Janet L Funk

Janet L Funk

Professor, Medicine
Professor, Nutritional Sciences
Professor, Cancer Biology - GIDP
Professor, Physiological Sciences - GIDP
Clinical Instructor, Pharmacy Practice-Science
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
(520) 626-3242

Work Summary

Janet Funk's work includes a focus on metastatic breast cancer that spans the research spectrum from bench to bedside, translational arthritis studies of the pharmacokinetics and safety of turmeric, and collaborative endocrinological studies evaluating the effects of obesity and insulin resistance on bone development in Hispanic girls, as well as effects of obesity on breast cancer risk in older women.

Research Interest

Janet L. Funk, MD, FACP, is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Dr. Funk leads a federally-funded research team that is focused on identifying new treatments for chronic diseases that have strong inflammatory components, including metabolic bone diseases, such as arthritis, bone tumors and osteoporosis, and cardiovascular diseases, including diabetes. Recent studies have focused on the use of medicinal plants that have historically been used to treat inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis. By understanding whether and how these plants work in blocking inflammatory pathways in the body, we are striving to harness the power of nature and the wisdom of our ancestors to indentify new treatments for diseases that are common in our modern society. Discoveries we have made at the lab bench have allowed us to move forward into the clinics, building upon the old to discover the new.

Publications

Wright, L. E., Frye, J. B., Timmermann, B. N., & Funk, J. L. (2010). Protection of Trabecular Bone in Ovariectomized Rats by Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) Is Dependent on Extract Composition. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY, 58(17), 9498-9504.
Funk, J. L., Frye, J. B., Oyarzo, J. N., Chen, J., Zhang, H., & Timmermann, B. N. (2016). Anti-Inflammatory Effects of the Essential Oils of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) in Experimental Rheumatoid Arthritis. PharmaNutrition, 4(3), 123-131.

Ginger and its extracts have been used traditionally as anti-inflammatory remedies, with a particular focus on the medicinal properties of its phenolic secondary metabolites, the gingerols. Consistent with these uses, potent anti-arthritic effects of gingerol-containing extracts were previously demonstrated by our laboratory using an experimental model of rheumatoid arthritis, streptococcal cell wall (SCW)-induced arthritis. In this study, anti-inflammatory effects of ginger's other secondary metabolites, the essential oils (GEO), which contain terpenes with reported phytoestrogenic activity, were assessed in female Lewis rats with SCW-induced arthritis. GEO (28 mg/kg/d ip) prevented chronic joint inflammation, but altered neither the initial acute phase of joint swelling nor granuloma formation at sites of SCW deposition in liver. Pharmacologic doses of 17-β estradiol (200 or 600 μg/kg/d sc) elicited the same pattern of anti-inflammatory activity, suggesting that GEO could be acting as a phytoestrogen. However, contrary to this hypothesis, GEO had no in vivo effect on classic estrogen target organs, such as uterus or bone. En toto, these results suggest that ginger's anti-inflammatory properties are not limited to the frequently studied phenolics, but may be attributable to the combined effects of both secondary metabolites, the pungent-tasting gingerols and as well as its aromatic essential oils.

Funk, J. L., & Sowers, J. R. (2006). Commentary: Women with type 2 diabetes have increased risk of fracture. North American Menopause Society, First to Know.
Funk, J. L., Oyarzo, J. N., Frye, J. B., Chen, G., Lantz, R. C., Jolad, S. D., Sólyom, A. M., & Timmermann, B. N. (2006). Turmeric extracts containing curcuminoids prevent experimental rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of natural products, 69(3), 351-5.
BIO5 Collaborators
Janet L Funk, Clark Lantz

Turmeric has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for inflammatory disorders including arthritis. On the basis of this traditional usage, dietary supplements containing turmeric rhizome and turmeric extracts are also being used in the western world for arthritis treatment and prevention. However, to our knowledge, no data are available regarding antiarthritic efficacy of complex turmeric extracts similar in composition to those available for use as dietary supplements. Therefore, the studies described here were undertaken to determine the in vivo efficacy of well-characterized curcuminoid-containing turmeric extracts in the prevention or treatment of arthritis using streptococcal cell wall (SCW)-induced arthritis, a well-described animal model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Arthritic index, a clinical measure of joint swelling, was used as the primary endpoint for assessing the effect of extracts on joint inflammation. An essential oil-depleted turmeric fraction containing 41% of the three major curcuminoids was efficacious in preventing joint inflammation when treatment was started before, but not after, the onset of joint inflammation. A commercial sample containing 94% of the three major curcuminoids was more potent in preventing arthritis than the essential oil-depleted turmeric fraction when compared by total curcuminoid dose per body weight. In conclusion, these data (1) document the in vivo antiarthritic efficacy of an essential oil-depleted turmeric fraction and (2) suggest that the three major curcuminoids are responsible for this antiarthritic effect, while the remaining compounds in the crude turmeric extract may inhibit this protective effect.

Funk, J. L., Frye, J. B., Davis-Gorman, G., Spera, A. L., Bernas, M. J., Witte, M. H., Weinand, M. E., Timmermann, B. N., McDonagh, P. F., & Ritter, L. (2013). Curcuminoids Limit Neutrophil-Mediated Reperfusion Injury in Experimental Stroke by Targeting the Endothelium. MICROCIRCULATION, 20(6), 544-554.