC10841250
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  1. Sunil, VR, Vayas, KN, Fang, M, Zarbl, H, Massa, C, Gow, AJ, Cervelli, JA, Kipen, H, Laumbach, RJ, Lioy, PJ et al.. World Trade Center (WTC) dust exposure in mice is associated with inflammation, oxidative stress and epigenetic changes in the lung. Exp. Mol. Pathol. 2017;102 (1):50-58. doi: 1016/j.yexmp.2016.12.005. PubMed PMID:27986442
  2. Francis, M, Groves, AM, Sun, R, Cervelli, JA, Choi, H, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Editor’s Highlight: CCR2 Regulates Inflammatory Cell Accumulation in the Lung and Tissue Injury following Ozone Exposure. Toxicol. Sci. 2017;155 (2):474-484. doi: 1093/toxsci/kfw226. PubMed PMID:27837169
  3. Francis, M, Sun, R, Cervelli, JA, Choi, H, Mandal, M, Abramova, EV, Gow, AJ, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Editor’s Highlight: Role of Spleen-Derived Macrophages in Ozone-Induced Lung Inflammation and Injury. Toxicol. Sci. 2017;155 (1):182-195. doi: 1093/toxsci/kfw192. PubMed PMID:27708193
  4. Mandal, M, Gardner, CR, Sun R, Choi H, Lad S, Mishin V, Laskin JD, Laskin DL. The spleen as an extramedullary source of inflammatory cells responding to acetaminophen-induced live injury. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2017; 304: 110-120. doi:1016/j.taap.2016.04.019.  PMCID: PMC5147741
  5. Venosa A, Malaviya R, Gow AJ, Hall L, Laskin JD, Laskin DL. Protective role of spleen-derived macrophages in lung inflammation, injury and fibrosis induced by nitrogen mustard. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2015 Dec 15;309(12):L1487-98. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00276.2015. PMID: 26475734 PMCID: PMC4683320 DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00276.2015
  6. Malaviya R, Sunil VR, Venosa A, Verissimo VL, Cervelli JA, Vayas KN, Hall L, Laskin JD, Laskin DL. Attenuation of nitrogen mustard-induced pulmonary injury and fibrosis by anti-tumor necrosis factor antibody/Toxicol Sci. 2015 Nov;148(1):71-88. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfv161.
Photo of Jeffrey D Laskin Ph.D.
Jeffrey D Laskin, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor & Director, Division of Toxicology Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences InstituteEOHSI – Toxicology

Distinguished Professor
Department of Environmental & Occupational Health
Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute
Rutgers University School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ

Director of the Division of Toxicology
Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI)
Rutgers University School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ

Director
Rutgers University CounterACT Research Center of Excellence
Rutgers University School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ

 

Research Areas

Dr. Jeffrey D. Laskin is a Distinguished Professor in the School of Public Health at Rutgers University.  He is Director of the Division of Toxicology at the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI) and is Deputy Director of the Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology at Rutgers University. He is Director of the Rutgers University CounterACT Research Center of Excellence, a major research effort to develop the most promising scientific discoveries that lead to improved medical countermeasures to protect Americans against a chemical attack.

Dr. Laskin received a B.A. in Chemistry and Biology from New York University, NY and a Ph.D. in Experimental Therapeutics from Roswell Park Cancer Institute, SUNY at Buffalo, NY. He was a post-doctoral fellow in the Institute for Cancer Research at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in NY before joining the faculty the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the School of Public Health at Rutgers University. Dr. Laskin has served on numerous study sections for the National Institutes of Health and was an invited participant at the National Institutes of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders Roundtable on Wound Healing. He is a member of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Rutgers University and is Deputy Director of the Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology at Rutgers University. Dr. Laskin has also served as a member of the corporation of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Dr. Laskin has served as a reviewer on over 30 journals that deal with pharmacology, toxicology and cancer research. With over 250 peer-reviewed publications, three books, and numerous book chapters and editorials, he has been recognized as one of the most cited scientists in the field of chemical toxicology. His research focuses on mechanisms of chemical-induced skin, lung and liver toxicity. He is an expert in mechanisms of chemical toxicity, phototoxicology and redox chemistry. Dr. Laskin has been continuously funded by the NIH for the last 35 years and has served as PI on numerous RO1’s, as a Program Project PI and as a Center Director. Currently, he is completing research on exposure and health effects of chemical warfare agents and is working to identify countermeasures to sulfur mustard exposure.

Research Highlights

  • Demonstrated that sulfur mustard induces autophagy in the skin
  • Developed models for sulfur mustard-induced skin and lung toxicity
  • Synthesized >100 inhibitors of chemical-induced skin and lung injury
  • Demonstrated that UVB light is an inducer of prostaglandin and leukotriene biosynthetic enzymes

Scholarly Activities

  • Founder, New Jersey Basic and Applied Dermatology Forum
  • NASA, Issues in Advanced Environmental Health and Advanced Food Technology
  • NIH grant reviewer
  • Member, Cancer Institute of New Jersey
  • Member, NJ Department of Homeland Security Preparedness College
  • Executive Committee, NJ Universities Homeland Security Research Consortium
  • Executive Committee, University Center for Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response
  • Director, Rutgers University CounterACT Research Center of Excellence

Recent Publications

  1. Aleksunes, LM, Gray, JP, Meshanni, J, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Repurposing FDA-approved drugs to treat chemical weapon toxicities: Interactive case studies for trainees. Pharmacol Res Perspect. 2024;12 (4):e1229. doi: 10.1002/prp2.1229. PubMed PMID:38965070 PubMed Central PMC11223991
  2. Smith, LC, Abramova, E, Vayas, K, Rodriguez, J, Gelfand-Titiyevksiy, B, Roepke, TA, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL. Transcriptional profiling of lung macrophages following ozone exposure in mice identifies signaling pathways regulating immunometabolic activation. Toxicol Sci. 2024;201 (1):103-117. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae081. PubMed PMID:38897669 PubMed Central PMC11347782
  3. Radbel, J, Meshanni, JA, Vayas, KN, Le-Hoang, O, Abramova, E, Zhou, P, Joseph, LB, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL et al.. Effects of ozone exposure on lung injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress in a murine model of nonpneumonic endotoxemia. Toxicol Sci. 2024;200 (2):299-311. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae062. PubMed PMID:38749002 PubMed Central PMC11285192
  4. Bellomo, A, Herbert, J, Kudlak, MJ, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL. Identification of early events in nitrogen mustard pulmonary toxicity that are independent of infiltrating inflammatory cells using precision cut lung slices. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2024;486 :116941. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2024.116941. PubMed PMID:38677601
  5. Roldan, TL, Li, S, Guillon, C, Heindel, ND, Laskin, JD, Lee, IH, Gao, D, Sinko, PJ. Optimizing Nanosuspension Drug Release and Wound Healing Using a Design of Experiments Approach: Improving the Drug Delivery Potential of NDH-4338 for Treating Chemical Burns. Pharmaceutics. 2024;16 (4):. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16040471. PubMed PMID:38675132 PubMed Central PMC11053863
  6. Malaviya, R, Meshanni, JA, Sunil, VR, Venosa, A, Guo, C, Abramova, EV, Vayas, KN, Jiang, C, Cervelli, JA, Gow, AJ et al.. Role of macrophage bioenergetics in N-acetylcysteine-mediated mitigation of lung injury and oxidative stress induced by nitrogen mustard. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2024;485 :116908. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2024.116908. PubMed PMID:38513841
  7. Laskin, JD, Ozkuyumcu, K, Zhou, P, Croutch, CR, Heck, DE, Laskin, DL, Joseph, LB. Skin Models Used to Define Mechanisms of Action of Sulfur Mustard. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2023;17 :e551. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2023.177. PubMed PMID:37849329 PubMed Central PMC11420828
  8. Malaviya, R, Laskin, JD, Businaro, R, Laskin, DL. Targeting Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha to Mitigate Lung Injury Induced by Mustard Vesicants and Radiation. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2023;17 :e553. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2023.178. PubMed PMID:37848400 PubMed Central PMC10841250
  9. Smith, LC, Gow, AJ, Abramova, E, Vayas, K, Guo, C, Noto, J, Lyman, J, Rodriquez, J, Gelfand-Titiyevskiy, B, Malcolm, C et al.. Role of PPARγ in dyslipidemia and altered pulmonary functioning in mice following ozone exposure. Toxicol Sci. 2023;194 (1):109-119. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfad048. PubMed PMID:37202362 PubMed Central PMC10306402
  10. Meshanni, JA, Lee, JM, Vayas, KN, Sun, R, Jiang, C, Guo, GL, Gow, AJ, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Suppression of Lung Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Fibrosis following Nitrogen Mustard Exposure by the Selective Farnesoid X Receptor Agonist Obeticholic Acid. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2024;388 (2):586-595. doi: 10.1124/jpet.123.001557. PubMed PMID:37188530 PubMed Central PMC10801770
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Photo of Jeehiun “Katherine” Lee Ph.D.
Jeehiun “Katherine” Lee, Ph.D.
Professor Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology

Research Areas

Our laboratory is multi-disciplinary, with projects that range from organic to biological to analytical. Recent projects include: (i) exploring how damaged DNA differs from normal DNA. Mutated bases are linked to carcinogenesis and cell death and it is therefore important to understand how these damaged bases differ from normal bases. In particular, we are interested in how the damaged bases are identified and excised by enzymes; (ii) identification of small RNAs in cell lysates (collaborative project); (iii) studying the properties of silanols, particularly acidity, to characterize their potential as catalysts (collaborative project); (iv) examining the properties and reactivities of N-heterocyclic carbenes, which are a “hot” topic nowadays due to their versatility (as organometallic ligands, organocatalysts, components in environmentally friendly solvents). Our methods include traditional organic tools (including synthesis) as well as spectroscopy (mass spectrometry, UV absorbance, NMR), and computational chemistry.

Recent Publications

  1. Hinz, DJ, Krajewski, AE, Lee, JK. Carbon-Fluorine Activation in the Gas Phase: The Reactions of Benzyl C-F Bonds and Silyl Cations. J Org Chem. 2024;89 (18):13595-13600. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.4c01775. PubMed PMID:39239936
  2. Zhang, L, Ding, X, Kratka, CR, Levine, A, Lee, JK. Gas Phase Experimental and Computational Studies of AlkB Substrates: Intrinsic Properties and Biological Implications. J Org Chem. 2023;88 (18):13115-13124. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c01335. PubMed PMID:37651719
  3. Zhang, L, Kiruba, GSM, Lee, JK. Gas-Phase Studies of Hypoxanthine-Guanine-(Xanthine) Phosphoribosyltransferase (HG(X)PRT) Substrates. J Org Chem. 2023;88 (11):6816-6826. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c00115. PubMed PMID:37220241
  4. Lotsof, ER, Krajewski, AE, Anderson-Steele, B, Rogers, J, Zhang, L, Yeo, J, Conlon, SG, Manlove, AH, Lee, JK, David, SS et al.. NEIL1 Recoding due to RNA Editing Impacts Lesion-Specific Recognition and Excision. J Am Chem Soc. 2022;144 (32):14578-14589. doi: 10.1021/jacs.2c03625. PubMed PMID:35917336 PubMed Central PMC10231864
  5. Hinz, DJ, Zhang, L, Lee, JK. Mass spectrometry in organic and bio-organic catalysis: Using thermochemical properties to lend insight into mechanism. Mass Spectrom Rev. 2023;42 (5):1965-1983. doi: 10.1002/mas.21797. PubMed PMID:35899315
  6. Krajewski, AE, Lee, JK. Nucleophilicity and Electrophilicity in the Gas Phase: Silane Hydricity. J Org Chem. 2022;87 (3):1840-1849. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.1c02763. PubMed PMID:35044778
  7. Krajewski, AE, Lee, JK. Gas-Phase Experimental and Computational Studies of 5-Halouracils: Intrinsic Properties and Biological Implications. J Org Chem. 2021;86 (9):6361-6370. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.1c00183. PubMed PMID:33891415
  8. Majumdar, C, McKibbin, PL, Krajewski, AE, Manlove, AH, Lee, JK, David, SS. Unique Hydrogen Bonding of Adenine with the Oxidatively Damaged Base 8-Oxoguanine Enables Specific Recognition and Repair by DNA Glycosylase MutY. J Am Chem Soc. 2020;142 (48):20340-20350. doi: 10.1021/jacs.0c06767. PubMed PMID:33202125 PubMed Central PMC9187209
  9. Xu, J, Krajewski, AE, Niu, Y, Kiruba, GSM, Lee, JK. Kinetic hydricity of silane hydrides in the gas phase. Chem Sci. 2019;10 (34):8002-8008. doi: 10.1039/c9sc02118c. PubMed PMID:31853355 PubMed Central PMC6837013
  10. Wang, N, Lee, JK. Gas-Phase and Ionic Liquid Experimental and Computational Studies of Imidazole Acidity and Carbon Dioxide Capture. J Org Chem. 2019;84 (22):14593-14601. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.9b02193. PubMed PMID:31647232
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Photo of Peter Lobel Ph.D.
Peter Lobel, Ph.D.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyRutgers Behavioral Health Systems
Naureen Memon, M.D.
Fellow Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology
Photo of Joshua Miller Ph.D.
Joshua Miller, Ph.D.
Rutgers UniversitySchool of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Photo of Tamara Minko Ph.D.
Tamara Minko, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor – Chair, Department of Pharmaceutics Rutgers University – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Dr. Tamara Minko is a Professor II and Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She is also a member of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute. Her current research interests include drug delivery; biopharmaceutics; nanotechnology; molecular targeting; antisense oligonucleotides, siRNA and peptide delivery; mechanisms of multidrug resistance; intracellular fate and molecular mechanisms of action of anticancer drugs; bioimaging; macromolecular therapeutics; preclinical evaluation of new therapeutics; modulation of cell death mechanisms during hypoxia.

