Biology

My research focuses on advancing our understanding of how and why aging impacts the brain and associated cognitive abilities. I use neuroimaging scans of brain function and structure together with measures of cognition and health status to identify those factors that influence brain aging and the risk for Alzheimer's disease. My work also includes identifying how health and lifestyle interventions can help to delay or prevent the effects of brain aging and Alzheimer's disease.

We study how neuronal axons and their terminals respond to stress and damage, and how the molecules activated by stress and damage execute decisions about whether to repair themselves or self-destruct. We hope to identify target molecules that could be used to prevent axon and nerve terminal loss in diseases ranging from diabetic neuropathy to Alzheimer's disease.

Unravel the phylodynamics and transmission-specific determinants of emerging plant virus/fastidious bacteria-insect vector complexes, and translate new knowledge to abate pathogen spread in food systems.

The Buchan lab studies how cells regulate gene expression at the level of cytoplasmic messenger RNA (mRNA), the templates of protein synthesis. Areas of particular interest include mRNA-protein bodies called stress granules and P-bodies, which regulate mRNA function, cell signaling, and are implicated in the pathology of viral replication, various cancers and neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS.

Peptides and proteins play a vital role in almost every cellular process in living organisms. Our research discovers and determines structural information on peptides and proteins to design drugs to more effectively treat human disease.

We aim to understand the mechanisms of HPV infection, the cellular responses to HPV infection, and how the interplay between host and virus influences the outcome

We investigate the myriad of ways microbes living in the wild (soil, water and air) affect Earth processes and our health.

I am investigating a human connective tissue disorder in mice. I am also investigating the role of gut bacteria in colon cancer risk in both a mouse model of colon cancer and in humans with colon cancer.

My laboratory studies how the retina takes visual information about the world and transmits it to the brain. We are trying to understand how this signaling responds to changing amounts of background light and becomes dysfunctional in diabetes.

Upon infection, viruses must transport their genomes into cells and produce progeny, often under a strict time deadline. We study how the viral proteins interact with with each other and with host cell proteins to efficiently accomplish these processes.

Fabian-Xosé Fernandez's work includes a focus on parsing the logic used by the circadian pacemaker to interpret multidimensional light patterns, developing light-emitting diode (LED) photo-stimulation protocols to improve mental and physical health across the lifespan, and understanding the role that nocturnal wakefulness plays in suicide risk and developing countermeasures centered around light exposure.

Bernard Futscher's lab is studying the molecular origins of human cancer. Understanding epigenetic dysfunction in human cancer has been Dr. Futscher's primary research focus since establishing his own independent laboratory. This epigenetic research has moved into the area of noncoding RNAs and their potential role in cancer cell immortality.

I examine the molecular functions of the different cells found in the tissues and organs of plants and animals and how they combine these functions to optimize the health and vigor of the organism.

The Garcia laboratory works to understand the molecular mechanisms of lung inflammatory processes, particularly those producing lung edema or vascular leak. The laboratory focus is to investigate gene discovery, protein function assessment, SNP discovery, genetic manipulation, in vivo testing, and candidate gene and biomarker identification, working to translate basic research into potential novel clinical therapies.

The broad objective of our research program in Bioorganic Chemistry and Chemical Biology is to construct protein therapeutics, protein mimetics, biomaterials, and biosensors. Our research at the University of Arizona is highly multidisciplinary and utilizes techniques in organic synthesis, biochemistry, molecular biology, and a host of physical characterization methods. Our research motto is simple: Unraveling mysteries and Enabling discoveries.

Our lab has a new treatment for heart failure. We have a biodegradable graft seeded with adult human cells that we put on the surface of the heart. The potential is to regenerate new heart muscle

Public health entomologist and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) advocate working on pests that impact human health, and IPM in the built environment.

Our research is focused on elucidating the structure and function of titin and nebulin, two large filamentous proteins found in muscle. We use a range of model systems with a major focus on KO and TG mouse models. The techniques that we use range from single molecule mechanics, (immuno) electron microscopy, exon microarray analysis, in vitro motility assays, low angle X-ray diffraction, cell physiology (including calcium imaging), muscle mechanics, and isolated heart physiology.

