Graduate Program in Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences (GPIBS)

Faculty Accepting PhD and/or MS students

2016-17

*This list is as of 7/8/16 and is subject to change. Review regularly for changes.

First Name

Last Name Accepting PhD students

Accepting MS students

BCMB CBP MBIM NEUR PATH PTET

Karen Abbott x x x x Giulia Baldini x x x x Steven Barger x x x x Alexei Basnakian x x x x x Jon Blevins x x Karl Boehme x x x Elisabet Borsheim x x Gunnar Boysen x x x x x Timothy Chambers x x x x Mari Davidson x x Robert Eoff x x William Fantegrossi x x x x Craig Forrest x x Aime Franco x x x x x Robert Griffin x x x x Andrew James x x Thomas Kelly x x x x x Mahmoud Kiaei x x x x x Fusun Kilic x x x x x Linda Larson-Prior x x x Chia Lee x x Lin-Xi Li x x x Jia Liu x x x x x Vladimir Lupashin x x x x x Grover P Miller x x x x Roy Morello x x x x x Roger Pechous x x x Kevin Raney x x Robert Reis x x x x x Jason Stumhofer x x Alan Tackett x x x David Ussery x x x x Daniel Voth x x x Wayne Wahls x x x x Venkat Yeruva x x x x x Donghoon Yoon x x x x x Boris Zybaylov x x x

BCMB-Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Track Leader-Alan Tackett) CBP-Cell Biology and Physiology (Track Leader-Frank Simmen) MBIM-Microbiology and Immunology (Track Leader-Karl Boehme) NEUR-Neuroscience (Track Leader-David Davies) PATH-Pathobiology (Track Leader-Steven Post) PTET-Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Experimental Therapeutics (Track Leader-Lee Ann MacMillan-Crow)

Faculty Accepting PhD Students Karen Abbott, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology klabbott@uams.edu http://biochemistry.uams.edu/faculty/abbott/ Accepting PhD and MS students Our lab is interested in the study of glycans (sugars) that are involved in cellular differentiation and cancer progression in a field of study known as glycomics. The post-translational modification of proteins with glycans changes significantly during development and in the presence of diseases such as cancer. These glycan modifications play important roles in establishing the functions of proteins. We are applying glycoproteomic techniques to identify glycoproteins with tumor-specific glycosylation changes in a variety of human cancers. These glycoprotein biomarkers can be evaluated for use as diagnostic and/or therapeutic targets. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cell Biology and Physiology Giulia Baldini, M.D., Ph.D. Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology GBaldini@uams.edu http://biochemistry.uams.edu/faculty/baldini/ Accepting PhD and MS students The lab studies Melanocortin-4 receptor, a G-protein coupled receptor involved in appetite control. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cell Biology and Physiology

Steven Barger Ph.D. Professor Department of Geriatrics sbarger@uams.edu http://neurobiology.uams.edu/faculty-staff/faculty-secondaryadjunct/steve-w-barger-ph-d/ Accepting PhD students My lab is focused on Alzheimer's disease. Current research is examining the role of diabetes-related disruptions in glucose metabolism and the impact this has on brain function. Evidence indicates that both Alzheimer's and diabetes involve processes connected to inflammation, which has been another of my longstanding areas of research. Tracks: Cell Biology and Physiology; Neuroscience: Pathobiology Alexei Baskankian, M.D., Ph.D. Professor Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology basnakianalexeig@uams.edu http://pharmtox.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/alexei-g-basnakian-m-d-ph-d/ Accepting PhD and MS students Role of DNases in tissue injury and cell death. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Pharmacology, Toxicology and Experimental Therapeutics; Cell Biology and Physiology

Karl Boehme, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology kwboehme@uams.edu http://mbim.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/karl-boehme-ph-d/ Accepting PhD and MS students My laboratory studies mechanisms of reovirus pathogenesis. Elisabet Borsheim, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Pediatrics EBorsheim@uams.edu http://acnc.uamsweb.com/home/faculty-listing/elisabet-borsheim/ Accepting PhD students The overall aim of our program is to promote life-long health starting from the very beginning of a human’s life. Specifically, our research program is focused on studying the effects of physical activity, alone and in combination with nutrition, on optimal growth and development of children, including underlying biological mechanisms. We seek to understand the mechanistic consequences of inactivity and suboptimal nutrition on obesity and related metabolic disorders, and also how maternal physical activity during fetal development (i.e., training during pregnancy) and physical activity during childhood can prevent and/or reverse these conditions.