Professor Minko is author and co-author of more than 400 publications (peer-reviewed papers, books and textbook chapters, conference proceedings, patents). Many of her papers are well cited and published in prestigious journals with high impact factors including PNAS, Nature Nanotechnology, Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Advanced Drug Delivery Review, Journal of Controlled Release, etc. Dr. Minko is a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, elected member of the Board of Scientific Advisors of the Controlled Release Society, recipient of numerous awards, Editor of Pharmaceutical Research, member of editorial board of several scientific journals and a member of Study Sections at NIH, DOD, American Heart Association and other national and international review panels. Her research is supported by grants from NIH, NSF, DOD and other national and international sources.

Research Areas

Biopharmaceutics; nanotechnology; molecular targeting; antisense oligonucleotides, siRNA and peptide delivery; mechanisms of multidrug resistance; intracellular fate and molecular mechanisms of action of anticancer drugs; bioimaging; macromolecular therapeutics; preclinical evaluation of new therapeutics; modulation of cell death mechanisms during hypoxia.

Ongoing/Recent Research Support

  • 07/01/10 – 05/31/15. NIH/NCI R01CA138533, T. Minko – Principal Investigator. Multifunctional Nanotherapeutics for Cancer Treatment and Imaging.
  • 04/01/03 – 07/31/12. NIH/NCI R01 CA100098, T. Minko – Principal Investigator, Targeted Proapoptotic Anticancer Drug Delivery System.
  • 04/07/06 – 02/28/12. NIH/NCI R01 CA111766, T. Minko – Principal Investigator. Molecular Targeting of Drug Delivery System to Cancer.
  • 09/01/10 – 07/31/15. U54CA151881, T. Minko – Principal Investigator, Combination Nanotherapeutic Strategies to Overcome Tumor Drug Resistance.
  • 07/01/09 – 06/30/12. NIH/NIBIB R01 EB008278, T. Minko – Co-Investigator. Efficient Cellular Delivery of Oligonucleotides. (Principal Investigator – Dr. C. M. Roth, Department of Chemical & Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers University).
  • 12/01/09 – 11/30/12. National Science Foundation CBET 0933966, T. Minko – Co-Principal Investigator. Novel Self Assembly of siRNA for Efficient and Safe Delivery. (Principal Investigator – Dr. H. He, Department of Chemistry, Newark, Rutgers University).
  • Ongoing Research Support:
  • 07/01/10 – 05/31/15. NIH/NCI R01CA138533, T. Minko – Principal Investigator. Multifunctional Nanotherapeutics for Cancer Treatment and Imaging.
  • 10/01/09 – 09/31/11. NIH/NCI (ARRA) R01 CA100098, T. Minko – Principal Investigator, Targeted Proapoptotic Anticancer Drug Delivery System.
  • 04/07/06 – 02/28/12. NIH/NCI R01 CA111766, T. Minko – Principal Investigator. Molecular targeting of drug delivery system to cancer.
  • 09/01/10 – 07/31/15. U54CA151881, T. Minko – Principal Investigator, Combination nanotherapeutic strategies to overcome tumor drug resistance.
  • 07/01/09 – 06/30/11. NIH/NIBIB R01 EB008278, T. Minko – Co-Investigator. Efficient Cellular Delivery of Oligonucleotides. (Principal Investigator – Dr. C. M. Roth, Department of Chemical & Biochemical Engineering, Rutgers University).
  • 09/15/06 – 06/30/11. NIH/NIBIB R01 EB007049, T. Minko – Co- Principal Investigator. Carrier Shape Matters: Filomicelles, Long-circulation, and the EPR effect. (Principal Investigator – Dr. D. Discher, University of Pennsylvania).
  • 12/01/09 – 11/30/12. National Science Foundation CBET 0933966, T. Minko – Co-Principal Investigator. Novel Self Assembly of siRNA for Efficient and Safe Delivery. (Principal Investigator – Dr. H. He, Department of Chemistry, Newark, Rutgers University).
  • 07/01/10 – 06/30/11. Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program W81XWH-10-1-0347, T. Minko Co-Investigator (Principal Investigator – Dr. O. Taratula, Postdoctoral Research Associate working under the supervision of Dr. Minko). Innovative Strategy for Treatment of Lung Cancer: Inhalatory Co-Delivery of Anticancer drugs and siRNA for Suppression of Cellular Resistance.

Research Highlights

  • Nanotechnology based inhalatory treatment of lung cancer
  • Targeted multifunctional approach for treatment of multidrug resistant cancer and prevention of metastases
  • Prevention of cellular hypoxic damage by the suppression of Jun N-Terminal Kinase 1

Scholarly Activities

  • 2010 Member (Elected), Board of Scientific Advisors, Controlled Release Society
  • 2009 Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS)
  • 2008, 2010, 2011 Controlled Release Society Outstanding Pharmaceutical Paper Award
  • 1998 The Jorge Heller Journal of Controlled Release/Controlled Release Society Outstanding Paper Award

Recent Publications

  1. Lee, D, Shen, AM, Shah, M, Garbuzenko, OB, Minko, T. In Vivo Evaluation of Nose-to-Brain Delivery of Liposomal Donepezil, Memantine, and BACE-1 siRNA for Alzheimer's Disease Therapy. Int J Mol Sci. 2024;25 (19):. doi: 10.3390/ijms251910357. PubMed PMID:39408684 PubMed Central PMC11476875
  2. Lee, D, Shen, AM, Garbuzenko, OB, Minko, T. Liposomal Formulations of Anti-Alzheimer Drugs and siRNA for Nose-to-Brain Delivery: Design, Safety and Efficacy In Vitro. AAPS J. 2024;26 (5):99. doi: 10.1208/s12248-024-00967-x. PubMed PMID:39231845
  3. Romaniuk-Drapala, A, Skupin-Mrugalska, P, Garbuzenko, O, Hatefi, A, Minko, T. Synergistic antitumor effect of liposomal-based formulations of olaparib and topotecan in primary epithelial ovarian cancer cells. Cancer Cell Int. 2024;24 (1):285. doi: 10.1186/s12935-024-03469-0. PubMed PMID:39135053 PubMed Central PMC11320834
  4. Minko, T, Taratula, O. Nanomedicine for Women's Health. Small. 2024;20 (41):e2405178. doi: 10.1002/smll.202405178. PubMed PMID:39032120
  5. Gu, X, Majumder, J, Taratula, O, Kuzmov, A, Garbuzenko, O, Pogrebnyak, N, Minko, T. Nanotechnology-Based Strategy for Enhancing Therapeutic Efficacy in Pancreatic Cancer: Receptor-Targeted Drug Delivery by Somatostatin Analog. Int J Mol Sci. 2024;25 (10):. doi: 10.3390/ijms25105545. PubMed PMID:38791582 PubMed Central PMC11122428
  6. Gu, X, Minko, T. Targeted Nanoparticle-Based Diagnostic and Treatment Options for Pancreatic Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2024;16 (8):. doi: 10.3390/cancers16081589. PubMed PMID:38672671 PubMed Central PMC11048786
  7. Garbuzenko, OB, Sapiezynski, J, Girda, E, Rodriguez-Rodriguez, L, Minko, T. Personalized Versus Precision Nanomedicine for Treatment of Ovarian Cancer. Small. 2024;20 (41):e2307462. doi: 10.1002/smll.202307462. PubMed PMID:38342698 PubMed Central PMC11316847
  8. Shen, AM, Malekshah, OM, Pogrebnyak, N, Minko, T. Plant-derived single domain COVID-19 antibodies. J Control Release. 2023;359 :1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2023.05.030. PubMed PMID:37225092 PubMed Central PMC10231691
  9. Gildiz, S, Minko, T. Nanotechnology-Based Nucleic Acid Vaccines for Treatment of Ovarian Cancer. Pharm Res. 2023;40 (1):123-144. doi: 10.1007/s11095-022-03434-4. PubMed PMID:36376606 PubMed Central PMC9663189
  10. Castellano, GM, Zeeshan, S, Garbuzenko, OB, Sabaawy, HE, Malhotra, J, Minko, T, Pine, SR. Inhibition of Mtorc1/2 and DNA-PK via CC-115 Synergizes with Carboplatin and Paclitaxel in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Mol Cancer Ther. 2022;21 (9):1381-1392. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-22-0053. PubMed PMID:35732569 PubMed Central PMC9452486
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Reynold A Panettieri, MD
Rutgers UniversityInstitute of Translational Medicine
Pawat Pattarawat, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Pharmacology & Toxicology
Photo of Jared D Radbel MD
Jared D Radbel, MD
Assistant Professor Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School-PulmonologyDepartment of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care

Dr. Radbel is Assistant Professor in the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.  He is a pulmonary and critical Care physician, who specializes in the treatment of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).  He is a member of Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute and the Rutgers NJ Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (NJACTS) Society of Scholars.

Education

  • Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
  • Internal Medicine Residency, Staten Island University Hospital
  • MD, American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine
  • BA, State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton

Research Areas

Ozone is a ubiquitous urban air pollutant that has been directly linked to the development of the heavily morbid acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).  Dr. Radbel is currently funded by an NIEHS K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08ES031678) to study the role of macrophage efferocytosis in ozone-induced ARDS.  He works in the laboratories of his mentors Debra L. Laskin PhD and Andrew J. Gow PhD. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School site PI for the multicenter Study of the Treatment and Outcomes in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19 (STOP-COVID) database.

Scholarly Activities

  • Environmental Health Policy Committee Member, American Thoracic Society (ATS), May 2023-May 2024
  • Planning Committee Member, Environmental, Occupational and Population Health (EOPH) assembly of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), May 2023 – May 2024
  • Programming Committee Member, Environmental, Occupational and Population Health (EOPH) assembly of the American Thoracic Society (ATS), May 2018 – May 2023