The research in my laboratory is focused on identifying the components and molecular mechanisms regulating actin architecture in cardiac and skeletal muscle during normal development and disease. Control of actin filament lengths and dynamics is important for cell motility and architecture and is regulated in part by capping proteins that block elongation and depolymerization at both the fast-growing (barbed) and slow-growing (pointed) ends of the filaments.

Stefano Guerra's work includes an epidemiologic study, which used a household-based approach to assess prevalence and longitudinal changes in respiratory health. Other biomarker projects include a study on molecular biomarkers of asthma and COPD from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

Discovery of natural products from plants and their associated microorganisms as potential drugs to treat cancer. Application of medicinal chemistry approach for structure-activity relationship studies and to obtain compounds for preclinical evaluation. Development of alternative agricultural systems for sustainable utilization of natural resources.

We learn history from the genomes of humans, tumors, and other species. Our studies reveal how evolution works at the molecular level, offering fundamental insight into how humans and pathogens adapt to challenges.

Jeremiah Hackett’s research interests are in the areas of genome evolution, the evolution of photosynthesis and the physiology of harmful algae. Part of his research investigates how eukaryotes acquire plastids through endosymbiosis and how this process influences genome evolution through gene transfer. Another main area of research is the ecology and physiology of harmful algae. His lab is using microarrays to determine global gene expression patterns of harmful algae under various growth conditions. These gene expression profiles will be used to determine the factors that lead to harmful algal blooms in the oceans.

Michael Hammer has headed a productive research lab in human evolutionary genetics. His lab were early adopters of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology successfully employed NGS methods to identify molecular lesions causing neurodevelopmental disorders in undiagnosed children. His lab is also currently pursuing studies to identify modifier genes that alter the expression of major genes and how they contribute to phenotypic heterogeneity in Mendelian disorders.

We are involved in banking clinical specimens obtained from various patients for use in biomarker discovery and clinical therapies. Clinical therapies may include regenerative medicine, transplant or gene therapy.

The long-term goal of research in my lab is to understand the molecular mechanisms of muscle contraction. I am especially interested in how contractile proteins of muscle sarcomeres regulate the force and speed of contraction in the heart. The question is important from both basic science and clinical perspectives because mutations in sarcomere proteins of muscle are a leading cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in the young and a prevalent cause of heart failure in adults. Myosin binding protein-C (MyBP-C) is a muscle regulatory protein that speeds actomyosin cycling kinetics in response to adrenaline (b-adrenergic stimuli) and is one of the two most commonly affected proteins linked to HCM. Currently, the major research focus in my lab is understanding the mechanisms by which cMyBP-C regulates contractile speed and mechanisms by which mutations in cMyBP-C cause disease.

My research is directed at producing enhanced traits in soybean that improves its use and sustainability to provide for growing global needs. In soybeans have produced enhanced seeds that contain much more protein content while minimizing or eliminating several food allergens and anti-nutritional proteins. This will provide better food and animal feed.

Chengcheng Hu has worked on a broad range of areas including cancer, occupational health, HIV/AIDS, and aging. He has extensive collaborative research in conducting methodological research in the areas of survival analysis, longitudinal data, high-dimensional data, and measurement error. His current methodological interest, arising from studies of viral and human genetics and biomarkers, is to develop innovative methods to investigate the relationship between high-dimensional information and longitudinal outcomes or survival endpoints.

The Hulme group is focused on small molecule drug design and developing enabling chemical methodologies to expedite the drug discovery process. The development of small molecule inhibitors of kinases is of particular interest.

Molly Hunter works to understand the role of heritable microbial symbionts in the biology of herbivorous arthropod, or pest biology. Current projects include: Investigating Rickettsia in the sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, and investigating interactions between Cardinium and Wolbachia, in whitefly parasitoids in the genus Encarsia and Eretmocerus.

