Faculty Research Descriptions, Combined MD/PhD Program at the University of Minnesota

Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics

David Bernlohr: Metabolic control and regulation in adipocytes, obesity/insulin action, lipid metabolism, protein-lipid association, lipid oxidation, proteomics
Reuben Harris: Mechanisms of purposeful mutation relating to innate and adaptive immunity
John Lipscomb: Oxygenase mechanisms, metalloproteins, magnetic resonance techniques, kinetics
Kevin Mayo: Cell adhesion; protein-protein/carbohydrate Interactions
Sharon Murphy: Carcinogen and nicotine metabolism
Douglas Ohlendorf: Protein engineering; structural and molecular biology; X-ray crystallography
Lincoln Potter: Signal transduction, natriuretic peptides, guanylyl gyclase receptors and cGMP
Michel Sanders: How estrogen regulates gene expression
David Thomas: Molecular dynamics in muscle
Howard Towle: Nutritional and hormonal regulation of mammalian gene expression
Kylie Walters: NMR spectroscopy; structural biology; cancer biology; structure-based drug design 

Biomedical Engineering

Robert Bache: Myocardial ischemia; coronary vascular biology; myocardial overload model
Victor Barocas: Ocular biomechanics and transport; tissue-equivalent mechanics; microelectromechnical systems
John Bischof: Experimental and theoretical modeling of heat and mass transfer in biological systems
Stanley Finkelstein: Arterial vascular impedance-compliance analysis, computerized home monitoring for transplant patients, biomedical computer applications
Bin He: Development of quantitative techniques and models for a better understanding of biological systems and aiding clinical diagnosis and treatment
Robert Hebbel: the role of thrombospondin and its receptor in certain cell adhesion events; the biochemical and molecular basis for defects induced by oxidative stress in several situations relevant to human disease
Allison Hubel: The development of cell culture and cryopreservation methods for cellular therapeutic products and engineered tissues
Jack Lewis: Biomechanics of the knee joint and surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament; causes of osteoarthritis
Klearchos Papas: Developing srategies for  management and treatment of diabetes based on tissue engineering and cellular or organ transplantation.
Ronald Siegel: Drug delivery systems, focusing on novel methods for achieving spatiotemporal control of drug release
Robert Tranquillo: Cardiovascular and neural tissue engineering
Jianyi (Jay) Zhang: The use of magnetic resonance spectropscopy technology in the study of cardiance biochemistry

Cellular & Integrative Physiology

David Ingbar:  Alveolar epithelial repair and clearance of alveolar edema fluid
Joseph Metzger: Integrative systems biology and genetic engineering studies of cardiovascular function
Doris Taylor: Development of novel cardiovascular technologies that would treat and cure various heart ailments using molecules and cells instead of mechanical devices

Chemical Engineering

Wei-Shou Hu: Medical devices and instrumentation; membrane transport phenomena and artificial organs
Hans Othmer: Mathematical modeling of biological processes

Chemistry

Edgar Arriaga: Subcellular organization and distribution; subcellular analytical techniques
Michael Bowser: Development of bioanalytic experimental techniques
Gianliugi Veglia: Calcium signaling in muscle;apoptosis induced by cytotoxic chemical

Epidemiology

Aaron Folsom: Cardiovascular disease epidemiology; heart disease surveillance and risk factors
David Jacobs: Cardiovascular disease epidemiology; biometry; diet; physical activity; low serum cholesterol and noncardiovascular disease; nutritional epidemiology and whole grains
Michael Oakes: Quantitative methods, social epidemiology, research ethics
Julie Ross: Molecular epidemiology; childhood cancer, adult leukemia

Medicinal Chemistry

Stephen Hecht: Chemical mechanisms by which carcinogens cause cancer
Lisa Peterson: Epigenetic and genotoxic mechanisms of chemical carcinogenesis
Shana Sturla: Chemoprevention, carcinogenesis, DNA adducts, cancer biomarkers, organic synthesis
Carston R. Wagner: Mechanism of action of novel biologically active substances and their application to the development of potential pharmaceuticals

Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology

Dwight Anderson: Bacteriophage ø29 structure and assembly; understanding the structure and assembly of a complex dsDNA bacterial virus in molecular terms
Peter Bitterman: Translational control of cell fate
Bruce Blazar: Immunobiology of transplantation
Paul Bohjanen: T lymphocyte mRNA stability
Wade A. Bresnahan: Molecular mechanisms of human cytomegalovirus replication and pathogenesis
Bryce Binstadt: Mechanisms by which systemic autoimmune diseases lead to tissue damage
Denis Clohisy: Cell biology of bone resorption
Gary Dunny: The regulation of expression of genetic transfer functions and the regulation of virulence in gram positive bacteria
Michael Farrar: Signal transduction and lymphocyte development
Dale Gregerson: Autoimmunity and tolerance; the role of the nervous system environment in immune tolerance 
Ashley Haase: Viral pathogenesis; HIV
Kristin Hogquist, Ph.D.: T-cell development
Haojie Huang, Ph.D.: The biochemical and molecular aspects of prostate cancer
Stephen Jameson: Regulation of T lymphocyte survival, development and activation by the T cell receptor and by cytokines
Marc Jenkins: CD4 T cell biology
Dan Kaufman: Hematopoietic and endothelial cell development from embryonic stem cells
Nobuaki Kikyo: Nuclear remodeling and cancer
Carol Lange: Signal transduction in breast cancer
Tucker LeBien: Normal and abnormal human B-cell development
Louis Mansky: Cell and molecular biology of HIV and HTLV; HIV drug resistance; HTLV particle assembly and release; evolution of emerging viruses
James McCarthy: Tumor cell adhesion, invasion, metastasis
Stephen McSorley: Immunity to Salmonella
Matthew Mescher: Cytotoxic T lymphocyte activation; signal transduction; immunotherapy
Jeffrey Miller: Natural killer cell development
Daniel Mueller: Molecular control of T-cell immune self-tolerance
Christopher Pennell: Tumor immunology and immunotherapy; molecular immunology
Stephen Rice: Herpes simplex virus gene expression
Leslie Schiff: Virus-host interactions; viral entry; translational control in virus-infected cells; viral immune avoidance mechanisms
Patrick Schlievert: Molecular pathogenesis and immunology; streptococci and staphylococci
Yoji Shimizu: Molecular mechanisms of cell adhesion and migration
Amy Skubitz: Cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions
Peter Southern: Human retrovirus transmission and pathogenesis
Daniel Vallera: Tumor immunology
Greg Vercellotti: Vascular biology; inflammation; atherosclerosis; sickle cell anemia
SingSing Way: T cell response to infection
Carol Wells: In vivo and in vitro interactions of microbes with intestinal epithelial cells
Doug Yee: Growth regulation of breast cancer
Xianzheng Zhou Human cancer immunology and immunotherapy, transplantation immunology

Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics 

Vivian Bardwell: Regulation of gene expression; developmental mechanisms; human genetics
Judith Berman: Chromosome, chromatin and telomere biology using yeast molecular genetics
Susan Berry: Growth hormone action and responses to inflammatory stimuli
Kathleen Conklin: Oncogenes, retroviruses and transcriptional regulation
Ryoko Kuriyama: Cell cycle and cell growth control in mammalian cells
David Largaespada: Use of mouse genetics and insertional mutagenesis to identify and understand the genes that play a role in cancer
Richard Linck: Molecular biology of microtubules in centrioles, cilia, and flagella in normal cellular function, development and disease
R. Scott McIvor: Gene therapy for genetic diseases and cancer
Michael O'Connor Molecular genetics of development, growth factor signaling and gene regulation 
Harry Orr: Molecular genetics of mammalian development
Anna Petryk: Mammalian development and the molecular mechanisms underlying tissue differentiation and organogenesis
Mary Porter: Cell and molecular biology of microtubule motors
Laura Ranum: Understanding how repeat expansions cause myotonic dystrophy and ataxia
Scott Selleck: Regulation of growth factor signaling; proteoglycan modulation of morphogen function; nervous system assembly and synapse development; model organisms and drug discovery
Clifford Steer: Membranes and receptors, cell interactions, gene expression, gene therapy, apoptosis
Brian Van Ness: Molecular immunology; lymphoid cancers