In the News

  • In 2023, Dr. Radbel was selected as an Honorable Mention in the Society for Leukocyte Biology Image Contest
  • In 2020, Dr. Radbel was awarded the Career Development Award by the Rutgers NIEHS CEED. Jan 2020
  • In 2018, Dr. Radbel was awarded Donald E. Gardner Inhalational Toxicology Education Award by the Society of Toxicology
  • In 2014, Dr. Radbel was awarded the Young Investigator Award by the American College of Chest Physicians.
  1. Engels, SH, Mergen, AC, Nassikas, N, Radbel, J. The Supreme Court's Shadowy Treatment of Public Health. N Engl J Med. 2024;391 (13):1173-1175. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp2408380. PubMed PMID:39231314
  2. Radbel, J, Rebuli, ME, Kipen, H, Brigham, E. Indoor air pollution and airway health. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2024;154 (4):835-846. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2024.08.013. PubMed PMID:39182629
  3. Radbel, J, Meshanni, JA, Vayas, KN, Le-Hoang, O, Abramova, E, Zhou, P, Joseph, LB, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL et al.. Effects of ozone exposure on lung injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress in a murine model of nonpneumonic endotoxemia. Toxicol Sci. 2024;200 (2):299-311. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae062. PubMed PMID:38749002 PubMed Central PMC11285192
  4. Radbel, J, Meshanni, JA, Gardner, CR, Le-Hoang, O, Cervelli, J, Laskin, JD, Gow, AJ, Laskin, DL. Novel method to assess resident alveolar macrophage efferocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils by flow cytometry. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2023;460 :116359. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2022.116359. PubMed PMID:36565939 PubMed Central PMC9870943
  5. Sunil, VR, Vayas, KN, Radbel, J, Abramova, E, Gow, A, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Impaired energy metabolism and altered functional activity of alveolar type II epithelial cells following exposure of rats to nitrogen mustard. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2022;456 :116257. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2022.116257. PubMed PMID:36174670
  6. Datta, P, Ukey, R, Bruiners, N, Honnen, W, Carayannopoulos, MO, Reichman, C, Choudhary, A, Onyuka, A, Handler, D, Guerrini, V et al.. Highly versatile antibody binding assay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. J Immunol Methods. 2021;499 :113165. doi: 10.1016/j.jim.2021.113165. PubMed PMID:34634317 PubMed Central PMC8500840
  7. Churpek, MM, Gupta, S, Spicer, AB, Hayek, SS, Srivastava, A, Chan, L, Melamed, ML, Brenner, SK, Radbel, J, Madhani-Lovely, F et al.. Machine Learning Prediction of Death in Critically Ill Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019. Crit Care Explor. 2021;3 (8):e0515. doi: 10.1097/CCE.0000000000000515. PubMed PMID:34476402 PubMed Central PMC8378790
  8. Datta, P, Ukey, R, Bruiners, N, Honnen, W, Carayannopoulos, MO, Reichman, C, Choudhary, A, Onyuka, A, Handler, D, Guerrini, V et al.. Highly versatile antibody binding assay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection. medRxiv. 2021; :. doi: 10.1101/2021.07.09.21260266. PubMed PMID:34282427 PubMed Central PMC8288160
  9. Douin, DJ, Shaefi, S, Brenner, SK, Gupta, S, Park, I, Wright, FL, Mathews, KS, Chan, L, Al-Samkari, H, Orfanos, S et al.. Tissue Plasminogen Activator in Critically Ill Adults with COVID-19. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2021;18 (11):1917-1921. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202102-127RL. PubMed PMID:33872546 PubMed Central PMC8641829
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Photo of Troy A Roepke Ph.D. (they/them)
Troy A Roepke, Ph.D. (they/them)
Professor, Department of Animal Sciences – Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and InclusionSchool of Environmental and Biological Sciences -Food & Nutritional Sciences Building East 122D

The effect of environmental influences and stresses, both naturally occurring and anthropogenic, on the physiological functions of organisms is the general focus of my research. My interests are on the actions of hormones, diets, and endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC) on neurophysiological functions that are controlled by the hypothalamus including energy balance, thermoregulation, stress, and reproduction. My goal is for a greater understanding of the interaction between estrogen signaling, neuroendocrine functions, maternal and adult diets, and EDCs on homeostatic functions controlled by the hypothalamus and other brain regions. To address these questions, we use a range of molecular, cellular, electrophysiological, and whole-animal physiological and behavioral techniques. Currently, my research areas are: 1) Sex variability in the response to chronic stressors in corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)/factor (CRF) neurons of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and their subsequent involvement in mood-associated behaviors in mice. 2) The effects of adult and maternal exposures to EDCs (flame-retardants, bisphenols, PFOA) on the hypothalamic neuronal activity, behavior, stress response, and metabolism. 3) The interactions of estrogens, dietary fatty acids, and age in the health of the gut-microbiome in female mice. 4) Development and use of relevant preclinical models of gender-affirming hormone therapy to improve clinical care for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-diverse people.

Recent Publications

  1. Wiersielis, K., Yasrebi, A., Degroat, T.J., Knox, N., Rojas, C., Feltri, S., and Roepke, T.A. Intermittent fasting disrupts hippocampal dependent memory and norepinephrine content in aged male and female mice. Physiology and Behavior 275:114431.
  2. Degroat, T.J., Wiersielis, K., Yasrebi, A., Kodahli, S., Daisey, S., Denney, K., Tollkuhn, J., Samuels, B.A., and Roepke, T.A. Chronic stress and its effects on behavior, RNA expression of the bed nucleus of the stria terminals, the M-current of NPY neurons. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 161:106920.
  3. Yasrebi, A., Regan, D., and Roepke, T.A. The Influence of Estrogen Response Element ERa Signaling in the Control of Feeding Behaviors in Male and Female Mice. Steroids, 195:109228.
  4. Sui, K., Yasrebi, A., Longoria, C., MacDonell, A.T., Martinez, S.A., Jaffri, H., Fisher, S.E., Malonza, N., Jung, K., Tveter, K.M., Wiersielis, K.R., Shapses, S.A., Campbell, S.C., Roepke, T.A., and Roopchand, D.E. 2023. Coconut oil saturated fatty acids improved energy homeostasis but not blood pressure or cognition in VCD-treated mice. Endocrinology, 164(3): bqad001.
  5. Conde, K., Kulyk, D., Vanschaik, A., Daisey, S., Rojas, C. Weirsielis, K., Degroat, T.J., Sun, Y., and Roepke, T.A. Deletion of growth hormone secretagogue receptor in kisspeptin neurons in female mice blocks diet-induced obesity. Biomolecules, 12(10):1370.
  6. Vail, G.M., Walley, S.N., Yasrebi, A., Maeng, A., Degroat, T.J., Conde, K.M., and Roepke, T.A. Implications of estrogen receptor a (ERa) with the intersection of organophosphate flame retardants and diet-induced obesity in adult mice. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A., 85(10):398-413.
  7. Vail, G.M., Walley, S.N., Yasrebi, A., Maeng, A., Degroat, T.J., Conde, K.M., and Roepke, T.A. Implications of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARg) with the intersection of organophosphate flame retardants and diet-induced obesity in adult mice. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A., 85(9):381-396.
  8. Wiersielis, K., Yasrebi, A., Ramirez, P., Verpeut, J., Regan, D., & Roepke, T.A. The influence of estrogen receptor α signaling independent of the estrogen response element on avoidance behavior, social interactions, and palatable ingestive behavior. Hormones and Behavior, 136:105084.
  9. Walley, S.N., Krumm, E.A., Yasrebi, A., Kwiecinski, J., Baker, C., and Roepke, T.A. Maternal organophosphate flame-retardant exposure alters offspring metabolism in a sexually-dimorphic manner in mice. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 41(4):572-586.
  10. Walley, S.N., Krumm, E.A., Yasrebi, A., O’Leary, S., Tillery, T., and Roepke, T.A. Maternal organophosphate flame-retardant exposure alters offspring feeding, locomotor, and exploratory behaviors in a sexually-dimorphic manner. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 41(3):442-457.
  11. Vail, G.M., and Roepke, T.A. Organophosphate flame retardants excite arcuate melanocortin circuitry and increase sensitivity to ghrelin in adult mice. Endocrinology, 161(11):bqaa168.
  12. Vail, G.M., Yasrebi, A., Maeng, A., Walley, S.N., Conde, K., and Roepke, T.A. The interactions of diet-induced obesity and OPFR exposure on energy homeostasis in adult male and female mice. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 83(11-12):438-455.
  13. Wiersielis, K.R, Adams, S., Yasrebi, A., Conde, K., & Roepke, T.A. Maternal exposure to organophosphate flame-retardants alters locomotor and anxiety-like behavior in male and female adult offspring. Hormones and Behavior, 122:104759.
  14. Adams, S., Wiersielis, K.R, Yasrebi, A., Conde, K., Armstrong, L., Guo, G.L., and Roepke, T.A. Sex- and age-dependent effects of maternal organophosphate flame-retardant exposure on neonatal hypothalamic and hepatic gene expression. Reproductive Toxicology, 94:65-74.

View Dr. Roepke’s Additional Publications

Photo of Elizabeth Rossi
Elizabeth Rossi
Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology
Photo of Patrick Sinko Ph.D.
Patrick Sinko, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor and Associate Vice President for Research Rutgers University, Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Research Areas

Drug delivery and targeting with an emphasis on AIDS, cancer, and chemical counterterrorism, biomaterials, hydrogels and nanocarriers, mechanism-based pharmacokinetics and biopharmaceutics; transport and metabolism, and bioavailability.

Research Highlights

Dr. Sinko’s research is focused on the mechanisms and applications of biopharmaceutics and polymers to drug delivery and targeting. His laboratory is located in the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. His group’s research efforts focus on the design, fabrication and evaluation of molecular-scale drug and diagnostic delivery technologies applied broadly to asthma, AIDS, cancer, and chemical counterterrorism. Dr. Sinko’s research efforts have been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health, various nonprofit organizations and the Pharmaceutical and Biotech industries.

The research group is organized into therapeutic areas focusing on AIDS, cancer, and chemical counter-terrorism. Drug delivery at the molecular scale (i.e., nano) using biodegradable and biocompatible polymer platforms is a central theme. The scope of current projects includes a molecular mechanistic component, chemical design and synthesis, and biological and efficacy characterization (in vitro, in situ, and in vivo) with an emphasis on translation from concept to clinic.

Scholarly Activities

  • 2006 MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award, National Institutes of Health, for grant: Enhancing Intestinal & Brain Uptake of Anti-AIDS Drugs (R37 AI/DK-51214). The NIH awards MERIT status “to a select number of funded investigators (<5%) who have demonstrated superior competence, outstanding productivity during their previous research endeavors and are leaders in their field with paradigm-shifting ideas. The MERIT award runs through 2016.
  • 2003 Parke-Davis Endowed Chair in Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University.
  • 2003 elected Fellow, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, (Alexandria, VA).
  • 1999 Gallo Award for Outstanding Cancer Research (with Drs. F.R. Luo, E. Rubin and A.K. Lalloo, and P.V. Paranjpe).
  • 1997 Gallo Award for Outstanding Cancer Research (with Drs. E. Gupta, T. Cook, and E. Rubin).
  • 1997 Controlled Release Society, Inc., CRS-Dow Corning Recognition Award for Excellence in Guiding Graduate Student Research.
  • 1995 Hoechst Celanese Innovative Research Award.
  • 1994 Outstanding Teacher of the Year, Rutgers College Parents Association, Rutgers University.
  • 1993 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Young Investigator Grant in Pharmaceutics and the Pharmaceutical Technologies.
  • 1992 Eli Lilly Young Investigator Award in Pharmaceutics.
  • 1992 Burroughs Welcome Fund New Investigator Award, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

Recent Publications

  1. Roldan, TL, Li, S, Guillon, C, Heindel, ND, Laskin, JD, Lee, IH, Gao, D, Sinko, PJ. Optimizing Nanosuspension Drug Release and Wound Healing Using a Design of Experiments Approach: Improving the Drug Delivery Potential of NDH-4338 for Treating Chemical Burns. Pharmaceutics. 2024;16 (4):. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16040471. PubMed PMID:38675132 PubMed Central PMC11053863
  2. Roldan, TL, Li, S, Laskin, JD, Gao, D, Sinko, PJ. Depilatory double-disc mouse model for evaluation of vesicant dermal injury pharmacotherapy countermeasures. Animal Model Exp Med. 2023;6 (1):57-65. doi: 10.1002/ame2.12304. PubMed PMID:36872306 PubMed Central PMC9986227
  3. Joseph, LB, Gordon, MK, Zhou, P, Hahn, RA, Lababidi, H, Croutch, CR, Sinko, PJ, Heck, DE, Laskin, DL, Laskin, JD et al.. Sulfur mustard corneal injury is associated with alterations in the epithelial basement membrane and stromal extracellular matrix. Exp Mol Pathol. 2022;128 :104807. doi: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2022.104807. PubMed PMID:35798063 PubMed Central PMC10044521
  4. Sandhu, SK, Kumar, S, Raut, J, Singh, M, Kaur, S, Sharma, G, Roldan, TL, Trehan, S, Holloway, J, Wahler, G et al.. Systematic Development and Characterization of Novel, High Drug-Loaded, Photostable, Curcumin Solid Lipid Nanoparticle Hydrogel for Wound Healing. Antioxidants (Basel). 2021;10 (5):. doi: 10.3390/antiox10050725. PubMed PMID:34063003 PubMed Central PMC8148018
  5. Al-Zubaydi, F, Gao, D, Kakkar, D, Li, S, Holloway, J, Szekely, Z, Chan, N, Kumar, S, Sabaawy, HE, Love, S et al.. Breast intraductal nanoformulations for treating ductal carcinoma in situ II: Dose de-escalation using a slow releasing/slow bioconverting prodrug strategy. Drug Deliv Transl Res. 2022;12 (1):240-256. doi: 10.1007/s13346-021-00903-y. PubMed PMID:33590464
  6. Wilson, BK, Sinko, PJ, Prud'homme, RK. Encapsulation and Controlled Release of a Camptothecin Prodrug from Nanocarriers and Microgels: Tuning Release Rate with Nanocarrier Excipient Composition. Mol Pharm. 2021;18 (3):1093-1101. doi: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.0c01012. PubMed PMID:33440941
  7. Laskin, JD, Wahler, G, Croutch, CR, Sinko, PJ, Laskin, DL, Heck, DE, Joseph, LB. Skin remodeling and wound healing in the Gottingen minipig following exposure to sulfur mustard. Exp Mol Pathol. 2020;115 :104470. doi: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2020.104470. PubMed PMID:32445752 PubMed Central PMC7374066
  8. Al-Zubaydi, F, Gao, D, Kakkar, D, Li, S, Adler, D, Holloway, J, Szekely, Z, Gu, Z, Chan, N, Kumar, S et al.. Breast intraductal nanoformulations for treating ductal carcinoma in situ I: Exploring metal-ion complexation to slow ciclopirox release, enhance mammary persistence and efficacy. J Control Release. 2020;323 :71-82. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.04.016. PubMed PMID:32302762
  9. Chen, P, Zhang, X, Venosa, A, Lee, IH, Myers, D, Holloway, JA, Prud'homme, RK, Gao, D, Szekely, Z, Laskin, JD et al.. A Novel Bivalent Mannosylated Targeting Ligand Displayed on Nanoparticles Selectively Targets Anti-Inflammatory M2 Macrophages. Pharmaceutics. 2020;12 (3):. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics12030243. PubMed PMID:32182675 PubMed Central PMC7150811
  10. Gu, Z, Al-Zubaydi, F, Adler, D, Li, S, Johnson, S, Prasad, P, Holloway, J, Szekely, Z, Love, S, Gao, D et al.. Evaluation of intraductal delivery of poly(ethylene glycol)-doxorubicin conjugate nanocarriers for the treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)-like lesions in rats. J Interdiscip Nanomed. 2018;3 (3):146-159. doi: 10.1002/jin2.51. PubMed PMID:30443411 PubMed Central PMC6220801
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Photo of Thant Soe Ph.D.
Thant Soe, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow Rutgers UniversityEOHSI -Toxicology
Photo of Phoebe Stapleton Ph.D., A.T.C.
Phoebe Stapleton, Ph.D., A.T.C.
Associate Professor Rutgers University-Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI- Toxicology

