Nasser H. Zawia, Ph.D.

Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology
Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
nzawia@uri.edu

Click here for information about Dr. Zawia's lab

Research Interests

• The developmental-basis of adult diseases.
• Environmental risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease
• Pinpointing potential biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease.
• Developing drugs for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases

Education

Ph.D., University of California, Irvine, CA,1989

M.S., Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, 1986

B.S., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA,1984

Riyaz Basha, Md., Wei, W., Brydie, M, Razmiafshari, M. and Zawia, N.H. (2003). Lead induced developmental perturbations in hippocampal Sp1 DNA-biding are prevented by Zinc. In vivo evidence for Pb and Zinc competition.  Intl. J. Devl. NeuroSci, 21(1): 1-12, 2003.

Atkins, D.S., Riyaz Basha, Md. and Zawia, N.H. Intracellular signaling pathways involved in mediating the effects of lead on the transcription factor Sp1. Intl. J. Devl. NeuroSci, 21(5): 235-244, 2003.

Md. Riyaz Basha, Wei, W. and Zawia, N.H. (2003). PCBs and environmental metal Pb exacerbate b-amyloid aggregation and its cytotoxicity in PC12 cells.Ogranohalogen Compounds, 65: 12-15.

Zawia, N. H., Riyaz Basha, Md., and Razmiafshari, M. An electrophoretic method to determine the ability of xenobiotic metals to bind a specific protein domain. Current Protocols in Toxicology 12. 11: 1-8, 2003.

Zawia, N.H. Transcriptional involvement in neurotoxicity. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 190(2): 177-88, 2003.

Riyaz Basha, Md., Wei, W., Reddy, G. R. and Zawia, N. H. Zinc finger transcription factors mediate perturbations of brain gene expression ilucidated by heavy metals. In: Molecular Nerotoxicology Environmental Agents and Transcription-Transduction Coupling, (Ed. N. H. Zawia), pp 43-64. CRC press, USA, 2004.

Basha, M.R., Wei, W., Bakheet, S.A., Benitez, N., Siddiqi, H.K.,  Ge, Y.W.,  Lahiri, D. K., and Zawia, N.H. The Fetal-basis of Amyloidogenesis: Exposure to Lead (Pb) and Latent Over-expression of APP and β-Amyloid in the Aging Brain.  Journal of Neuroscience, 25: 823-829, 2005.

Basha, M.R., Murali, M., Siddiqi, K.K., Ghosal, K., Siddiqi, O.K., Lashuel, H.A., Ge, Y.W., Lahiri D.K., and N. H. Zawia (2005). Lead (Pb) exposure and its effect on APP proteolysis and Aβ aggregation, FASEB J. 19(14): 2083-2084, 2005.

Zawia, N. H. and Basha, M.R. Environmental Risk Factors and the Developmental-Basis for Alzheimer's disease. Rev Neurosci. 16: 325-337, 2005.

Lahiri, D. K., Ge, Y-W., Maloney, B., Thiel, G., Zawia, N.H., Geig, N.H., Sabamurti, K. (2005). Functional and structural domains of the 5’-flanking regions of the BACE1 gene promoter: implications in Alzheimer’s disease. In (Ed: Fisher, A., Hanin I., Memo, M., and Stocchi, F.) New Trends in Alzheimer and Parkinson Related Disorders: ADPD 2005, pp7-14.

Donohue, M., Wei, W,, Wu, J., Zawia, N.H., Hud, N., Jesus, V.D., Schmechel, D., Hettick, J.M., Beezhold, D.H., and Vesper. S. Characterization of nigerlysin (c), hemolysin produced by Aspergillus niger, and effect on mouse neuronal cells in vitro. Toxicology. 219(1-3):150-155, 2006.

Basha, M.R., Brady, N., Zawia, N.H., and Kodavanti, P.R.S. Perinatal exposure to PCBs alters the activity of transcription factors in the brain. Neurotoxicology, 27: 118-124, 2006.

Bolin, C.S., Basha, M.R., Cox, D., Zawia, N. H., Maloney, B., Lahiri, D. K., and Cardozo-Pelaez, F. (2006). Exposure to lead (Pb) and the developmental origin of oxidative DNA damage in the aging brain.  FASEB J. 20(6); 788-790.

Lahiri, Debomoy K, Yuan-Wen Ge, Md Basha Riyaz, Bryan Maloney, De-Mao Chen and Nasser Zawia. "Genetics & Epigenetic Studies in AD (Abstract)." Alzheimer's  and Dementia. 2(3,Suppl):S24. July 2006.

Lashuel, Hilal A. and Nasser Zawia. "Islam: Governments Need to Reform Education and Build a Scientific Culture." Nature. 444(7109):545. November 30, 2006.

Lahiri, D.K., Maloney, B., Basha, M.R., Ge, Y.W. Zawia, N.H. How and when environmental agents and dietary factors affect the course of Alzheimer’s disease: the “LEARn” model (Latent Early Associated Regulation) may explain the triggering of AD.  Curr. Alzheimer’s Res., 4, 219-228, 2006. 95(2): 436-42.

Bakheet SA, Basha MR, Cai H, Zawia NH.  Lead exposure: expression and activity levels of Oct-2 in the developing rat brain.  Toxicological Sciences 2007 95(2):436-442.

Stevens, K.E., Bunch R.W., Anchordoquy, T.J., Zawia, N.H., Zheng, L., Abrams, D.J.  An initial animal proof-of-concept study for central administration of clozapine in schizophrenia patients.  Schizophrenia Bull., 33:479-480, 2007

Dosunmu R, Wu, J., Basha M.R., and Zawia, N.H. Environmental and Dietary Risk Factors in Alzheimer’s disease: An Overview. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics.  7, 887-900, 2007.

White, L.D., Cory-Slechta, D.A., Gilbert, M.E., Tiffany-Castiglioni, E., Zawia,  N.H., Virgolini, M., Rossi-George, A., Lasley, S.M., Qian, Y., Basha, M.R. New concepts in the neurotoxicology of lead (Pb). Toxicol. Applied Pharmacol. 225, 1-27, 2007 .

Jinfang Wu, Md. Riyaz Basha, Brian Brock, David P. Cox, Fernando Cardozo-Pelaez, Christopher A. McPherson, Jean Harry, Deborah C. Rice, Bryan Maloney, Demao Chen, Debomoy K. Lahiri, and Nasser H. Zawia . Alteration of Alzheimer disease (AD)-like pathology in aged monkeys after infantile exposure to environmental lead (Pb): Evidence for a developmental origin and environmental link for AD. J. Neurosci. 28:3-9, 2008.

Brock B., Basha, M.R., dePalma, K., Harry, G., Rice, D.C., Zawia, N.H. Immunohistochemical characterization of cerebral APP and Sp1 and its relationship to amyloidogenesis. J. Alzheimer’s Dis. 13:71-80, 2008.

Daniel J Abrams, MD; Lijun Zheng, MS; Kevin S Choo, MS; Jun J Yang, MS; Wei Wei, MD; Thomas J Anchordoquy, PhD; Nasser H Zawia, PhD; Karen E Stevens, PhD, An Initial Animal Proof-of-Concept Study for Central Administration of Clozapine to Schizophrenia Patients. Schizophr Res. 100:86-96, 2008.

Joyce E. Royland , Jinfang Wu, Nasser H. Zawia , Prasada Rao S. Kodavanti, Gene expression profiles in the cerebellum and hippocampus following exposure to a neurotoxicant, Aroclor 1254: Developmental effects, Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. (2008), doi:10.1016/j.taap.2008.04.022