Neuroscience

James Ashe: Neural control movement
Karen Hsiao Ashe: Transgenetics and cell biology of Alzehimer's and prion disease
David Brown: Gastroenteric neurobiology and neuropharmacology; opioid and cannabinoid pharmacology
Matthew Chafee: Neural basis of spatial cognition and working memory, cortical system dysfunction in psychiatric disease
Timothy Ebner: Electrophysiology of motor control in the CNS; voltage sensitive neuroimaging and functional magnetic resonance imaging
William Engeland: Neuroendocrine physiology, tissue regeneration
Martha Flanders: Neural mechanisms of motor pattern generation
Michael Georgieff:  The relation between nutritional deficits and brain development; neonatal intensive care follow-up
Apostolos Georgopuolos: Chronic unitary recording in behaving animals, multi-unit recording techniques, quantitative analysis of neuronal populations and use of information theory
Glenn Giesler, Jr. Neural mechanism of pain
Christopher Honda: Somatic sensory system
Paul Iaizzo: Applied physiology and translational outcomes research
Daniel Kersten: Visual perception, computational vision, neuroimaging
Paulo Kofuji: Structure and function of ion channels   
Lorene Lanier
: Axon guidance growth cone motility
Alice Larson: Neurochemical medication of pain transmission and narcotic analgesia
Paul Letourneau: Nerve growth cone motility; neuronal interactions with molecules of extracellular matrix
Walter Low: Development of cell and gene therapies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors
Linda McLoon: Muscle diseases, and mechanisms of muscle repair and remodeling
Steven McLoon: Developmental neuroscience, cell biology of cell determination, axon growth and synapse formation
Paul Mermelstein: Activity-dependent gene expression and neuronal plasticity
Robert Miller: Retinal physiology/excitatory amino acids
Yasushi Nakagawa: Molecular mechanisms of mammalian forebrain development
Eric Newman: Physiology and functions of glial cells
John Osborn: Pathophysiology of hypertension
Jose Pardo: Brain imaging, cognitive neuroscience, biology of psychiatric disease
Donald Simone: Anatomical, physiological, and pharmacological mechanisms underlying pain sensation
John Soechting: Neuroscience/motor control and sensorimotor integration; quantitative three-dimensional arm and hand movement analysis, computational neuroscience and modeling approaches
Kamil Ugurbil: Research in Magnetic Resonance Imaging and spectroscopy at high magnetic fields
Lance Zirpel: Cellular and molecular mechanisms of central neuron survival; development of neuronal calcium homeostasis

Pharmacology

Jordan Holtzman: Biochemical problems in drug metabolism and drug toxicity
Ping-Yee Law: Opioid receptor signal transduction pathways/G-protein and other cellular components; cellular adaptation mechanism to chronic agonist activation
Horace Loh: Molecular structure of opioid receptors; biochemical basis ofopioid tolerance/dependence; pharmacological and biochemical properties of opioid peptides; interactions of opioids with the immune system
Jonathan S. Marchant: Application of cellular imaging technologies to study how cells behave in response to stimulation
Kirill MartemyanovRegulation of G protein signaling in neurons.
S. Ramakrishnan: Ovarian cancer, biology and therapy
Stanley Thayer: Molecular and cellular aspects of calcium regulation in 
neurons
Li-Na Wei: Vitamin A metabolism and receptors
Kevin Wickman: Neurotransmitters, hormones, and drugs of abuse elicit complex responses at the cellular level by modulating the function of a variety of enzymes and ion channels
George Wilcox: Effects of various agents on the spinal mechanisms that modulate pain

Note: Many faculty preceptors are members of more than one graduate program. Please be sure to visit the web site of the graduate programs listed here.


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Last modified on Monday Oct 20, 2008

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