Dr. Stapleton is an Assistant Professor in the Rutgers University, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and the Joint Graduate Program in Toxicology. She received her B.S. in Biology and Athletic Training from State University of New York (SUNY) College at Cortland, a M.S.Ed. in Kinesiology from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from West Virginia University. She completed her postdoctoral training within the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at West Virginia University.

Research Areas

The microcirculation branch of the cardiovascular system encompasses the arterioles, capillaries, and venules within an organ or tissue of interest. These highly active vessels serve to maintain homeostasis by regulating blood flow and tissue perfusion, thus providing nutrients and removing waste. Central to proper reactivity is the health and function of the endothelium, a single cell layer lining the vasculature. The Stapleton laboratory investigates the microvascular perturbations associated with normal physiological challenges (exercise or pregnancy), disease, and exposures to environmental and/or occupational xenobiotics.

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Using engineered nanomaterials, studies focus on the question: how can something we inhale affect the cardiovascular system? Recently, her research group has investigated non-traditional models of exposure by incorporating reproductive toxicology. These studies focus on exposures during pregnancy leading to the development of a hostile gestational environment identified through microvascular evaluations of the mother. These prenatal exposures impact fetal development and may predispose future generations to cardiovascular aberrations. The Stapleton laboratory is funded by a NIEHS ONES award, NIH R01 ES031285.

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Research Highlights

  • Identified and visualized nanoplastic particles are able to translocate from the maternal lungs to the fetal tissues after pulmonary exposure in late pregnancy.
  • Development of a novel placental perfusion technique to quantify material transfer from the maternal uterine circulation to the fetal umbilical circulation and measure biomarkers of uteroplacental function.
  • Identification of the development of a hostile gestational environment after engineered nanomaterial exposure during pregnancy.
  • Development of a novel intravital microscopy technique to visualize the vasculature of the pregnant uterus.
  • Investigations of mitochondrial function and bioenergetics in young exposed to xenobiotic matter during gestation.
  • Identification of microvascular dysfunction and behavioral alterations associated with engineered nanomaterial exposure in gestation.
  • Inhaled micro- and nanoplastic particles (MNP) aerosols were found to alter inflammatory, cardiovascular, and endocrine activity in virgin female Sprague-Dawley rats.
  • Identified and visualized micro- and nanoplastic particles that have translocated from the maternal lungs or GI system to the fetal tissues 24h after pulmonary or gastric exposure, respectively, in late pregnancy.”

Awards

 

  • Dr. Stapleton received the Outstanding New Environmental Scientist (ONES) Award from NIEHS.
  • Dr. Stapleton was awarded the Society of Toxicology (SOT) Achievement Award (2024)
  • Ms. Chelsea Cary’s manuscript (Single inhalation exposure to polyamide micro and nanoplastic particles impairs vascular dilation without generating pulmonary inflammation in virgin female Sprague Dawley rats) was awarded the Impact Award for the Cardiovascular Toxicology Specialty Section and the Best Manuscript Award for the Occupational and Public Health Specialty Section of SOT (2024)
  • Laboratory publication, Ingested polystyrene micro-nanoplastics (MNPs) translate to placenta and fetal tissues in pregnant rats identified as top 1% of NIEHS papers published in 2023″
  • Ms. Chelsea Cary awarded the Rutgers School of Graduate Studies Aaron Shatkin Graduate Award (2023)
  • Ms. Talia Seymore was a finalist for the Trophoblast Research New Investigator Award, International Federation of Placental Association (IFPA) (2023)
  • Ms. Chelsea Cary was awarded a Kirschstein-NRSA (F31) from NIEHS (2023)
  • Ms. Chelsea Cary and Talia Seymore were each awarded a Diversity Initiatives Career Development Award from SOT to attend the IFPA meetings, individually (2023)
  • Dr. Stapleton was awarded the Women in Toxicology (WIT) Outstanding Young Investigator award (2023)
  • Laboratory publication, Maternal, placental, and fetal distribution of titanium after repeated titanium dioxide nanoparticle inhalation through pregnancy identified as top 1% of NIEHS papers published in 2022
  • Mr. Andrés D. Rivera Ruiz was awarded the SOT Undergraduate Diversity Award in 2021 for his work as an 2020 Virtual SURF trainee.
  • Ms. Chelsea Cary won the 2021 Graduate Student Trainee Award from the Cardiovascular Toxicology Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology (SOT).
  • Dr. Stapleton received the 2021 New Career Scientist Award from the Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology (SOT).
  • Dr. Stapleton received the 2020 Young Investigator Award from the Inhalation and Respiratory Toxicology Specialty Section of the Society of Toxicology (SOT).
  • Invited speaker to the NIEHS 50th Anniversary Celebration with SOT titled SOT and NIEHS Past, Present, and Future: 50 Years of Collaboration.
  • Past-President of the Allegheny-Erie Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology.
  • Dr. Stapleton recently published a symposia review of Gestational Nanomaterial Exposures in the Journal of Physiology (2016) 594(8):2161-73. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26332609)
  • Dr. Stapleton has been awarded the Impact Award by the Cardiovascular Toxicology Specialty Section of SOT (2016), the Best Publication Award by the Nanotoxicology Specialty Section of SOT (2016), and the Best Postdoctoral Publication Award by the Postdoctoral Assembly of SOT (2014).
  • Appointed as Review Editor for Frontiers in Vascular Physiology (2012).

In the News

 

Recent Publications

  1. Qian, N, Stapleton, P, Yan, B, Min, W. Reply to Materić: Appropriate blanks should avoid major contamination sources in the lab. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024;121 (48):e2415874121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2415874121. PubMed PMID:39546558 PubMed Central PMC11621815
  2. Moreno, GM, Brunson-Malone, T, Adams, S, Nguyen, C, Seymore, TN, Cary, CM, Polunas, M, Goedken, MJ, Stapleton, PA. Identification of micro- and nanoplastic particles in postnatal sprague-dawley rat offspring after maternal inhalation exposure throughout gestation. Sci Total Environ. 2024;951 :175350. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175350. PubMed PMID:39117197 PubMed Central PMC11487574
  3. Cary, CM, Fournier, SB, Adams, S, Wang, X, Yurkow, EJ, Stapleton, PA. Single pulmonary nanopolystyrene exposure in late-stage pregnancy dysregulates maternal and fetal cardiovascular function. Toxicol Sci. 2024;199 (1):149-159. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae019. PubMed PMID:38366927 PubMed Central PMC11057520
  4. Qian, N, Gao, X, Lang, X, Deng, H, Bratu, TM, Chen, Q, Stapleton, P, Yan, B, Min, W. Rapid single-particle chemical imaging of nanoplastics by SRS microscopy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024;121 (3):e2300582121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2300582121. PubMed PMID:38190543 PubMed Central PMC10801917
  5. Adams, S, Stapleton, PA. Nanoparticles at the maternal-fetal interface. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2023;578 :112067. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2023.112067. PubMed PMID:37689342 PubMed Central PMC10591848
  6. Stapleton, PA. The Application of Engineered Nanomaterials in Perinatal Therapeutics. Small. 2024;20 (41):e2303072. doi: 10.1002/smll.202303072. PubMed PMID:37438678 PubMed Central PMC10784409
  7. Cary, C, Stapleton, P. Determinants and mechanisms of inorganic nanoparticle translocation across mammalian biological barriers. Arch Toxicol. 2023;97 (8):2111-2131. doi: 10.1007/s00204-023-03528-x. PubMed PMID:37303009 PubMed Central PMC10540313
  8. Cary, CM, Seymore, TN, Singh, D, Vayas, KN, Goedken, MJ, Adams, S, Polunas, M, Sunil, VR, Laskin, DL, Demokritou, P et al.. Single inhalation exposure to polyamide micro and nanoplastic particles impairs vascular dilation without generating pulmonary inflammation in virgin female Sprague Dawley rats. Part Fibre Toxicol. 2023;20 (1):16. doi: 10.1186/s12989-023-00525-x. PubMed PMID:37088832 PubMed Central PMC10122824
  9. Cary, CM, DeLoid, GM, Yang, Z, Bitounis, D, Polunas, M, Goedken, MJ, Buckley, B, Cheatham, B, Stapleton, PA, Demokritou, P et al.. Ingested Polystyrene Nanospheres Translocate to Placenta and Fetal Tissues in Pregnant Rats: Potential Health Implications. Nanomaterials (Basel). 2023;13 (4):. doi: 10.3390/nano13040720. PubMed PMID:36839088 PubMed Central PMC9965230
  10. Bowdridge, EC, Thompson, J, Bourque, S, Stapleton, P. Editorial: Getting to the heart of developmental toxicities. Front Toxicol. 2023;5 :1138470. doi: 10.3389/ftox.2023.1138470. PubMed PMID:36726487 PubMed Central PMC9886310
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  1. Engler-Chiurazzi EB, Stapleton PA, Stalnaker JJ, Rambo-Hernandez KE, Sarkar SN, Jun S, Quintana DD, Ren X, Hu Heng, Nurkiewicz TR, McBride CR, Yi J, Simpkins JW. Adult Behavioral Consequences of Prenatal Engineered Nanomaterial Exposure in Rodents. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part A. 2016; 79(11): 447-52. doi: 10.1080/15287394.2016.1164101.
  2. Stapleton PA. Gestational xenobiotic exposures: microvascular implications for the past, present, and future. Journal of Physiology. Apr; 594(8): 2161-73, 2016. (invited symposium review) doi: 10.1113/JP270581.
  3. Stapleton PA, Nichols CE, Yi J, McBride CR, Minarchick VC, Shepherd DL, Hollander JM, Nurkiewicz TR. Microvascular and mitochondrial dysfunction in the female F1 generation after gestational TiO2 nanoparticle exposure. Nanotoxicology. 2015 Nov;9(8): 941-51. doi: 10.3109/17435390.2014.984251.
  4. Nichols CE, Shepherd DL, Knuckles TL, Thapa D, Stricker JC, Stapleton PA, Minarchick VC, Alway SE, Nurkiewicz TR, Hollander JM. Cardiac and Mitochondrial Dysfunction Following Acute Pulmonary Exposure to Mountaintop Removal Mining Particulate Matter. American Journal of Physiology – Heart and Circulatory Physiology. Dec; 309(12): H2017-30, 2015. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00353.2015.
  5. Stapleton PA, McBride CR, Yi J, Nurkiewicz TR. Uterine microvascular sensitivity to nanomaterial inhalation: an in vivo assessment. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. Nov; 288(3): 420-8, 2015. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2015.08.013
  6. Stapleton PA, Minarchick VC, Yi J, Engels K, McBride CR, Nurkiewicz TR. Maternal engineered nanomaterial exposure and fetal microvascular function: does the Barker hypothesis apply? Am J Obstet Gynecol. Sep; 209(3): 227.e1-227.e11, 2013. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2013.04.036.
  7. Stapleton PA, Minarchick VC, Cumpston AM, McKinney W, Chen BT, Sager TM, Frazer DG, Mercer RR, Scabilloni J, Andrew M, Castranova V, Nurkiewicz TR. Impairment of coronary arteriolar endothelium-dependent dilation after multiwalled-carbon nanotube inhalation: a time course study. IJMS. Oct; 13: 13781-13803, 2012. doi: 10.3390/ijms131113781.
  8. Stapleton PA, Minarchick V, Knuckles TL, Nurkiewicz TR. Xenobiotic Particle Exposure and Microvascular Endpoints: A Call to Arms. Microcirculation. Feb; 19(2):126-42, 2012. doi: 10.1111/j.1549-8719.2011.00137.x.
Photo of Vasanthi Sunil Ph.D.
Vasanthi Sunil, Ph.D.
Associate Research Professor Rutgers University, Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Research Interests

