GRANT AWARDS

Hamm-Alvarez R01 renewed

Brintonand prestigious NIH CTSA  

NIBIB-NIH award for

MacKay

 

An NIH RO1 for Stiles  

 

Alzheimer’s Association

Award for Zhao

Save the dates: 10/23 & 11/16

Summer Course for Taiwanese Students  

2010 Presidential Citizens Medal for Brinton

For her work as director of the USC Science Technology and Research (STAR) program, which has opened the doors of opportunity for thousands of disadvantaged and minority inner-city youth, White House has given Roberta Diaz-Brinton a Citizens Medal, an honor that recognizes Americans who have performed “exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.” The Medal is among the highest honors a civilian can receive. For more stories: USC, White House.

PPSI Chair to attend HERS Institute Sarah Hamm-Alvarez will be attending Higher Education Research Services (HERS) Institute for Advancing Women Leaders in Higher Education Administration at Wellesley College in Massachusetts. She will attend four sessions in the academic year beginning in October. For more stories, click here; of Hamm-Alvarez.

Welcome – Bogdan Olenyuk

A chemical biologist, Bogdan Olenyuk joins the PPSI faculty from the University of Arizona where he was an assistant professor of chemistry. His research focuses on the regulation of gene expression using synthetic small molecules. Dr. Olenyuk is a recipient of a prestigious National Science Foundation Career Award, National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award, and a current NIH R21 award recipient.

In the following pages: Statement by the Chair ...........................2 Acknowledgement ..................................2 Other Faculty News:   Alkana, Cadenas, Shen, Stiles ..............3   Camarero, Shih ....................................4 Contracts & Grants FYIs ..........................4 Alumnus Update   DJ Chatterjee .......................................7 Welcome: 1st year students,   Lucy Coraline MacKay, L. Cox,   Bogdan Lab ..........................................9 Publications ...........................................17 

Graduate Students News   Best TA/RA, Sanchez, Wyatt .............. 10   Millard, Mo, Modi ............................. 10   Meetings     APRU, CRS, iPIDD, GRC .................. 11   Amber got married ............................ 12 Moving On   Hamilton, Perkins, Urbano ................ 13 Visiting Scholars   Chauveau, Martel, Papinska .............. 14   Tambaro, Zhao .................................. 15 Translational Lab Update ..................... 16 

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PPSI faculty taught an intensive three‐week drug design and delivery course to 32 students. p.5 

A publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

2

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By now the fall semester is well underway and we have much to report.

We were joined by a new Assistant Professor, Dr. Bogdan Olenyuk, on July 1 who arrived at USC via the University of Arizona’s Department of Chemistry. Dr. Olenyuk’s new program in chemical biology strengthens this very important element of the department’s research profile and we welcome him to PPSI.

A number of federal grants were received over the past few months, most notably, the first (of many) federal grants in the form of an R21 award to Dr. Andrew MacKay and the first (of many NIH RO1 awards to Dr. Bangyan Stiles.

Other faculty also received new or continuation research funding and are all to be congratulated during this challenging economic period.

You will read here about some of our educational and outreach programs involving partner universities, spearheaded by a number of PPSI faculty.

And we are extremely proud to have Dr. Roberta Brinton recognized as the recent recipient of a Presidential Citizen’s Medal for her hard work and dedication to the advancement of science and technology education through the USC STAR program!

We hope to see you all at the USC School of Pharmacy

reception at AAPS in November in New Orleans! ■

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 5, No. 3 September 2010

3

FFAACCUULLTTYY NNEEWWSS

RRoonnaalldd AAllkkaannaa

Co-chaired a symposium entitled, "GABA-A Receptor Subunit Selectivity in Alcohol Action: Focus on Delta Subunit" at the International Society on Biomedical Research on Alcohol World Congress, Paris France, September 13-16, 2010. ■

EEnnrriiqquuee CCaaddeennaass

Speaker on the following international gathering: o SFRR-Europe Summer School on Protein

Maintenance and Turnover in Aging and Diseases, 4-10 June 2010, Spetses, Greece. Protein post-translational modifications in aging and neurodegenerative disorders.

o Annual Meeting of the Helenic Academy, 11-14 June 2010, Spetses, Greece. Lipoic acid and thiol-disulfide exchange in aging.

o Conference on Lipid Oxidation, Human Diseases, and Aging. 16-17 June 2010, Turin, Italy. MAPK- and insulin signaling in aging and a model of Alzheimer's disease: role of mitochondria. ■

SSaarraahh HHaammmm--AAllvvaarreezz

NIH EY01386-13 grant is renewed in the amount of $911,250 from September 1, 2010 through May 31, 2013. Project title: “Microtubule-based transport in lacrimal gland function.”