Gunnar Boysen, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Environmental and Occupational Health gboysen@uams.edu http://publichealth.uams.edu/faculty/faculty-directory/faculty/gunnar-boysen/ Accepting PhD and MS students My research focuses on how environmental and occupational exposure, nutrition, and genetic diversity influence cancer initiation, promotion and progress. Tracks: Pathobiology; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Experimental Therapeutics Timothy Chambers, Ph.D. Professor and Vice Chair Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology ChambersTimothyC@uams.edu http://biochemistry.uams.edu/faculty/chambers/ Accepting PhD and MS students My lab is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of anticancer drugs, in particular microtubule inhibitors such as Taxol, and agents which directly engage the cell death apparatus such as Bcl-2 inhibitors. Our interest is on determining the signaling events that link drug induced damage to destructive or protective cellular processes. We use cell lines, primary cell cultures, and clinically derived specimens, and utilize a broad array of biochemical, cellular and molecular techniques. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Experimental Therapeutics

Robert Eoff, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology rleoff@uams.edu http://biochemistry.uams.edu/faculty/eoff/ Accepting PhD and MS students DNA replication and DNA damage tolerance: mechanisms and roles in cancer. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology William Fantegrossi, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology wefantegrossi@uams.edu http://pharmtox.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/william-e-fantegrossi-ph-d/ Accepting PhD and MS students Research in my laboratory is currently focused on several categories of emerging drugs of abuse, including synthetic cannabinoids (constituents of K2/”Spice” smoking blends), analogues of cathinone (present in “bath salts” preparations), and novel arylcyclohexylamines (related to PCP and ketamine.) In an effort to better understand the biological actions of these emerging drugs of abuse, we use behavioral pharmacology techniques in rodents to compare these compounds with more the well-known drugs of abuse which these emerging drugs are designed to mimic (such as the phytocannabinoid delta9-THC, psychostimulants like MDMA and methamphetamine, and PCP). Tracks: Neuroscience; Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Experimental Therapeutics

Craig Forrest, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology JCForrest@uams.edu http://mbim.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/craig-forrest-ph-d/ Accepting PhD students Mechanisms of gammaherpesvirus pathogenesis Tracks: Microbiology and Immunology Aime Franco, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Physiology and Biophysics ATFranco@uams.edu http://physiology.uams.edu/faculty/aime-franco/ Accepting PhD and MS students In the Franco laboratory we are investigating the role of oncogenes, hormones and microbes in the development of cancer. We use a variety of mouse models complemented with in vitro cell models to better understand initiation, progression and metastasis of cancer. Tracks: Cell Biology and Physiology; Microbiology and Immunology; Pathobiology

Robert Griffin, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Radiation Oncology RJGriffin@uams.edu http://radonc.uams.edu/sample-page/our-team/robert-j-griffin-ph-d/ Accepting PhD students Radiation and Cancer biology, exosomes and cell to cell crosstalk in stem cell differentiation and activity, nanomedicine applications Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cell Biology and Physiology; Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Experimental Therapeutics Andrew James, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Psychiatry GAJames@uams.edu http://psychiatry.uams.edu/research-2/birc/birc-faculty-staff-and-students/ Accepting PhD students Improving functional neuroimaging methodology to understand normative variance in neural encoding of cognition, in order to better translate fMRI research into clinical practice. Tracks: Neuroscience

Thomas Kelly, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Pathology KellyThomasJ@uams.edu https://uams-triprofiles.uams.edu/profiles/display/127520 Accepting PhD and MS students My lab is interested in tumor biology. Our work has focused on extracellular matrix degrading proteases and their roles in facilitating tumor growth and metatstasis. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cell Biology and Physiology; Pathobiology Mahmoud Kiaei, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences MKiaei@uams.edu http://neurobiology.uams.edu/faculty-staff/faculty/mahmoud-kiaei-ph-d/ Accepting PhD and MS students Investigating the mechanism(s) of motor neuron degeneration in ALS, development of efficacious therapeutic strategy for ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. Development of transgenic mouse model for ALS carrying profilin1 mutation. Investigation of mutant profilin1 toxicity. Tracks: Neuroscience; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Pathobiology

Fusun Kilic, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology KilicFusun@uams.edu http://biochemistry.uams.edu/faculty/kilic/ Accepting PhD and MS students Serotonin and serotonin transporter in: 1- placenta and their role for growing embryo; 2-hypertension and thrombosis. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cell Biology and Physiology; Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Experimental Therapeutics Linda Larson-Prior, Ph.D. Professor Department of Psychiatry LJLarsonprior@uams.edu https://uams-triprofiles.uams.edu/profiles/display/1802763 Accepting PhD and MS students The focus of my laboratory (http://eon.wustl.edu) is on the dynamic neural network re-configurations that occur as the brain changes its state under both normal conditions such as sleep, and in abnormal conditions such as induced shifts in conscious awareness (anesthesia) or pathological shifts in cognitive awareness (fluctuating consciousness, sleep parasomnias and neurodegenerative disease states). We have developed the use of simultaneous acquisition of electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to help us better understand these shifts in network connectivity and function as the brain shifts state over the course of 24 hours. We have extended our neuroimaging (fMRI) data to examine changes in large-scale functional brain network connectivity with neural state using graph theoretical techniques. As part of the Human Connectome Project, my laboratory worked with a large international team to define the time-varying connection patterns in over 1200 normal adult human subjects (http://www.humanconnectome.org). The laboratory maintains extensive collaborations with other research teams interested in the use of functional network methods in EEG, MEG, fMRI and EEG/fMRI to examine brain dynamics in both health and disease. Tracks: Neuroscience