  • Mechanisms of pulmonary inflammation and repair
  • Effects of bacterial toxins, environmental pollutants and chemical warfare toxicants on lung function and gene regulation
  • Age-associated alterations in signaling pathways in the lung

Awards and Honors

  • 2003 New Jersey Cancer Research Award for Scientific Excellenc

Recent Publications

  1. Malaviya, R, Meshanni, JA, Sunil, VR, Venosa, A, Guo, C, Abramova, EV, Vayas, KN, Jiang, C, Cervelli, JA, Gow, AJ et al.. Role of macrophage bioenergetics in N-acetylcysteine-mediated mitigation of lung injury and oxidative stress induced by nitrogen mustard. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2024;485 :116908. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2024.116908. PubMed PMID:38513841
  2. Cary, CM, Seymore, TN, Singh, D, Vayas, KN, Goedken, MJ, Adams, S, Polunas, M, Sunil, VR, Laskin, DL, Demokritou, P et al.. Single inhalation exposure to polyamide micro and nanoplastic particles impairs vascular dilation without generating pulmonary inflammation in virgin female Sprague Dawley rats. Part Fibre Toxicol. 2023;20 (1):16. doi: 10.1186/s12989-023-00525-x. PubMed PMID:37088832 PubMed Central PMC10122824
  3. Sunil, VR, Vayas, KN, Radbel, J, Abramova, E, Gow, A, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Impaired energy metabolism and altered functional activity of alveolar type II epithelial cells following exposure of rats to nitrogen mustard. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2022;456 :116257. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2022.116257. PubMed PMID:36174670
  4. Carnino, JM, Lee, H, Smith, LC, Sunil, VR, Rancourt, RC, Vayas, K, Cervelli, J, Kwok, ZH, Ni, K, Laskin, JD et al.. Microvesicle-Derived miRNAs Regulate Proinflammatory Macrophage Activation in the Lung Following Ozone Exposure. Toxicol Sci. 2022;187 (1):162-174. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfac025. PubMed PMID:35201360 PubMed Central PMC9041552
  5. Malaviya, R, Bellomo, A, Abramova, E, Croutch, CR, Roseman, J, Tuttle, R, Peters, E, Casillas, RP, Sunil, VR, Laskin, JD et al.. Pulmonary injury and oxidative stress in rats induced by inhaled sulfur mustard is ameliorated by anti-tumor necrosis factor-α antibody. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2021;428 :115677. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2021.115677. PubMed PMID:34390737 PubMed Central PMC8452183
  6. Malaviya, R, Abramova, EV, Rancourt, RC, Sunil, VR, Napierala, M, Weinstock, D, Croutch, CR, Roseman, J, Tuttle, R, Peters, E et al.. Progressive Lung Injury, Inflammation, and Fibrosis in Rats Following Inhalation of Sulfur Mustard. Toxicol Sci. 2020;178 (2):358-374. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfaa150. PubMed PMID:33002157 PubMed Central PMC7751178
  7. Sunil, VR, Vayas, KN, Abramova, EV, Rancourt, R, Cervelli, JA, Malaviya, R, Goedken, M, Venosa, A, Gow, AJ, Laskin, JD et al.. Lung injury, oxidative stress and fibrosis in mice following exposure to nitrogen mustard. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2020;387 :114798. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2019.114798. PubMed PMID:31678244 PubMed Central PMC7066865
  8. Sunil, VR, Radbel, J, Hussain, S, Vayas, KN, Cervelli, J, Deen, M, Kipen, H, Udasin, I, Laumbach, R, Sunderram, J et al.. Sarcoid-Like Granulomatous Disease: Pathologic Case Series in World Trade Center Dust Exposed Rescue and Recovery Workers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16 (5):. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16050815. PubMed PMID:30845693 PubMed Central PMC6427752
  9. Sunil, VR, Vayas, KN, Cervelli, JA, Ebramova, EV, Gow, AJ, Goedken, M, Malaviya, R, Laskin, JD, Laskin, DL. Protective Role of Surfactant Protein-D Against Lung Injury and Oxidative Stress Induced by Nitrogen Mustard. Toxicol Sci. 2018;166 (1):108-122. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfy188. PubMed PMID:30060251 PubMed Central PMC6204765
  10. Sunil, VR, Vayas, KN, Fang, M, Zarbl, H, Massa, C, Gow, AJ, Cervelli, JA, Kipen, H, Laumbach, RJ, Lioy, PJ et al.. World Trade Center (WTC) dust exposure in mice is associated with inflammation, oxidative stress and epigenetic changes in the lung. Exp Mol Pathol. 2017;102 (1):50-58. doi: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2016.12.005. PubMed PMID:27986442 PubMed Central PMC5472054
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Photo of Jay A Tischfield Ph.D.
Jay A Tischfield, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor Rutgers University, School of Arts and SciencesEOHSI – Toxicology

Research Areas

Broadly, our research centers around human heredity and the somatic cell biology of mutations that produce disease. Our interests encompass psychiatric genetics, addiction biology and mechanisms of gene regulation and include the production of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) and engineered mouse genetic models for disease as key tools to understand biological mechanisms.

Research Highlights

One research focus is Tourette disorder (TD), a neuropsychiatric condition that is characterized by verbal and motor tics and which is observed in about 1 in 150 children. We have analyzed inherited, disease-producing genetic variants of specific genes in large TD families using neurons derived from iPSCs and molecular genetics tools. In contrast, our “TIC Genetics” collaborative group has discovered and is now characterizing new gene mutations that have arisen in the TD children of unaffected parents. We aim to understand how these gene variants function on a cellular level by comparing iPSC-derived neurons from affected and unaffected individuals. At the same time, we hope to model TD behavior, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology with mice engineered to have mutations identical to those that we have discovered in TD humans.

Other research foci include collaborative research on the genetics and functional mechanisms of alcohol abuse and cellular opioid responses. We also continue with loss of heterozygosity (LOH) experiments to determine what features along the mitotic chromosome promote recombination that results in LOH. Additional lab projects include development of drugs to treat cystinuria, a disease characterized by painful, recurrent cystine kidney stones, using an engineered mouse model for cystinuria.

Recent Publications

Cross-Disorder Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. Electronic address:  lee0@mgh.harvard.edu; Cross-Disorder Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium. (606 Collaborators.) Genomic Relationships, Novel Loci, and Pleiotropic Mechanisms across Eight Psychiatric Disorders. Cell. 2019 Dec 12;179(7):1469-1482.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.11.020.

Salvatore JE, Barr PB, Stephenson M, Aliev F, Kuo SI, Su J, Agrawal A, Almasy L, Bierut L, Bucholz K, Chan G, Edenberg HJ, Johnson EC, McCutcheon VV, Meyers JL, Schuckit M, Tischfield J, Wetherill L, Dick DM.  Sibling comparisons elucidate the associations between educational attainment polygenic scores and alcohol, nicotine and cannabis. Addiction. 2019 Oct 28. doi: 10.1111/add.14815. [Epub ahead of print]

Meyers JL, Chorlian DB, Johnson EC, Pandey AK, Kamarajan C, Salvatore JE, Aliev F, Subbie-Saenz de Viteri S, Zhang J, Chao M, Kapoor M, Hesselbrock V, Kramer J, Kuperman S, Nurnberger J, Tischfield J, Goate A, Foroud T, Dick DM, Edenberg HJ, Agrawal A, Porjesz B.  Association of Polygenic Liability for Alcohol Dependence and EEG Connectivity in Adolescence and Young Adulthood.  Brain Sci. 2019 Oct 17;9(10). pii: E280. doi: 10.3390/brainsci9100280.

Halikere A, Popova D, Scarnati MS, Hamod A, Swerdel MR, Moore JC, Tischfield JA, Hart RP, Pang ZP. Addiction associated N40D mu-opioid receptor variant modulates synaptic function in human neurons.  Mol Psychiatry. 2019 Sep 3. doi: 10.1038/s41380-019-0507-0. [Epub ahead of print]

Rao X, Thapa KS, Chen AB, Lin H, Gao H, Reiter JL, Hargreaves KA, Ipe J, Lai D, Xuei X, Wang Y, Gu H, Kapoor M, Farris SP, Tischfield J, Foroud T, Goate AM, Skaar TC, Mayfield RD, Edenberg HJ, Liu Y.  Allele-specific expression and high-throughput reporter assay reveal functional genetic variants associated with alcohol use disorders.  Mol Psychiatry. 2019 Sep 2. doi: 10.1038/s41380-019-0508-z. [Epub ahead of print]

Lai D, Wetherill L, Kapoor M, Johnson EC, Schwandt M, Ramchandani VA, Goldman D, Joslyn G, Rao X, Liu Y, Farris S, Mayfield RD, Dick D, Hesselbrock V, Kramer J, McCutcheon VV, Nurnberger J, Tischfield J, Goate A, Edenberg HJ, Porjesz B, Agrawal A, Foroud T, Schuckit M.  Genome-wide association studies of the self-rating of effects of ethanol (SRE).  Addict Biol. 2019 Jul 3:e12800. doi: 10.1111/adb.12800. [Epub ahead of print]

Vazquez BN, Thackray JK, Simonet NG, Chahar S, Kane-Goldsmith N, Newkirk SJ, Lee S, Xing J, Verzi MP, An W, Vaquero A, Tischfield JA, Serrano L.  SIRT7 mediates L1 elements transcriptional repression and their association with the nuclear lamina.  Nucleic Acids Res. 2019 Sep 5;47(15):7870-7885. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkz519. PMCID: PMC6735864.

Woodard LE, Welch RC, Veach RA, Beckermann TM, Sha F, Weinman EJ, Ikizler TA, Tischfield JA, Sahota A, Wilson MH.  Metabolic consequences of cystinuria.  BMC Nephrol. 2019 Jun 20;20(1):227. doi: 10.1186/s12882-019-1417-8.  PMCID:  PMC6585015

Wetherill L, Lai D, Johnson EC, Anokhin A, Bauer L, Bucholz KK, Dick DM, Hariri AR, Hesselbrock V, Kamarajan C, Kramer J, Kuperman S, Meyers JL, Nurnberger JI Jr, Schuckit M, Scott DM, Taylor RE, Tischfield J, Porjesz B, Goate AM, Edenberg HJ, Foroud T, Bogdan R, Agrawal A.  Genome-wide association study identifies loci associated with liability to alcohol and drug dependence that is associated with variability in reward-related ventral striatum activity in African- and European-Americans.  Genes Brain Behav. 2019 Jul;18(6):e12580. doi: 10.1111/gbb.12580. Epub 2019 Jun 11.