Gave the “Basic Science Conference Summary” and hosted the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society International Meeting in Florence, Italy, Sept 22-26, 2010.

Attended the Provost’s retreat at the Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, on August 21, 2010, and gave a presentation on “Funding of Postdoctoral Fellowships.”

Presented at the ISER (International Society for Eye Research) Meeting in Montreal, Cnada, July 2010. Title of talk: “Insights into lacrimal gland interaction with the immune system from the polymeric immunoglobulin A receptor knockout mice.”■

BBaannggyyaann SSttiilleess

Awarded R01 grant in the amount of $283,500 from the National Institutes of Health for her project titled “The Mechanism of Beta-Cell Regeneration.” Click here for more of this story. ■

RRoobbeerrttaa DD.. BBrriinnttoonn

CTSA grant award: As director of its Center for Scientific Translation, Dr. Brinton is part of the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) to USC-based Los Angeles Basin Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) for $56.8 million. Principal Investigator is Thomas A. Buchanan of the Keck School of Medicine.

Other USC schools participating are Cinematic Arts, Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Law, Pharmacy and Social Work. They partner with Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, the Los Angeles County Health System and the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County.

The consortium shares a common vision to reduce the time it takes for laboratory discoveries to become treatments for patients, and to engage communities in clinical research efforts. For more of this story, click here.

Attended the SfN Summer Council Meeting in Vancouver, August 2010.

Participant: ICAD Conference in Hawaii, July 2010. Invited Speaker of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Boston,

MA on June 30. Title of talk: Vasopressin and Oxytocin: Rationale for Therapeutic Potential for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Attended the NIMH Board of Scientific Counselors Meeting in Washington, DC, June 27-29. ■

AAnnddrreeww MMaaccKKaayy Recently received a grant award from the National

Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering for his project entitled, “A Rapid Reversible Switch for Controlling Intracellular Trafficking.” The award of $445,500 is for two years starting July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2012. Click here for more of this story. ■

WWeeii--CChhiiaanngg SShheenn Attended the Scientific Advisory Board Meeting of Irish

Drug Delivery Network in Dublin, Ireland, July 6 and 7. Visited Trinity College Dublin and gave a seminar to

the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on July 5. Presentation title: Effect of spacer insertion on the biological activity, production, and pharmacokinetics of recombinant bifunctional fusion proteins. ■

A publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

4

Julio Camarero with members of the DMP study section.

JJuulliioo CCaammaarreerroo Speaker at the Roche Colorado Corporation

Peptide Symposium (RCCPS) 2010, September 14-16, Boulder, Colorado. Title of talk: Cyclotides, a novel natural peptide scaffold for drug discovery.

Attended the following NIH Study Sections in Washington DC on June 2010: o Drug Discovery and Molecular

Pharmacology (DMP) study section. o Human Protein Affinity Reagents

study section ZRG1 GGG-E 50 S. ■

JJeeaann CC.. SShhiihh DVD-ROM project with Marsha Kinder,

“A tale of two genes,” will be part of the following courses this fall: o Pharm.D. Level I class on biochemical and

molecular targets for drug action taught by Enrique Cadenas.

o BISC 104 class of Chien-Ping Ko, professor of neurobiology, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

Invited Opening Speaker: Translational regulation and multiple functions of MAO A, Amine Oxidase International Symposium, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, July 18-22, 2010.