Chia Lee, Ph.D. Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology Clee2@uams.edu http://mbim.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/chia-lee-ph-d/ Accepting PhD students Molecular pathogenesis of Staphylococcus aureus Tracks: Microbiology and Immunology Lin-Xi Li, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology lxli@uams.edu http://mbim.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/lin-xi-li-ph-d/ Accepting PhD and MS students Adaptive immunity to Chlamydia female reproductive tract infection Tracks: Microbiology and Immunology

Jia Liu, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology Jliu4@uams.edu http://mbim.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/jia-liu-ph-d/ Accepting PhD and MS students The Liu lab studies host intrinsic innate signaling using poxvirus as probing tool. We also engineer poxviruses for immunotherapy of cancer such as ovarian cancer. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cell Biology and Physiology; Microbiology and Immunology Vladimir Lupashin, Ph.D. Professor Department of Physiology and Biophysics vvlupashin@uams.edu http://physiology.uams.edu/faculty/vladimir-lupashin/ Accepting PhD and MS students My laboratory is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for the generation and maintenance of intra-cellular membrane-bounded compartments. In all eukaryotic cells intracellular membrane trafficking is critical for a range of important cellular functions including protein secretion, post-translational modifications, cell signalling, cell polarization, and cell maintenance. Defects in membrane trafficking can underline, or even exacerbate, a number of human diseases including cancer, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer’s, cystic fibrosis, Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome and Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cell Biology and Physiology; Microbiology and Immunology

Grover P. Miller, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology MillerGroverP@uams.edu http://biochemistry.uams.edu/faculty/miller/ Accepting PhD and MS students My research group investigates the role of enzymes, especially cytochromes P450 (CYP), in the activation and processing of xenobiotic chemicals, such as drugs, pollutants, and dietary compounds, from a chemist’s perspective. We specialize in the identification and validation of biochemical mechanisms through experimental approaches and often develop analytical tools along the way. Nevertheless, our projects are often multi-disciplinary and collaborative to effectively tackle complex challenges by recruiting experts in computational, analytical, and clinical research. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Experimental Therapeutics Roy Morello, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Physiology and Biophysics RMorello@uams.edu http://physiology.uams.edu/faculty/roy-morello/ Accepting PhD and MS students We utilize genetically modified mouse models to understand the function of poorly characterized genes that have a function in skeletal development, homeostasis or disease. A special interest is in proteins that post-translationally modify collagens and in osteogenesis imperfecta. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cell Biology and Physiology; Pathobiology