Lai D, Wetherill L, Bertelsen S, Carey CE, Kamarajan C, Kapoor M, Meyers JL, Anokhin AP, Bennett DA, Bucholz KK, Chang KK, De Jager PL, Dick DM, Hesselbrock V, Kramer J, Kuperman S, Nurnberger JI Jr, Raj T, Schuckit M, Scott DM, Taylor RE, Tischfield J, Hariri AR, Edenberg HJ, Agrawal A, Bogdan R, Porjesz B, Goate AM, Foroud T.  Genome-wide association studies of alcohol dependence, DSM-IV criterion count and individual criteria.  Genes Brain Behav. 2019 Jul;18(6):e12579. doi: 10.1111/gbb.12579. Epub 2019 Jun 4. PMCID:  PMC6612573

Aijaz A, Li M, Smith D, Khong D, LeBlon C, Fenton OS, Olabisi RM, Libutti S, Tischfield J, Maus MV, Deans R, Barcia RN, Anderson DG, Ritz J, Preti R, Parekkadan B.  Biomanufacturing for clinically advanced cell therapies.  Nat Biomed Eng. 2018 Jun;2(6):362-376. doi: 10.1038/s41551-018-0246-6. Epub 2018 Jun 11. Review. PMCID:  PMC6594100

Yu D, Sul JH, Tsetsos F, Nawaz MS, Huang AY, Zelaya I, Illmann C, Osiecki L, Darrow SM, Hirschtritt ME, Greenberg E, Muller-Vahl KR, Stuhrmann M, Dion Y, Rouleau G, Aschauer H, Stamenkovic M, Schlögelhofer M, Sandor P, Barr CL, Grados M, Singer HS, Nöthen MM, Hebebrand J, Hinney A, King RA, Fernandez TV, Barta C, Tarnok Z, Nagy P, Depienne C, Worbe Y, Hartmann A, Budman CL, Rizzo R, Lyon GJ, McMahon WM, Batterson JR, Cath DC, Malaty IA, Okun MS, Berlin C, Woods DW, Lee PC, Jankovic J, Robertson MM, Gilbert DL, Brown LW, Coffey BJ, Dietrich A, Hoekstra PJ, Kuperman S, Zinner SH, Luðvigsson P, Sæmundsen E, Thorarensen Ó, Atzmon G, Barzilai N, Wagner M, Moessner R, Ophoff R, Pato CN, Pato MT, Knowles JA, Roffman JL, Smoller JW, Buckner RL, Willsey AJ, Tischfield JA, Heiman GA, Stefansson H, Stefansson K, Posthuma D, Cox NJ, Pauls DL, Freimer NB, Neale BM, Davis LK, Paschou P, Coppola G, Mathews CA, Scharf JM; Tourette Association of America International Consortium for Genetics, the Gilles de la Tourette GWAS Replication Initiative, the Tourette International Collaborative Genetics Study, and the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium Tourette Syndrome Working Group.  Interrogating the Genetic Determinants of Tourette’s Syndrome and Other Tic Disorders Through Genome-Wide Association Studies.  Am J Psychiatry. 2019 Mar 1;176(3):217-227. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2018.18070857.

Kapoor M, Wang JC, Farris SP, Liu Y, McClintick J, Gupta I, Meyers JL, Bertelsen S, Chao M, Nurnberger J, Tischfield J, Harari O, Zeran L, Hesselbrock V, Bauer L, Raj T, Porjesz B, Agrawal A, Foroud T, Edenberg HJ, Mayfield RD, Goate A. Analysis of whole genome-transcriptomic organization in brain to identify genes associated with alcoholism.  Transl Psychiatry. 2019 Feb 14;9(1):89. doi: 10.1038/s41398-019-0384-y. PMCID:  PMC6376002

Tabakin AL, Sadimin ET, Tereshchenko I, Kareddula A, Stein MN, Mayer T, Hirshfield KM, Kim IY, Tischfield J, DiPaola RS, Singer EA.  Correlation of Prostate Cancer CHD1 Status with Response to Androgen Deprivation Therapy: a Pilot Study.  J Genitourin Disord. 2018;2(1). pii: 1006. Epub 2018 Jul 31. PMCID: PMC6358174

McClintick JN, Tischfield JA, Deng L, Kapoor M, Xuei X, Edenberg HJ.  Ethanol Activates Immune Response In Lymphoblastoid Cells.  Alcohol. 2019 Jan 9;79:81-91. doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2019.01.001. [Epub ahead of print] PMCID:  PMC6616005

Wang S, Mandell JD, Kumar Y, Sun N, Morris MT, Arbelaez J, Nasello C, Dong S, Duhn C, Zhao X, Yang Z, Padmanabhuni SS, Yu D, King RA, Dietrich A, Khalifa N, Dahl N, Huang AY, Neale BM, Coppola G, Mathews CA, Scharf JM; Tourette International Collaborative Genetics Study (TIC Genetics); Tourette Syndrome Genetics Southern and Eastern Europe Initiative (TSGENESEE); Tourette Association of America International Consortium for Genetics (TAAICG), Fernandez TV, Buxbaum JD, De Rubeis S, Grice DE, Xing J, Heiman GA, Tischfield JA, Paschou P, Willsey AJ, State MW.  De Novo Sequence and Copy Number Variants Are Strongly Associated with Tourette Disorder and Implicate Cell Polarity in Pathogenesis.  Cell Rep. 2018 Dec 18;25(12):3544. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.12.024. No abstract available.

Sahota A, Tischfield JA, Goldfarb DS, Ward MD, Hu L. Cystinuria: genetic aspects, mouse models, and a new approach to therapy.  Urolithiasis. 2019 Feb;47(1):57-66. doi: 10.1007/s00240-018-1101-7. Epub 2018 Dec 4. PMCID: PMC6592844

Johnson EC, Tillman R, Aliev F, Meyers JL, Salvatore JE, Anokhin AP, Dick DM, Edenberg HJ, Kramer J, Kuperman S, McCutcheon VV, Nurnberger JI Jr, Porjesz B, Schuckit M, Tischfield J, Bucholz KK, Agrawal A. Exploring the relationship between polygenic risk for cannabis use, peer cannabis use, and the longitudinal course of cannabis involvement.  Addiction. 2018 Nov 26. [Epub ahead of print]

Abdulkadir M, Mathews CA, Scharf JM, Yu D, Tischfield JA, Heiman GA, Hoekstra PJ, Dietrich A.  Polygenic Risk Scores Derived From a Tourette Syndrome Genome-wide Association Study Predict Presence of Tics in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children Cohort.  Biol Psychiatry. 2019 Feb 15;85(4):298-304. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.09.011. Epub 2018 Sep 29. PMCID: PMC6342633

Edwards AC, Deak JD, Gizer IR, Lai D, Chatzinakos C, Wilhelmsen KP, Lindsay J, Heron J, Hickman M, Webb BT, Bacanu SA, Foroud TM, Kendler KS, Dick DM, Schuckit MA; Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA).  Collaborators:  Porjesz B, Hesselbrock V, Edenberg H, Bierut L, Hesselbrock V, Edenberg HJ, Nurnberger J Jr, Foroud T, Liu Y, Kuperman S, Kramer J, Porjesz B, Bierut L, Rice J, Bucholz K, Agrawal A, Schuckit M, Tischfield J, Brooks A, Almasy L, Dick D, Goate A, Taylor R, Parsian A, Chen H. Meta-Analysis of Genetic Influences on Initial Alcohol Sensitivity.  Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2018 Oct 1. [Epub ahead of print]

Publicaitons via PubMed

  1. Hu, L, Taneja, A, Zahid, H, Wang, Y, Yang, M, An, Z, Li, X, Tischfield, JA, Knight, J, Ward, MD et al.. Discovery of l-Lysine Dioxalate (LH1513) as a Novel Inhibitor of Calcium Oxalate Crystallization for Hyperoxaluria. ACS Med Chem Lett. 2024;15 (11):2005-2011. doi: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.4c00423. PubMed PMID:39563801 PubMed Central PMC11571055
  2. Li, X, Liu, J, Boreland, AJ, Kapadia, S, Zhang, S, Stillitano, AC, Abbo, Y, Clark, L, Lai, D, Liu, Y et al.. Polygenic risk for alcohol use disorder affects cellular responses to ethanol exposure in a human microglial cell model. Sci Adv. 2024;10 (45):eado5820. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ado5820. PubMed PMID:39514655 PubMed Central PMC11546823
  3. Gamez-Garcia, A, Espinosa-Alcantud, M, Bueno-Costa, A, Alari-Pahissa, E, Marazuela-Duque, A, Thackray, JK, Ray, C, Berenguer, C, Kumari, P, Bech, JJ et al.. A SIRT7-dependent acetylation switch regulates early B cell differentiation and lineage commitment through Pax5. Nat Immunol. 2024;25 (12):2308-2319. doi: 10.1038/s41590-024-01995-7. PubMed PMID:39424985 PubMed Central PMC11588656
  4. Green, N, Gao, H, Chu, X, Yuan, Q, McGuire, P, Lai, D, Jiang, G, Xuei, X, Reiter, JL, Stevens, J et al.. Integrated Single-Cell Multiomic Profiling of Caudate Nucleus Suggests Key Mechanisms in Alcohol Use Disorder. bioRxiv. 2024; :. doi: 10.1101/2024.08.02.606355. PubMed PMID:39149227 PubMed Central PMC11326171
  5. Nasello, C, Poppi, LA, Wu, J, Kowalski, TF, Thackray, JK, Wang, R, Persaud, A, Mahboob, M, Lin, S, Spaseska, R et al.. Human mutations in high-confidence Tourette disorder genes affect sensorimotor behavior, reward learning, and striatal dopamine in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024;121 (19):e2307156121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2307156121. PubMed PMID:38683996 PubMed Central PMC11087812
  6. Chen, AB, Yu, X, Thapa, KS, Gao, H, Reiter, JL, Xuei, X, Tsai, AP, Landreth, GE, Lai, D, Wang, Y et al.. Functional 3'-UTR Variants Identify Regulatory Mechanisms Impacting Alcohol Use Disorder and Related Traits. bioRxiv. 2024; :. doi: 10.1101/2024.01.31.578270. PubMed PMID:38370821 PubMed Central PMC10871301
  7. Prytkova, I, Liu, Y, Fernando, M, Gameiro-Ros, I, Popova, D, Kamarajan, C, Xuei, X, Chorlian, DB, Edenberg, HJ, Tischfield, JA et al.. Upregulated GIRK2 Counteracts Ethanol-Induced Changes in Excitability and Respiration in Human Neurons. J Neurosci. 2024;44 (16):. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0918-23.2024. PubMed PMID:38350999 PubMed Central PMC11026340
  8. Vazquez, BN, Fernández-Duran, I, Hernandez, Y, Tarighi, S, Thackray, JK, Espinosa-Alcantud, M, Kumari, P, Ianni, A, Cesaire, L, Braun, T et al.. SIRT7 and p53 interaction in embryonic development and tumorigenesis. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023;11 :1281730. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1281730. PubMed PMID:38234684 PubMed Central PMC10791984
  9. Thomas, NS, Gillespie, NA, Chan, G, Edenberg, HJ, Kamarajan, C, Kuo, SI, Miller, AP, Nurnberger, JI Jr, Tischfield, J, Dick, DM et al.. A Developmentally-Informative Genome-wide Association Study of Alcohol Use Frequency. Behav Genet. 2024;54 (2):151-168. doi: 10.1007/s10519-023-10170-x. PubMed PMID:38108996 PubMed Central PMC10913412
  10. Wang, S, Wang, B, Drury, V, Drake, S, Sun, N, Alkhairo, H, Arbelaez, J, Duhn, C, Tourette International Collaborative Genetics (TIC Genetics), Bal, VH et al.. Rare X-linked variants carry predominantly male risk in autism, Tourette syndrome, and ADHD. Nat Commun. 2023;14 (1):8077. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43776-0. PubMed PMID:38057346 PubMed Central PMC10700338
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Xia Wen, Ph.D.
Research Associate Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology
Photo of Shuo Xiao Ph.D.
Shuo Xiao, Ph.D.
Associate Professor – Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Rutgers University – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI- Toxicology

Biographical Info

Dr. Shuo Xiao is a tenured Associate Professor from the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy. He earned his MBBS in Preventive Medicine and MS in Toxicology from Peking University, followed by a PhD in Female Reproductive Biology and Toxicology from University of Georgia. He completed his Postdoctoral Training in Dr. Teresa Woodruff’ lab at Northwestern University. Dr. Xiao’s current research is dedicated to advancing women’s reproductive health. His research is funded by NIH (NIEHS and NICHD), DOD, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Xiao has published > 60 peer-reviewed papers in high impact journals, including Nature Communications, Environmental Health Perspectives, Biology of Reproduction, and Toxicological Sciences. Dr. Xiao now serves as the Chair of Basic Science Committee of Oncofertility Consortium, President of American Association of Chinese in Toxicology (AACT), Secretary/Treasurer of the Society of Toxicology (SOT) Reproductive and Developmental Specialty Section (RDTSS), and Toxicology Division Councilor of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).