Traveled to Taiwan: o Talked on “MAO: from Impulsivity to

Compulsivity Animal Models for Mental Disorders” at the Taipei Medical University, July 2, 2010.

o Attended the Convocation of Academicians, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, July 4-8, 2010.

o Attended an Advisory Board meeting for the Neuroscience Center of Academia Sinica, July 2010.

o Talked on “MAO KO mice as models for mental disorders” at the National Taiwan University, July 2010. ■

LLiiqqiinn ZZhhaaoo Awarded $200,000 Investigator-Initiated Research

Grant funded by the Alzheimer’s Association for her project titled “Insulin-Degrading Enzyme, ER Subtype, ApoE Genotype & Alzheimer's Prevention vs Treatment.” Click here for more of this story. ■

CCoonnttrraaccttss aanndd GGrraannttss FFYYII’’ss!!

eRA Commons and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) have partnered together to provide one comprehensive online bibliography portal. NCBI’s “My NCBI” system boasts a feature called “My Bibliography,” where users can create and store professional citations. As of July 23, 2010, PD/PIs are no longer able to enter citations manually into eRA Commons and must use My Bibliography to enter and maintain any citations they wish to have available in Commons.

Starting January 25, 2011, NIH, AHRQ, and NIOSH will be eliminating the error correction window from the application process. This means that any application submitted after 5PM local time of the applicant organization will be subject to late policies.

Additional information available upon request.) Sharon Wallace, wallace@pharmacy.usc.edu

Jean C. Shih with the Director and faculty of the Neuroscience Institute atthe National Taiwan University.

Julio Camarero with members of the DMP study section.

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 5, No. 2 May 2010

5

SSuummmmeerr CCoouurrssee ffoorr TTaaiiwwaanneessee SSttuuddeennttss

Ian Haworth, the course coordinator, together with Nouri Neamati, Curtis Okamoto, Rebecca Romero and Brian Sutch taught an intensive three-week drug design and delivery course to 32 visiting students from Taipei Medical University, China Medical University and Kaohsiung Medical University. “The course is equivalent to a two- or three-semester unit program,” said Michael Wincor, associate dean of globalization and continuing professional development.

The course was taught as a hands-on exercise in drug design. Brief formal lectures were punctuated by computer exercises aimed at solving real-world problems in structure-based ligand design and improvement of the biopharmaceutical properties of inhibitors. “Our goal was to show the students that drug design is a creative science that draws upon many different fields,” said Dr. Haworth. The students worked in groups of four. Each group was given the starting point of a protein-ligand complex, which they tried to improve over three weeks. “The aim of the project was to use the computer to predict favorable changes in the ligand, both from binding and delivery perspectives,” said Dr. Haworth. He added that “the computer provides a wonderful means of communication, particularly for students with a language barrier.”

In the first week of the course, Dr. Neamati and Dr. Haworth gave introductory lectures on molecular structure and structure-based design, and the whole teaching team worked with the students to get them up to speed on several computer programs. In the second week, Dr. Romero and Dr. Okamoto introduced several biopharmaceutical concepts. “We emphasized the key idea that the molecular design must include the potential for delivery,” said Dr. Romero. In the third week, the lectures were switched to large-molecule drugs, while the students completed their project work. On the final day of the

course, each group gave a 30-minute presentation of their findings. “The presentations were excellent,” said Dr. Haworth; “It was exciting to see how far the students had come in three weeks: it really was a testament to their effort and ability.”

As well as trouble-shooting the software and helping the students during the course, Brian Sutch (pictured teaching) developed an excellent web site that allowed the students a starting point for the exercises in the course. “This was our first attempt at offering this course through almost entirely web-based software,” said Brian. “We see great potential for developing the course further, with improved design of our web site.”

The entire three-week course, faculty agreed, had been a success, largely due to the excellence of the students. It was a great combination of learning and having some fun. It is hoped that this will become an annual event with the three universities in Taiwan.

For more on this article click here.

More pictures next page.

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

6

GGrraadduuaattiioonn ……

Below are among those who received their certificates from Dean Pete Vanderveen: Ting‐Hsuan Wu        Chia‐Wei Chang           Kai‐Chun Lin           Wan‐Wen Huang         Nai‐Hsuan Li 

There were lots and lots of photos taken.  Mementos.  Shown are but a few.

Prof.  Shou‐Mei Wu (lady in the middle) of Kaohsiung MedicalUniversity, delegation advisor, with (l‐r) Clay Wang, Jean Shih, Fred

Weissman, Michael wincor and Wei‐chiang Shen.

With new friends, Rosalin Khuu and Elina Baskina (center,not wearing white smocks), 4th year pharmacy studentsassisting Dr. Wincor in coordinating the students’ socialevents and their exploration of pharmacy in America.

Teachers and students all. 