Laurence Hurley's long-time research interest is in molecular targeting of DNA, first by covalent binders (CC-1065 and psorospermin), then as compounds that target protein–DNA complexes (pluramycins and Et 743), and most recently as four-stranded DNA structures (G-quadruplexes and i-motifs). He was the first to show that targeting G-quadruplexes could inhibit telomerase (Sun et al. [1997] J. Med. Chem., 40, 2113) and that targeting G-quadruplexes in promoter complexes results in inhibition of transcription (Siddiqui-Jain et al. [2002] Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 99, 11593).

Our lab focuses on large-scale –omics datasets, high-throughput computing, and big data analytics. We leverage these technologies to answer questions related to the relationship between microbes, their hosts, and the environment. In particular, we focus on viral-host interactions and co-evolution given environmental factors (i) in aquatic systems and (ii) for phage treatment of diabetic foot ulcers.

Metals such as calcium and iron are essential to living organisms. Some metals in excess, like copper, are detrimental to bacteria. My laboratory studies this phenomenon in Streptococcus pneumoniae to find novels method for killing pathogenic bacteria.

John Kececioglu's research is in applied algorithms, with an emphasis on bioinformatics and computational biology, including: multiple sequence alignment, inverse parametric alignment, sequence assembly, and genome rearrangement. Software developed by his group includes Opal, a tool for multiple sequence alignment, Facet, a tool for alignment accuracy estimation, InverseOpt, a library for inverse parametric optimization, Ipa, a tool for inverse sequence alignment, and AlignAlign, a tool for optimally aligning alignments.

Minkyu Kim's research interests are in the areas of biopolymers and biomaterials for advanced national defense and healthcare. He is currently working to develop functional biopolymer materials for the treatment of antimicrobial-resistance diseases and atherosclerosis.

Walter Klimecki's research program involves the balance between the particular DNA sequence “versions” of genes that we inherit from our ancestors, and the particular environmental exposures that we experience throughout our lives. The Klimecki lab studies diseases resulting from human exposure to arsenic, contributing to a better understanding of the inherited genetic differences between people that result in altered chemical processing of arsenic after it enters the body.

I use human genetic data to find associations of genetic markers with complex traits and diseases, to shed light on disease pathophysiology, causal pathways, and health disparities, and to inform precision medicine.

Michael Kuhns' research program is focused on (i) increasing our basic understanding of how T cell fate decisions are made (e.g. development, activation, differentiation, effector functions), and (ii) increasing their working knowledge of how to manipulate these decisions to direct T cells towards a desired outcome, such as increasing responses to vaccines or tumors, preventing transplant rejection, or attenuating autoimmunity.

https://www.engr.arizona.edu/~klaksari/

We are interested in the effects of early life exposures to environmental toxicants on lung growth and development. We determine if the early life exposures leads to adult disease.

Julie Ledford's research focuses on respiratory disease, and genetic and molecular mechanisms of allergic airway diseases in children.

Xianchun Li's research aims to use genetics to shed light on the defense signaling of plants and the counterdefense of herbivorous insects, which may result in the design of new insecticides for crops like corn, in defense against the corn earworm. Additionally, Dr. Li's research is to define, globally, the regulatory triangle between nuclear receptors (NRs), their ligands, and cytochrome P450s (P450s) in Drosophila melanogaster, and to investigate the molecular mechanisms of Bt and conventional insecticide resistance.

Kirsten Limesand's research program has its foundation in radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction; mechanisms of damage, clinical prevention measures, and restoration therapies. They utilize a number of techniques including: genetically engineered mouse models, real-time RT/PCR, immunoblotting, immunohistochemistry, primary cultures, siRNA transfections, and procedures to quantitate salivary gland physiology and integrate this information in order to understand the complete system.

Our current research program use an integrative approach at the whole animal, isolated organ, cellular and molecular levels to investigate developmental adaptations in pancreatic β-cells and insulin sensitivity that result from early life risk factors, such as intrauterine growth restriction, and increase risk of glucose intolerance and Diabetes in later life.

Precise diagnosis and treatment of disease requires an ability to target agents to specific tissues and cell types within those tissues. We are developing agents that exhibit cell type specificity for these purposes.

The Marty Lab uses mass spectrometry to study interactions of membrane proteins, peptides, and lipids within nanoscale membrane mimetics.