Dr. Xiao has received several major awards to recognize his research in female reproductive biology and toxicology, such as the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) Toxicology Division Early Career Award in 2024, Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR) Virendra B. Mahesh New Investigator Award in 2024, the JOINN Biomere Outstanding Young Toxicologist Award from AACT in 2023, the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) Chancellor Basic Sciences Researcher Award in 2022, and the New-Career Scientist Award from the Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section (RDTSS) of Society of Toxicology (SOT) in 2022.

Research Areas

The Xiao lab research is primarily focused on women’s reproductive health. There are multiple active projects including (1) the impacts of classic and emerging environmental contaminants on women’s reproductive health, in particular of women’s ovaries and uterus and associated menstrual cycles, fertility, and early pregnancy; (2) engineering an ovary-on-a-chip and female reproductive system-on-chip using microfluidic and organoid technologies; (3) development of novel birth control pills for women; and (4) women’s reproductive diseases such as premature ovarian failure and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Scholarly Activities

Dr. Xiao has received several major awards to recognize his research in female reproductive biology and toxicology, such as the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) Toxicology Division Early Career Award in 2024, Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR) Virendra B. Mahesh New Investigator Award in 2024, the JOINN Biomere Outstanding Young Toxicologist Award from AACT in 2023, the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) Chancellor Basic Sciences Researcher Award in 2022, and the New-Career Scientist Award from the Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section (RDTSS) of Society of Toxicology (SOT) in 2022.

Dr. Xiao is active on serving professional societies:

  1. President, American Association of Chinese in Toxicology (AACT), Society of Toxicology (SOT) (2024 – present)
  2. Treasurer/Secretory, Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Specialty Section (RDTSS), Society of Toxicology (SOT) (2024 – present)
  3. Councilor, Toxicology Division, Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) (2024 – present)
  4. Co-Chair of the Basic Science Committee, Oncofertility Consortium (2021 – present)
  5. Virtual Education Committee (VEC) Member, Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR) (2022 – present)
  6. Editorial Board: Reproductive Toxicology, Biology of Reproduction, and Toxicological Sciences
  7. Faculty of the training program of Frontiers in Reproduction (FIR), Marine Biology Laboratory (MBL), Woods Hole, MA

Recent Publications as the corresponding author (in past 5 years)

  1. Zhan T, Zhang J, Zhang Y, Zhao Q, Chemerinski A, Douglas NC, Zhang Q, Xiao S. A dose-response study on functional and transcriptomic effects of FSH on ex vivo mouse folliculogenesis. Endocrinology. 2024 May 27;165(7):bqae054. PMC11129714.
  2. Wang Y, Pattarawat P, Zhang J, Kim E, Zhang D, Fang M, Jannaman EA, Yuan Y, Chatterjee S, Kim JJ, Scott GI, Zhang Q, Xiao S. Cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom toxin microcystin-LR interferes with gonadotropin-dependent ovarian follicle maturation and ovulation. Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). 2023 Jun;131(6):67010. PMID: 37342990. (NIEHS Extramural Papers of the Month in September 2023)
  3. Zhang J, Russo DD, Wang Y, Zhang Q, Zelinski MB, Shalet AK, Goods BA, Xiao S. Vitrification preserves follicular transcriptomic dynamics during ex vivo ovulation. Biology of Reproduction (BOR). 2023 Sep 12;109(3):240-243.PMID: 37498173.
  4. McClam M, Liu J, Fan Yi, Zhang T, Zhang WQ, Porter DE, Scott GI, Xiao S. Associations between exposure to single cadmium, lead, mercury and mixtures and women’s infertility and long-term amenorrhea. Achieves of Public Health. 2023; 81: 161. PMID: 37626539.
  5. Zhang J, Goods BA, Pattarawat P, Wang Y, Haining T, Zhang Q, Shalek AK, Duncan FE, Woodruff TK, Xiao S. An ex vivo ovulation system enables the discovery of novel ovulatory pathways and non-hormonal contraceptive candidates. Biology of Reproduction (BOR). 2023 Apr 11;108(4):629-644.
  6. Huang Z, Yan X, Xiao S. Research progress on new technology of ovarian fertility preservation in oncofertility. Chinese Journal of Practical Gynecology and Obstetrics. 2022, 38 (11).
  7. Han F, Chen G, Tao G, Xu J, Zhang H, Zhang L, Li H, Zhao Y, Kimura S, Wei X, Ruan Y, Wu C, Xiao S*, Zhan M*, Zheng W*. Thyroid-disrupting effects caused by exposure to alternative flame retardants from groundwater contamination in rural central China. Science of the Total Environment. 2022. May 27;156300. (*Co-corresponding author)
  8. McClam M. S Xiao. Preserving oocytes in Oncofertility. Biology of Reproduction (BOR). 2022 Feb 22;106(2):328-337.
  9. Wang Y, Russo DD, Pattarawat P, Zhang Q, Zelinski MB, Shalek AK, Goods BA, Xiao S. Vitrification preserves murine ovarian follicular cell transcriptome in a 3D encapsulated in vitro follicle growth system. Biology of Reproduction (BOR). 2021 Dec 20;105(6):1378-1380.
  10. Xu J, Wang Y, Kauffman AE, Zhang Y, Li Y, Zhu J, Maratea K, Fabre K, Zhang Q, Woodruff TK, Xiao S. A tiered female ovarian toxicity screening identifies toxic effects of checkpoint kinase 1 inhibitors on murine growing follicles. Toxicological Sciences. 2020 Oct 1;177(2):405-19.
  11. Zubizarreta ME, and Xiao S. Bioengineering models of female reproduction. Bio-Design and Manufacturing. 2020 Sep;3(3):237-251.
  12. Zhao Y, Zhang X, Zubizarreta ME, Xia Y, Li Y, Zhang X, Sheng M, Song Q, Xiao S. A survey study reveals the positive impact of oncofertility knowledge and attitude on oncofertility practice among oncologists in China. Journal of Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology. 2020 Oct 29.
  13. Jiang B, Kauffman AE, Li L, McFee W, Cai B, Weinstein J, Lead J, Chatterjee S, Scott GI, Xiao S. Health impacts of environmental contamination of micro- and nanoplastics: a review. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine. 2020 Jul 14; 25(1):29.
  14. Wang Y, Xu J, Stanley J. Xu M, Brooks BW, Scott GI, Chatterjee S. Zhang Q, Zelinski MB, Xiao S. A closed vitrification system enables a murine ovarian follicle bank for high-throughput ovotoxicity screening, which identifies the endocrine disrupting activity of microcystins. Reproductive Toxicology. Jan. 2020 Feb 1;93:118-130.
  15. Wang Y, Liu M, Johnson SB, Yuan G, Arriba AK, Zubizarreta ME, Chatterjee S, Nagarkatti M, Nagarkatti P, Xiao S. Doxorubicin obliterates mouse ovarian reserve through both primordial follicle atresia and overactivation. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology (TAAP). 2019, Oct 15;381:114714.
  16. Andersen CL, Liu M, Wang Z, Ye X*, Xiao S*. Chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin alters uterine gene expression in response to estrogen in ovariectomized CD-1 adult mice. Biology of Reproduction (BOR). 2019 Apr 1; 100(4):869-871. (*Co-corresponding author)
  17. Wang Y, Chen H, Ju K, Kopp MF, Johnson SB, Farrell KK, Yuan G, Ataman LM, Zheng W, Woodruff TK, Xiao S. Female oncofertility attitude and knowledge: a survey of reproductive health professionals in Shanghai, China. Future Oncology. 2019 Feb;15(4):371-379.
  18. Ju K, Kopp M, Wang Y, Yuan G, Zheng W, Ataman LM, Woodruff TK, Chen Q, Xiao S. A Survey Study of Attitude and Knowledge Regarding Female Fertility Preservation Among Reproductive Health Professionals in Fujian, China. Journal of Adolescent Young Adult Oncology. 2019 Feb;8(1):67-73.
  19. Wang Y, Liu M, Zhang, J, Liu Y, Kopp M, Zheng W, Xiao S. Multidrug resistance protein 1 deficiency promotes doxorubicin-induced ovarian toxicity in female mice. Toxicological Sciences. 2018 May 1;163(1):279-292 (Cover image).

The full publication list is available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=shuo+xiao

 

Photo of Chung “CS” Yang Ph.D.
Chung “CS” Yang, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor & John L. Colaizzi Endowed Chair in Pharmacy Rutgers University, Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Research Areas

Mechanisms of carcinogenesis and its prevention, including development of new animal models for colon ad prostate cancers as well as studies on the inhibition of carcinogenesis by tea constituents, tocopherols, and their combination with commonly used drugs. Research is being conducted in animal models, on molecular investigation with cell lines, and in humans.

Research Highlights

  • Development of animal models for colon and prostate cancers using humanized CYP1A mice and PhIP (a dietary carcinogen) to study dietary cancer prevention.
  • Elucidation of the cancer preventive activities and mechanisms of action of green tea polyphenols.
  • Demonstration of the broad cancer prevention activities of tocopherols, especially the higher activity of d-tocopherol than g-tocopherol, and the ineffectiveness of a-tocopherol.
  • Elucidation of the inhibition of the interactions between cancer cells and myeloid derived suppressor cells in vivo and in vitro by curcumin.
  • Conducting translational research on tocopherols in prostate cancer patients.

Scholarly Activities

  • Conduct research as described above.
  • Teach a course on “Diet, Nutrition and Disease Prevention in Pharmacy Practice” and lecture in the course “Molecular Biology and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.”
  • Serve as a Leader of the Carcinogenesis and Chemoprevention Program of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey.
  • Serve on editorial board of several scientific journals and currently editing a special volume on “Tea and Health” for Pharmacological Research.

Recent Publications

  1. Ko, HJ, Chen, SM, Yang, CS. [The Effects of a Digital Multimedia Foot Ulcer Care Program on Health Beliefs and Self-Care Behaviors in People With Diabetic Foot Ulcer]. Hu Li Za Zhi. 2024;71 (6):59-71. doi: 10.6224/JN.202412_71(6).08. PubMed PMID:39618136
  2. Warinhomhoun, S, Raiputta, J, Rangsee, PN, Yang, CS, Chueamchaitrakun, P. Effect of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction and Drying Methods on Bioactive Compounds, Phenolic Composition, and Antioxidant Activity of Assam Tea Cultivar (Camellia sinensis var. assamica) Cultivated in Thailand. Adv Pharmacol Pharm Sci. 2024;2024 :5772961. doi: 10.1155/2024/5772961. PubMed PMID:39512303 PubMed Central PMC11540878
  3. Chen, CC, Yen, TH, Li, JR, Chen, CJ, Yang, CS, Lai, JY, Lin, SJ, Yeh, CH, Hsu, SW, Lin, MY et al.. Artificial intelligence algorithms enhance urine cytology reporting confidence in postoperative follow-up for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. Int Urol Nephrol. 2024; :. doi: 10.1007/s11255-024-04270-8. PubMed PMID:39509034
  4. Chang, KY, Yang, CS, Lai, JY, Lin, SJ, Li, JR, Liu, TJ, Yang, WL, Lin, MY, Yeh, CH, Hsu, SW et al.. An Artificial Intelligence-assisted Diagnostic System Improves Upper Urine Tract Cytology Diagnosis. In Vivo. 2024;38 (6):3016-3021. doi: 10.21873/invivo.13785. PubMed PMID:39477382 PubMed Central PMC11535956
  5. Yoon, C, Kim, HK, Ham, YS, Gil, WJ, Mun, SJ, Cho, E, Yuk, JM, Yang, CS. Toxoplasma gondii macrophage migration inhibitory factor shows anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis potential via AZIN1/STAT1 interaction. Sci Adv. 2024;10 (43):eadq0101. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adq0101. PubMed PMID:39453997 PubMed Central PMC11506136
  6. Cheng, HE, Yeh, HZ, Yang, CS, Yang, SS, Liao, SC. Disseminated Cryptococcus over pancreas, lung, and brain: a case report. J Med Case Rep. 2024;18 (1):513. doi: 10.1186/s13256-024-04836-1. PubMed PMID:39438983 PubMed Central PMC11515725
  7. Lu, X, He, Y, Guo, JQ, Wang, Y, Yan, Q, Xiong, Q, Shi, H, Hou, Q, Yin, J, An, YB et al.. Dynamics of epitranscriptomes uncover translational reprogramming directed by ac4C in rice during pathogen infection. Nat Plants. 2024;10 (10):1548-1561. doi: 10.1038/s41477-024-01800-1. PubMed PMID:39317771
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Shaojun Yang, Ph.D.
Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology
Photo of Guofeng You Ph.D.
Guofeng You, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor Rutgers University, Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Research Areas

Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Drug/Xenobiotic Absorption, Distribution and Elimination, Membrane Transporters

Drug transporters mediate the absorption, distribution, and excretion of a diverse array of clinically important drugs, including anti-HIV therapeutics, anti-tumor drugs, antibiotics, anti-hypertensives, and anti-inflammatories, and therefore are critical to the survival of the mammalian species. The goal of Dr. You’s research is to elucidate the molecular, cellular, and functional characteristics of these transporters, their implications in human physiology and diseases, and their applications to drug therapy. Techniques in molecular and cellular biology, physiology, biochemistry, and biophysics are used to investigate the transport mechanisms both in vitro and in vivo. The knowledge gained from these studies will have significant impact on the future design of strategies aimed at maximizing therapeutic efficacy and minimizing toxicity, and will permit insight into the molecular, cellular, and clinical bases of renal, hepatic, neurological and fetal toxicity and disease.