Customary gift giving to teachers, Rebecca Romero and Ian Haworth. 

With Nouri Neamati.

Jean Shih presented her DVD‐ROM, “A tale of two MAO genes, exploring the culture and biology of anxiety and aggression.” With Curtis Okamoto and Rebecca Romero

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 5, No. 3 September 2010

7

WWhheerree iiss hhee nnooww?? UUPPDDAATTEE FFRROOMM AANN AALLUUMMNNUUSS

DDHHRRUUBBAA ““DDJJ”” CCHHAATTTTEERRJJEEEE

It is with great pleasure that I am writing a bit about myself for the USC School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences newsletter. I thank you for this opportunity.

I graduated with a Ph.D. degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 1996 under the supervision of Dr. Robert T. Koda, a great person and mentor who, unfortunately, is not with us anymore. My thesis involved the transdermal delivery of methotrexate, potentially for its use in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Currently, I work as a Director of Clinical Research and Development of anti-diabetes medicines for Novo Nordisk Inc., a multinational pharmaceutical company based out of Denmark, at its US headquarters. It has been an eventful journey so far, starting with a memorable ‘launch’ at the USC School of Pharmacy.

Rewinding back to 1990, I had just completed my Bachelors in Pharmacy and moved from India to Los Angeles in pursuit of a Ph.D. degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences. The surroundings (both at my new home and school environment) were very ‘new’. Like most of my other batch mates at USC, I spent most of the time in school with intense course and laboratory work. I did my rotations in Dr. Vince Lee’s and Dr. Wei-Chiang Shen’s laboratories, until I ‘found a home’ in Dr. Koda’s laboratory ‘in the basement’. If I closed my eyes today and looked back, I remember the long (but fun) nights before the semester examinations, numerous after-hours exploration on the UNIX-based network in the basement computer room, trying my luck sending messages to others outside the school (currently known as ‘e-mail’, was just being introduce then), saving on the desktop a project report and a term-paper (due the very next day) when a powerful earthquake was in progress; Pharm D. students queuing outside my lab with questions, the numerous sessions with animals and the constantly running HPLC systems in the laboratory contributing towards my thesis. It was surely a very memorable five years of my life!

The School provided an excellent atmosphere to each of the students and fellows from all over the world. There were adequate breaks in the intense curriculum through Friday afternoon happy-hours on the quad, roof-top parties, faculty-student parties and graduate student parties. While in session, the course work, the professors and the graduate program trained me to construct, design and execute cutting edge research work focused towards answering a few key questions that could be applied for

medicinal use in man. The school encouraged and actively supported me during the two summers when I interned for Syntex Research (in Palo Alto, CA). In addition to the work towards my dissertation, I am indebted to Dr. Koda for having thoroughly exposed me to the field of practical and theoretical pharmacokinetics. For four years I was the leading teaching assistant to the Pharm.D. students on their Pharmacokinetic Laboratory course. This got me quite interested in the field that deals with quantifying the amount of drug in the different parts of one’s body. Additionally, in association with the Norris Cancer Center, in our laboratory I determined the pharmacokinetics of several real-life prospective anti-cancer drugs administered to cancer patients. It was my immediate attraction to pharmacokinetics from those days that forms the basis of what I do for a living today.

With a fresh Ph.D. from USC Pharmacy, I moved to another truly football town in pursuit of a post-doctoral fellowship in the College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan. I further researched in the field of transdermal research under the renowned Dr. Gordon L. Flynn. During the last year of this fellowship, I also worked as a consultant to Mylan Pharmaceuticals to develop a generic transdermal delivery system (a form of which is currently marketed and a very successful product for Mylan Corporation). It is that same year that I watched every (continued next page)

DJ with wife, Susmita, and sons, Rohan (12 years old) and Rahil (6)

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

8

game at the ‘Big House’ that made Michigan the NCAA Football Champion! Since they did not play against USC, they had my whole-hearted support.