Understanding how genes and genomes are shaped over many generations by the environment in which organisms live in. We also aim to examine how these changes accumulate and might facilitate the genetic divergence between populations and eventually possibly the origin of species. Lastly we aim to leverage the power of genomics to understand the evolution of insecticide resistance in agricultural pests and to find solution to their management.

Prof. Euan McLeod studies optical systems for sensing and imaging objects at the nanoscale. His lab uses optical tweezers to "print" photonic devices at higher resolution out of more types of materials than other 3D printers. Euan also works on cost-effective field-portable lensfree holographic microscopes that provide high resolution across an ultra-large field of view. These microscopes are used for biomedical sensing and environmental air quality monitoring.

We aim to constrain the microbial drivers of soil-atmosphere trace gas fluxes across a range of scales. We constrain the genetic traits for trace gas metabolism and develop new tools for measuring genes and gases in heterogenous soil systems. New understanding is evaluated across a range of model to natural ecosystems where microbial trace gas cycling occurs in the context of environmental forcings and interactions. Lab website: www.laurameredith.com

I am a neuroscientist who studies the impact of aging and neurodegenerative disease on voice and speech. My laboratory seeks a better understanding of the molecules, cells and circuits in the brain that support vocal production.

We investigate how proteins work in healthy organisms and how they fail in disease. We determine the atomic structures of proteins and the underlying biochemistry that gives rise to protein function. We also develop new proteins as drug targets for treating cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Mosher studies methylation of DNA in plants and how these epigenetic marks are transmitted from parent to offspring.

All viruses hijack host cell machinery to facilitate their replication. My lab investigates how the production of infectious viral progeny relies on host metabolism. Our overall goal is to guide the development of novel antiviral therapies using information regarding how viruses hijack host metabolism.

Renquist Lab Research aims to address the causes and consequent diseases of obesity. To this end we have research focused on 1) type 2 diabetes and obesity associated hypertension, 2) development of effective, ligand-directed, chemotherapeutic for cancer, and 3) central nervous system control of visceral blood flow and food intake.

My laboratory aims to identify the genetic and environmental reasons that certain individuals are predisposed to develop complex diseases like heart disease. We use new technologies, experimental, and computational approaches to identify molecular patterns indicative of disease predisposition.

Smart grid and smart home, VLSI system for biomedical applications, multi-core design, data centric systems, reliable systems and circuits, DNA computing, and synthetic biology

How do bacteria "talk" to the body? How does the body reply to the microbe? How does this conversation affect your health and well being?

Using engineered biomaterials and cell therapy, my lab develops organ-on-chip systems and artificial implantable organs/devices for diagnostics and therapeutics. I focus on student-centered teaching with hands-on learning experience. I'm a strong advocate for women, URM, first-gen, and non-traditional students (veterans) in STEM education.

We combine chemical and computer vision approaches to discover how regenerative tissues process environmental information to promote accurate cell fate decisions and prevent uncontrolled cell growth.

We study the biodiversity, biogeography, evolutionary origins, and ecological roles of plant-associated microorganisms. We use a combination of traditional culture-based microbiology, functional assays, and next-generation 'omics tools to study microbial symbiont communities in diverse lineages of land plants at scales ranging from local to global. We are interested in characterizing the biotic and abiotic factors shaping the assembly of plant-associated fungal communities, how community structure and diversity impacts ecosystem function, and the evolutionary dynamics of fungal symbiont evolution in the context of closely related pathogens and saprotrophs.

Around the world, diarrhea kills ninety children every hour. My laboratory uses the latest technology to understand how bacteria cause diarrhea in children. In addition to providing clues for new ways to prevent disease, our research helps us understand how the body maintains good health.

Harnessing 15MY of natural variation in the genus Oryza (rice) to help solve the 10-billion people question: i.e. how do we feed our world without destroying our world.

We are working to uncover the molecular mechanisms of aging and neurodegenerative diseases using a combination of genetic, computational and pharmacological tools, and a diverse array of experimental models. We also seek to develop therapies for ALS and related neurodegenerative diseases.