Research Highlights

Dr. You’s lab, standing at the forefront of drug transport research, a research area of highly pharmacological and clinical importance, has uncovered several mechanisms underlying the regulation of drug transporters OATs. Her lab is the first to report that OAT activity can be regulated by membrane trafficking, ubiquitination, glycosylation, phosphorlation, and environmental pH.

Scholarly Activities

  • 2012-2014 Co-Editor, Book “Drug Transporters” to be published by Wiley & Son, NY, NY
  • 2012-2013 Executive Council, Graduate School-New Brunswick, Rutgers University
  • 2011-2012 Co-Chair, Mission, Planning & Evaluation sub-committee, ACPE Steering Committee, School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University
  • 2012 NIH Review Panel for COBRE Pilot Project Applications
  • 2012 NIH Special Emphasis Review Panel for Program Project Grants.
  • 2008-2011 Executive Committee, Student and Postdoc Outreach and Development, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists
  • 2007-2011 NIH Study Section Permanent Member, Cellular and Molecular Biology of the Kidney
  • 2011 NIH Special Emphasis Review Panel for Program Project Grants.
  • 2011 Committee, Pharmaceutical Research Meritorious Manuscript Award, Pharmaceutical Research
  • 2010 Co-Chair, Symposium “Transport Proteins I: Regulatory Mechanisms That Modulate Drug Disposition and Response”, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, Georgia.
  • 2009-present Editorial Board, International Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • 2008-2012 Executive Committee, Drug Transport Focus Group, American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientist
  • 2006-present Editorial Board, Pharmaceutical Research

Recent Publications

  1. Liu, C, Fu, Q, You, G, Cheng, T, Lan, Y, Liu, B. Protocol for in vitro generation of innate lymphoid cells from human embryonic tissues. STAR Protoc. 2024;6 (1):103525. doi: 10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103525. PubMed PMID:39708328
  2. Miao, L, Jin, Z, Ci, H, Adyel, TM, Deng, X, You, G, Xu, Y, Wu, J, Yao, Y, Kong, M et al.. Dynamic changes of leachates of aged plastic debris under different suspended sand concentrations and their toxicity. J Hazard Mater. 2024;485 :136874. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136874. PubMed PMID:39700944
  3. Wang, X, You, G, Liu, C, Sun, Y. Bioaugmentation strategies in co-composting anaerobically digested food waste with agricultural by-products: Enhancing fertilizer quality and microbial communities. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2024;290 :117539. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.117539. PubMed PMID:39700777
  4. Huang, C, Ye, ZM, Qin, YS, You, GP, Wei, Z, Cai, H. Radical α-C-H Alkylation and Heteroarylation of Benzyl Anilines Enabled by Organic Photoredox Catalysis. Org Lett. 2024; :. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.4c04278. PubMed PMID:39688377
  5. You, G, Long, H, Shen, X, Yin, H, Zhang, S. Emerging roles of circular RNAs on the regulation of production traits in chicken. Poult Sci. 2024;104 (1):104612. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.104612. PubMed PMID:39647355
  6. You, G, Yang, J, Wang, X, Liu, Q, Ding, R. Development of an atmospheric boundary layer detection system based on a rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle. Rev Sci Instrum. 2024;95 (12):. doi: 10.1063/5.0227462. PubMed PMID:39625356
  7. Yu, Z, You, G. Recent Advances on the Regulations of Organic Anion Transporters. Pharmaceutics. 2024;16 (11):. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16111355. PubMed PMID:39598479 PubMed Central PMC11597148
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Photo of Helmut Zarbl Ph.D.
Helmut Zarbl, Ph.D.
EOHSI Director – Professor – NIEHS Center Director Rutgers University- School of Public HealthEOHSI – Toxicology

Dr. Zarbl serves as the Director of the NIEHS sponsored Center for Environmental Exposures and Disease. He is also the Associate Director For Public Health Sciences at the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. He serves on numerous national research review and advisory panels, and editorial panels.. Dr. Zarbl is known for his work in areas of toxicogenomics, and mechanisms of and genetic susceptibility to chemical carcinogenesis, mechanisms of mutagenesis and toxicity, and technology development. These research efforts have to date resulted in over 70 scientific papers and book chapters.

Research Areas

Research has focused largely on toxicogenomics and functional genomics, carcinogenesis, molecular and cellular biology, and toxicology. Specifically this has included work understand to molecular mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis and the genetic basis for differential susceptibility to mammary carcinogenesis using animal and in vitro model systems, and then translating the findings to human breast cancer.

Research Highlights

Studies in the rat model have included analysis of oncogene activation, mechanisms of signal transduction, and genetic linkage analysis to identify mammary tumor suppressor genes. He has also used toxicogenomics to dissect mechanisms of mechanism carcinogenesis, tumor progression and chemoprevention. His studies in the area of toxicogenomics include the development and application of standards for DNA microarray experiments, and phenotypic anchoring of response of human cells, model organisms (yeast) and target organs (rodents) to toxicants, providing insights into dose and temporal responses, as well as mechanisms of action. He is also actively involved in technology development for functional genomics and biomarker screening.

Recent Publications

  1. Gigliotti, RA, Weidner, M, Jansen, M, Greenberg, P, Bachmann, G, Dominguez-Bello, MG, Parmar, V, Panettieri, RA Jr, Reilly, N, Ayers, CA et al.. Assessments of working group effectiveness in the planning of the New Jersey Kids Study: An applied mixed-methods study on the science of team science. J Clin Transl Sci. 2024;8 (1):e163. doi: 10.1017/cts.2024.578. PubMed PMID:39619065 PubMed Central PMC11604504
  2. Yang, Z, Zarbl, H, Kong, B, Taylor, R, Black, K, Kipen, H, Basaly, V, Fang, M, Guo, GL. Liver-gut axis signaling regulates circadian energy metabolism in shift workers. FASEB J. 2024;38 (22):e70203. doi: 10.1096/fj.202402102R. PubMed PMID:39588921 PubMed Central PMC11590413
  3. Yang, Z, Black, K, Ohman-Strickland, P, Graber, JM, Kipen, HM, Fang, M, Zarbl, H. Disruption of central and peripheral circadian clocks and circadian controlled estrogen receptor rhythms in night shift nurses in working environments. FASEB J. 2024;38 (11):e23719. doi: 10.1096/fj.202302261RR. PubMed PMID:38837828
  4. Yang, Z, DeLoid, GM, Baw, J, Zarbl, H, Demokritou, P. Assessment of Ingested Micro- and Nanoplastic (MNP)-Mediated Genotoxicity in an In Vitro Model of the Small Intestinal Epithelium (SIE). Nanomaterials (Basel). 2024;14 (9):. doi: 10.3390/nano14090807. PubMed PMID:38727401 PubMed Central PMC11085749
  5. Park, Y, Kang, HG, Kang, SJ, Ku, HO, Zarbl, H, Fang, MZ, Park, JH. Combined use of multiparametric high-content-screening and in vitro circadian reporter assays in neurotoxicity evaluation. Arch Toxicol. 2024;98 (5):1485-1498. doi: 10.1007/s00204-024-03686-6. PubMed PMID:38483585 PubMed Central PMC10965668
  6. Yang, Z, Zarbl, H, Guo, GL. Circadian Regulation of Endocrine Fibroblast Growth Factors on Systemic Energy Metabolism. Mol Pharmacol. 2024;105 (3):179-193. doi: 10.1124/molpharm.123.000831. PubMed PMID:38238100 PubMed Central PMC10877735
  7. Yang, Z, DeLoid, GM, Zarbl, H, Baw, J, Demokritou, P. Micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs) and their potential toxicological outcomes: State of science, knowledge gaps and research needs. NanoImpact. 2023;32 :100481. doi: 10.1016/j.impact.2023.100481. PubMed PMID:37717636 PubMed Central PMC10841092
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Liping Zhao, Ph.D.
Professor Rutgers UniversitySchool of Environmental and Biological Sciences- Department Biochemistry and Microbiology
Photo of Wenlong Zhao Ph.D.
Wenlong Zhao, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Associate Rutgers – Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology Division
Peihong Zhou, MS
Rutgers UniversityEOHSI – Toxicology
Photo of Dr. Renping Zhou Ph.D.
Dr. Renping Zhou, Ph.D.
Professor Rutgers University, Ernest Mario School of PharmacyEOHSI – Toxicology

Research Areas

The Zhou laboratory is interested in the mechanisms mediating cell-cell communication and their roles in normal development, physiology, and diseases. Specifically the Zhou laboratory is investigating the functions of a large family of tyrosine kinase receptors, the Ephs, and their ligands, the ephrins, in neural circuit formation, eye development, and behavior regulations including motor activity, circadian rhythm, and aggression. The Zhou laboratory employs both in vitro and in vivo techniques, including neuron cultures, transgenic and knockout mice, as well as behavior assays.

Research Highlights

Demonstration of a repulsive function of ephrins in axon guidance

Discovering signal transduction pathways mediating ephrin-induced growth cone guidance

Establishing a novel cataract mouse model

Elucidating regulation of cell-cell adhesion by ephrins

Scholarly Activities

Member of editorial board: Neuroscience Bulletin; Cell & Bioscience

Membership in: AAAS, Society of Neuroscice, ARVO

Recent Publications

  1. Zhou, R, Huang, X, Ni, Y, Ma, Z, Wei, H, Jin, Q, Ding, Z. Physicochemical behavior and ecological risk of biofilm-mediated microplastics in aquatic environments. Aquat Toxicol. 2024;279 :107209. doi: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2024.107209. PubMed PMID:39708762
  2. Cao, Q, Zhou, S, Chen, H, Zhou, R. Anesthetic anaphylactic shock in an emergency cesarean section: a case report. BMC Anesthesiol. 2024;24 (1):468. doi: 10.1186/s12871-024-02861-7. PubMed PMID:39707181
  3. Yuan, J, Lu, J, Zhu, J, Chen, F, Zeng, Z, Yan, J, Li, Q, Zhou, R, Tong, Q. LncRNA FIRRE drives gastric cancer progression via ZFP64-mediated TUBB3 promoter activation. Cancer Lett. 2024; :217398. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2024.217398. PubMed PMID:39706253
  4. Chen, Z, Zeng, L, Cai, W, Song, X, Xu, Q, Xu, J, Zhao, L, Zeng, Y, Zhang, X, Wu, X et al.. Predictive value of three nutritional indexes for disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Ann Med. 2025;57 (1):2443256. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2024.2443256. PubMed PMID:39705015
  5. Yu, X, Wang, X, Xu, F, Zhang, X, Wang, M, Zhou, R, Sun, Z, Pan, X, Feng, L, Zhang, W et al.. Mir-615-3p promotes osteosarcoma progression via the SESN2/AMPK/mTOR pathway. Cancer Cell Int. 2024;24 (1):411. doi: 10.1186/s12935-024-03604-x. PubMed PMID:39702297 PubMed Central PMC11660548
  6. Dang, L, Wei, S, Zhao, Y, Zhou, R, Shang, S, Gao, F, Wang, J, Wang, J, Qu, Q. Effects of Probucol on plasma amyloid-β transport in patients with hyperlipidemia: a 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lipids Health Dis. 2024;23 (1):410. doi: 10.1186/s12944-024-02398-1. PubMed PMID:39702132 PubMed Central PMC11657980
  7. Zhong, Z, Wu, Z, Zhou, R, Yu, X, Zhou, Y, Zhai, Y, Lin, H, Jiang, F. Ribo-seq and RNA-seq analyses enrich the regulatory network of tomato fruit cracking. BMC Plant Biol. 2024;24 (1):1214. doi: 10.1186/s12870-024-05937-1. PubMed PMID:39701980 PubMed Central PMC11658461
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Hao Zhu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor Rutgers UniversityCenter for Computational and Integrative Biology – FASC

170 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854 – 848-445-0200  Fax: 732-445-0131

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