Collaborative Projects

Implications of DNA Replication Fork Proteins for Cancer (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Karen Almeida, Rhode Island College
Mentor: Susan Gerbi, Brown University 

Abstract:  A unifying feature of cancer cells is an unstable genome. To achieve normal development, a cell must accurately coordinate pathways affecting DNA replication, chromosome segregation and DNA damage repair. Mishaps in any of these procedures can lead to instability in the genome and ultimately to a higher incidence of cancer development. More

Fate of Mercury Contaminants in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  David Taylor, Roger Williams University
Mentor:  Warren Prell, Brown University

Abstract:  Mercury (Hg) is a toxic environmental contaminant affecting human health, and exposure occurs mainly through dietary uptake of contaminated fish. To minimize Hg exposure, public health officials affiliated with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and state agencies issue consumption advisories to inform citizens of the possible health risks associated with eating fish. More

Mechanisms of CpG-ODN's Protection against UV-induced Cell Death (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Yinsheng Wan, Providence College 
Mentor: John Marshall, Brown University

Abstract:  UV radiation from sunlight is a major etiologic factor of nonmelanoma skin cancer that occupies half of cancer in the United States and remains as a serious social and economical concern. If untreated, skin cancer can be life-threatening. While more efficient strategies against skin cancer are under development, understanding the mechanisms of how skin cancer is induced and developed upon chronic UV radiation becomes urgent. More

Faculty Development Projects

Defining a Role for Bcp1 in the DNA Damage Response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Deborah Britt, Rhode Island College
Mentor:  Anatoly Zhitkovich, Brown University

Abstract:  Maintenance of genomic integrity is essential for all organisms, and cells respond to DNA damage with a tightly orchestrated sequence of events that coordinates cell cycle arrest and DNA repair. More

Identification of Small, Non-Coding RNA Genes in the Bacterium Shewanella oneidensis (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Brett Pellock, Providence College
Mentor:  Mary Allen, Wellesley College

Abstract:  Maintenance of genomic integrity is essential for all organisms, and cells respond to DNA damage with a tightly orchestrated sequence of events that coordinates cell cycle arrest and DNA repair. More

Proposal Development Projects

Maintaining DNA Replication Fork Stability:  Role of the Fanconi Anemia Pathway (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Niall Howlett, University of Rhode Island
Mentor:  Ralph Scully, Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital and Harvard University

Abstract: Small, non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) are a relatively recently discovered class of genes that bacteria use to regulate the expression of other genes in response to changing environmental conditions. sRNAs function by base pairing to their mRNA targets and mediating either positive or negative regulatory outcomes. However, sRNA genes in bacteria are difficult to identify, since they are relatively small genes and they do not contain the protein-coding signals that demarcate protein-coding genes. More

Role of the Striatal-Specific RGS Protein, RGS9 2, in Cellular Signaling Pathways  (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Abraham Kovoor, University of Rhode Island
Mentor:  Ronald Stanton Duman, Yale University 

Abstract:  This proposal describes an extension of the studies funded by a previous grant from the INBRE program to this investigator on the cellular functions of the striatal specific RGS protein, RGS9-2. More

Constitutive Androstane Receptor (CAR) Activation and Intracellular Transport (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Matthew Stoner, University of Rhode Island
Mentor:  Karen Lounsbury, University of Vermont 

Abstract:  The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) is unique among nuclear receptors because it is expressed almost exclusively in hepatocytes, remains in an active conformation in the cytoplasm and is activated by many chemicals with which it does not directly interact.  More

Student Training Projects

Identification of New Drugs Against Amebiasis by Targeting Protozoan Anaerobic Metabolism (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Avelina Espinosa, Roger Williams University
Mentor:  Dan Eichinger, New York University

Abstract:  Amebiasis is the second leading parasitic cause of death worldwide and its causative agent is the anaerobic protozoan Entamoeba histolytica. Approximately 12% of the world’s population is infected. Clinical symptoms manifest in nearly 50 million people annually, causing 100,000 fatalities worldwide. More

Gene Divergence of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptors (AHR) in Early Vertebrates (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Rebeka Merson, Rhode Island College
Mentor:  Mark Hahn, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute  

Abstract:  Adverse health effects from exposure to dioxin-like compounds depend on activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AHR), induction of genes encoding biotransformation enzymes, and dyregulation of numerous genes outside the toxic response pathway. More

Biomarker Arrays for Tobacco-Related Cancer Diagnostics (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Bernard Munge, Salve Regina University
Mentor:  James Rusling, University of Connecticut

Abstract:  This Proposal addresses the area of Biomedical Diagnostics for Early Detection of Cancer Biomarker. Despite recent improvements in early detection and treatment, cancer is still one of the major causes of death in the world. Early cancer detection coupled with new therapies holds the best current hope to change this fact. More

Characterization of Pyrethroids on Human Voltage-Sensitive Calcium Channels  (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Steven Symington, Salve Regina University
Mentor:  J. Marshall Clark, University of Massachusetts - Amherst 

Abstract:  Pyrethroids are widely used insecticides, especially in urban environments, to protect agricultural commodities and control vectors of human diseases. It is well established that pyrethroids modulate voltage-sensitive sodium channels; however, recent evidence suggests that voltage-sensitive calcium and chloride channels are also inhibited. More

Student Training Pilot Projects

Development of a Comprehensive Model for Calcium Signaling (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Sandor Kadar, Salve Regina University
 

Abstract:  Environmental factors and neurotoxins have been shown to have a profound effect on the complex Ca2+ signaling mechanism of the cell. The first aim of the project is to develop a Comprehensive Model with Biphasic Regulation (CoMBRe) for the calcium dynamics of the cell. The CoMBRe model will be based on a “combined” model that was assembled from a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) model and a Ca2+-induced Ca2 release (CICR) based model.  More

The Effect of Oxidative Stress on the Transport, Sequestration, Storage and Use of Sufate and Molybdenum in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  Erica Oduaran, Roger Williams University

Abstract:  The green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii adapts well to its environment and can grow under various conditions of salinity, moisture, temperature, light intensity and micronutrient availability. Part of its versatility comes from that fact that it is able to grow heterotrophically in the dark with acetate as its reduced carbon source or to grow phototrophically with sunlight and carbon dioxide. This demonstrates the fact that C. reinhardtii can use either the chloroplasts or mitochondria in response to metabolic demands and raises the question of how the micronutrients are allocated in the cell with respect to metabolic demand. More

Microwave Synthesis of Arylphosphonium Salts Bound to Flourescent Markers, Antibiotic Polymers, and DNA and Protein Binders (2009 - Present)

Investigator:  John Williams, Rhode Island College
 

Abstract:  Arylphosphonium salts (APS) are cytotoxic. They exhibit structure-activity relationships (SARs) as antibiotics, in DNA binding, enzyme inhibition and in lethality to malignant cells. These lipophilic cations easily pass across cell membranes. They preferentially accumulate in the mitochondria of malignant cells in response to the larger charge gradient relative to normal cell mitochondria. More