Roger Pechous, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology RDPechous@uams.edu http://mbim.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/roger-pechous-ph-d/ Accepting PhD and MS students Our laboratory is interested in understanding the pathogenesis of pulmonary infection with Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. We seek to characterize the host/pathogen interactions responsible for disease progression, and to define the mechanisms and effects of inflammation-mediated pulmonary damage that occur during infection. Tracks: Microbiology and Immunology Kevin Raney, Ph.D. Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology RaneyKevinD@uams.edu http://biochemistry.uams.edu/faculty/raney/ Accepting PhD students Protein-nucleic acid interactions Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Robert J.S. Reis, Ph.D. Professor Department of Geriatrics ReisRobertJS@uams.edu http://biochemistry.uams.edu/faculty/secondary/reis/ Accepting PhD and MS students My research focuses on the molecular genetics of longevity and age-associated diseases. I was trained in genetics, and turned to C. elegans as a model system in which to define and characterize genes that govern longevity. Using novel gene-mapping methods we developed, we discovered over 27 highly-significant loci for lifespan, resistance to stresses, and Darwinian fitness. Using chromosomal fine-mapping, we identified one longevity gene as REC-8, a meiotic cohesin that helps hold tetrads together and was thought to be silent in mitotic cells. However, we showed that it actually makes somatic tissues more vulnerable to diverse stresses, while stabilizing the meiotic genome, and its depletion in C. elegans or knockout in haploid yeast increases lifespan. My group was the first to identify the Pirin gene on the human X chromosome as a regulator of post-menopausal bone loss in women, a discovery confirmed in a Chinese population. We also pioneered the role of homologous recombination in the development and progression of myeloma, prostate, and breast cancers. We were the first to note that cells from many different cancer types feature very high levels of homologous recombination, and high expression of the Rad51 recombinase complex that mediates it. We are now working chiefly on genetic factors that regulate lifespan, and that contribute to protein aggregates — key toxic intermediates in neurodegenerative diseases. We have identified proteins in specific aggregate types that are highly enriched in Alzheimer’s cortex, and many of them play functional roles in aggregate formation in C. elegans models. Their toxic effects turn out to be mediated in large part by blockage of proteasomes and autophagosomes. We are combining exploratory proteomics and immunochemistry in human cortex and cultured neurons, with the facile genetics of nematodes, to better understand how aggregates begin, grow, and ultimately disrupt proteostasis. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Pathobiology; Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Experimental Therapeutics Jason Stumhofer, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology jstumhofer@uams.edu http://mbim.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/jason-stumhofer-ph-d/ Accepting PhD students The protozoan parasite Plasmodium is the causative agent of malaria, which remains one of the most prominent public health challenges in the world today. My laboratory is interested in determining how protective antibody responses are generated and maintained in mice after Plasmodium infection, so that we can utilize this information to understand why antibody-mediated immunity is slow to develop in humans. Specifically, we are interested in understanding how memory B cells are generated and maintained after Plasmodium infection, and whether heterogeneity within the memory B cell pool contributes to functional diversity in a secondary infection.

Tracks: Microbiology and Immunology Alan Tackett, Ph.D. Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology AJTackett@uams.edu http://biochemistry.uams.edu/faculty/tackett/ Accepting PhD students My laboratory focuses on histone epigenetic mechanisms that regulate gene transcription and that are coupled to melanoma progression. We utilize a suite of techniques in our studies including proteomics of human biopsies, immunohistochemistry, cell culture, tumorigenicity assays, ChIPseq, biochemical and proteomic approaches for analyses of protein complexes, and cutting-edge mass spectrometry for the analysis of histone post-translational modifications. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Pathobiology David Ussery, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Biomedical Informatics DWUssery@uams.edu Accepting PhD and MS students We are using ‘third generation sequencing technology’ (such as Oxford Nanopore flow cells) to do metagenomics of clinical isolates and environmental samples. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Microbiology and Immunology

Wayne Wahls, Ph.D. Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology WahlsWayneP@uams.edu http://biochemistry.uams.edu/faculty/wahls/ Accepting PhD and MS students Chromosome dynamics, epigenetics, cellular growth controls Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cell Biology and Physiology Venkat Yeruva, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Pediatrics VLYeruva@uams.edu http://arpediatrics.org/index.php?option=com_uams&view=faculty&sap=00026675 Accepting PhD and MS students Our lab focus on two aspects 1. Role of Chlamydia variants in host pathogenesis. 2. Role of infant diet in gastrointestinal tract development and immune function. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cell Biology and Physiology; Microbiology and Immunology

Donghoon Yoon, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Medicine, Myeloma Institute DYoon@uams.edu http://myeloma.uams.edu/about-us/meet-the-experts/research-scientists/donghoon-yoon/ Accepting PhD and MS students We are interested in the pathophysiology of multiple myeloma (MM), a B cell cancer characterized by proliferation of malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow, presence of a monoclonal serum immunoglobulin, and osteolytic lesions. We are investigating roles/mechanisms of PTH axis (PTH signal transduction) in MM development and therapeutic agents that target this axis. Additionally we are exploring the roles of Hypoxia (low oxygen tension) and microRNA (miRNA) in MM. Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Cell Biology and Physiology; Pathobiology Boris Zybaylov, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology BLZybaylov@uams.edu Accepting PhD and MS students I am interested in the role of non-canonical DNA structures and long non-coding RNAs in human disease. I am also interested in clinical applications of microbiome-derived protein biomarkers Tracks: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Microbiology and Immunology; Pharmacology, Toxicology and Experimental Therapeutics

Faculty Accepting MS students only (Please note that faculty above may also accept MS students in addition to PhD students.) Jon Blevins, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology jsblevins@uams.edu http://mbim.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/jon-blevins-ph-d/ We study the pathogenesis of the Borrelia spirochetes that cause Lyme disease and relapsing fever Mari Davidson, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology DavidsonMariK@uams.edu http://biochemistry.uams.edu/faculty/davidson/ Chromosome dynamics in meiosis Daniel Voth, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Microbiology and Immunology dvoth@uams.edu http://mbim.uams.edu/faculty/primary-faculty/daniel-e-voth-ph-d/ Coxiella burnetii interaction with human macrophages