Administration Basic Sciences Clinical Sciences Centers of Excellence
 

Research Interests of Faculty Members

Judy Crabtree, PhD, Assistant Professor (Genetics)

  • Understanding biological processes & epigenetics of endocrine tumor disorders.
  • Candidate gene transcriptional regulation via methylation in tumors from both human and the Eker rat, and the functional consequences of this epigenetic regulation in uterine fibroid pathogenesis.  
  • Role of risk factors such as race and obesity in uterine fibroid etiology.
  •  The role of progesterone and other hormones in the epigenetic regulation of menin expression and function in Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type1 (MEN1).

Ed Grabczyk, PhD , Associate Professor (Genetics)

  • Genetic disorders caused by unstable  DNA repeats such as Friedreich ataxia
  • Interactions between transcription, DNA structure and DNA repair that elicit repeat expansion diseases.

Paula Gregory, PhD , Associate Professor (Genetics)

  • Research in genetics education for teachers, students, the public, and health care professionals
  • Psychological barriers to understanding genetics information and the impact of predictive genetic testing on family dynamics

Andrew D. Hollenbach, PhD , Associate Professor (Genetics)

  • The regulation of transcription factors through phosphorylation
  • Biochemical mechanisms of chromosomal translocation gene products in cancer formation

Wanguo Liu, PhD , Associate Professor (Genetics)

  • Genetics and biological roles of Wnt signaling in GI tumor development
  • Genetics and functional analysis of DNA damage-response defects in prostate cancer susceptibility

Diptasri Mandal, PhD , Associate Professor (Genetics)

  • Genetic linkage and segregation analysis of complex disorders, in particular humans cancers
  • Investigation of properties of statistical genetic analysis methods through computer simulation

Udai Pandey, PhD, Assistant Professor (Genetics)

  • Utilizing Drosophila melanogaster as a model system (fruit fly) to apply the power of genetics to understand the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration
  • Investigating the role of protein degradation pathways in neurodegeneration

Fern Tsien, PhD , Instructor (Genetics)

  • Chromosome instability in cancer
  • Genetics education, especially in the fields of Cytogenetics and Epigenetics
  • Correlation between DNA methylation with constitutive heterochromatin and gene silencing
  • Genetics of the Acadian population

Lisa Moreno-Walton, M.D., Assistant Professor of Research (Genetics)

  • The impact of alcohol and substance abuse on outcomes from trauma (especially mortality homeostatic maintenance, and the development of sepsis)
  • Issues implicit in consenting trauma patients for participation in research
  • Intergenerational learning and teaching

 Conjoint Faculty:

Yan Cui, PhD , Assistant Professor (Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology)

  • Genetic modification of hematopoietic stem cells and targeted transgene expression
  • Modulation of host immune function for the treatment of cancer and/or autoimmune diseases

Michael Lan, PhD , Associate Professor (Pediatrics)

  • Molecular mechanisms of islet cell growth and differentiation
  • Genetic defects in diabetes mellitus

Donna Neumann, PhD, Assistant Research Professor (Ophthalmology)|

  • Epigenetic Modifications Regulating Ocular HSV-1 Latency and Reactiviation

Donald Mercante, PhD , Professor (Biostatistics; School of Public Health)

  • Statistical methodology and experimental design
  • Clinical trials

Augusto Ochoa, MD, PhD , Professor (Pediatrics) and Director,
       Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center

  • T cell function
  • Cytokine production
  • Macrophage-T cell interaction
  • Immune regulation
  • Immune dysfunction and disease
  • Tumor Immunology

Alistair Ramsay , Professor (Medicine and Microbiology) and Director of the
                            LSUHSC Gene Therapy Program

  • Immunology of HIV/AIDS
  • Immunology of TB infection
  • Development of novel strategies for vaccination

Guoshun Wang, DVM, PhD , Assistant Professor (Microbiology, Parasitology and Immunology)

  • Efficient and persistent gene delivery for cystic fibrosis
  • Airway defense to viral and bacterial infections

 Emeritus Faculty:

Bronya J. B. Keats, PhD , Professor and Former Head (Genetics)

  • Identification and characterization of genes for hearing loss and ataxia
  • Genetic epidemiology of common diseases

 

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