The Department of Basic Medical Sciences encompasses molecular to whole animal approaches and generally emphasizes molecular processes in development as applied to growth, differentiation, regeneration, and oncogenesis.
Model systems are employed to investigate both animal and human disease, as well as biomedical engineering.
Current research programs involve: signal transduction in development and oncogenesis, cell adhesion molecules in development and oncogenesis; growth factors in musculoskeletal development; ovarian follicle development; neural regeneration; implantable therapeutic or diagnostic devices, and application of computers in veterinary and medical education.
Research facilities and equipment are excellent and include: state-of-the-art cell culture, electron and confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, microspectrofluorometry, image analysis, patch-clamp station, and HPLC systems, as well as a highly integrated computer network.
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Dr. Sophie Lelievre
One of the main research focuses in the Lelièvre laboratory is to understand how phenotypically normal breast epithelial structures (also called acini) can develop into tumors. Therefore researchers are looking into the earliest changes in the organization of the mammary epithelial tissue that would be necessary for cancer initiation. To do so they use a unique model of human breast acinar morphogenesis in three-dimensional culture. This model serves as a functionally and structurally competent model to investigate the role of certain aspects of tissue organization in breast epithelial tissue homeostasis. The basoapical polarity axis (exemplified by the presence of different proteins at the apical and basal poles of acinar cells) is of particular interest. Indeed members of the Lelièvre laboratories have demonstrated that tight junctions, the determinant features of apical polarity, have to be altered in order for acinar to enter the cell cycle (Chandramouly et al, JCS 2007). This finding was featured in the issue of Journal of Cell Sciences in which the article was published . This work presents the earliest alterations in breast tissue identified so far that could contribute to tumor development. In addition, the Lelièvre laboratory has recently demonstrated that risk factors associated with breast cancer can rapidly alter apical polarity. Members of the laboratory are currently working on validating these findings in breast tissue biopsies and unraveling the mechanisms that control apical polarity. They are also developing high throughput screening techniques in collaboration with engineers at Purdue to identify environmental factors that influence apical polarity in the mammary gland.
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New BMS Department Head
Dr. Laurie Jaeger, Professor of Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences will assume the duties of BMS Department Head on March 1, 2009.
Dr. Riyi Shi
Article selected by faculty of 1000 Biology
An article on the critical role of acrolein in spinal cord injuries published by a team led by Riyi Shi has been selected by the Faculty of 1000 Biology as one of the most interesting papers in current biology.
Comments from Philip Burcham (The University of Western Australia, Australia)
“This groundbreaking paper strengthens the case that a very nasty chemical long known to toxicologists, acrolein, plays a key pathogenetic role in the neurodegeneration that follows traumatic injury to the spinal cord. Upon physical trauma, the lipid-rich environment of the spinal cord undergoes extensive lipid peroxidation to generate acrolein, a neurotoxic 3-carbon electrophile, which conceivably diffuses up and down the spinal cord, damaging neurons and cell proteins. Using a novel model system comprising co-incubation of injured spinal segments with undamaged tissues, these researchers show that the acrolein-scavenging drug hydralazine blocks protein adduction and cell death in uninvolved spinal segments, greatly strengthening the case for acrolein as a key diffusible mediator of spinal cord injury. The findings highlight how basic mechanistic studies in toxicology can bring great new insights to longstanding medical mysteries”.
Citation source: Philip Burcham: Faculty of 1000 Biology, 5 Sep 2008: |