I made a significant switch in my career leaving Michigan. Not having given up on ‘my love’ for pharmacokinetics, I applied for a position of a Clinical Pharmacology Reviewer of New Drugs with the FDA, and joined the position in the spring of 1999. Sure enough, Dr. Alfredo Sancho, another old friend/graduate student and ex-Trojan from Dr. Wolf’s laboratory, was in the same Division within FDA to welcome and orient me. Over the course of the next 6 valuable years, I got trained on the most critical steps of drug development ‘hands-on’. I learned from new drug applications (NDAs) how a drug is developed, how clinical trials are decided based on specific clinical needs, what makes a drug a ‘drug’ and what does not. Most importantly, all FDA reviewers (such as myself) were privy to all aspects of drug development from a regulator’s point of view (clinical/medical, chemistry/manufacturing, biostatistics, pharmacology/ toxicology and clinical pharmacology and regulatory policy/law, among other disciplines). I have been involved as the primary clinical pharmacology reviewer on numerous drug products which are household names today – thanks to the direct-to-consumer advertisements on TV! The stint at the FDA has been surely the most prominent training/learning experience of my professional career so far.

Having equipped with considerable drug development knowledge, I sought to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry as a clinical researcher. Here, I would be involved in leading specific clinical function that were not a part of my duties within the FDA, namely, commercial influence of drug development strategies and execution of clinical trials. I joined a Denmark-based pharmaceutical company, Novo Nordisk, in 2005. The company has about 30,000 employees worldwide

and is a world-leader in anti-diabetes medicines. I work for them designing strategies for Phase 1 and II clinical trials for new anti-diabetes drugs. It has been quite a gratifying experience so far, having been significantly involved with a recently marketed new anti-diabetic drug. I have spent prolonged periods in the beautiful country of Denmark working at our headquarters. Additionally, I have also had the opportunity to travel to many other countries as a part of my global responsibilities.

But, no experience can compare to that I have had at USC School of Pharmacy. I have made life-long friends with co-graduate students and professors; shaped my professional career, developed work ethics and a positive attitude towards life while at USC. I got married as a final year graduate student at USC. So, I will always ‘live’ with USC. I am among a fortunate few to be able to say that!

On a personal note, as a family (my wife, Susmita, and sons Rohan and Rahil) we live around Princeton, NJ around the corner from the historic Princeton University campus. If any of you happen to travel to this part, please drop and meet an ex-USC grad!

Wish the very best for everything and to everyone at the School of Pharmacy!

Fight On!

DJ at his office in Novo Nordisk. 

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 5, No. 3 September 2010

9

… to our new graduate students pictured above during the Welcome Reception at the Edmondson Faculty Center on September 2, 2010.  

L-R: In front: Jie Zhou, Sheraz Khoja, Andrew Gould,  Manali Shah, Juhi Firdos 

and Mike Praseuth. 

At the back: Pu Shi, Harsh Sancheti , Paul Dicocco, Vinit Gholap, Jugal Dhandhukia, Amit Agarwal , Tianyi Jiang and Yilong Li. 

Not in the picture are: Suhaas Aluri, Pang‐Yu “Aaron” Hsueh, Sachin Jadhav, Linlin Ma, Zhen 

Meng and Junko Yaegashi.   IInnttrroodduucceedd aatt tthhee WWeellccoommee RReecceeppttiioonn::

LLuuccyy CCoorraalliinnee MMaacckkaayy

““WWee aarree bbootthh tthhrriilllleedd,,”” AAnnddrreeww aanndd AAddrriieennnnee wwrroottee aass tthheeyy aannnnoouunncceedd tthhee bbiirrtthh ooff tthheeiirr ffiirrsstt cchhiilldd,, LLuuccyy CCoorraalliinnee,, wwhhoo wwaass bboorrnn oonn JJuunnee 2299,, 22001100 aatt 1100::1199 aamm,, wweeiigghhiinngg 88 llbbss,, 22 oozz aanndd 2211 iinncchheess lloonngg aatt tthhee HHuunnttiinnggttoonn HHoossppiittaall iinn PPaassaaddeennaa..

AAllssoo wweellccoommeedd:: BBooggddaann OOlleennyyuukk aanndd hhiiss llaabboorraattoorryy ssttaaffff,, wwhhoo ccaammee wwiitthh hhiimm ffrroomm tthhee UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff AArriizzoonnaa..

WWeellccoommee~~

L‐R:  Ivan Grishagin, RaminDubey, Bogdan Olenyuk

and Swati Kushal.

Lucy Coraline is gleefully held by administrative staff, Josie Morales and Ruth Ballard. 

Llewellyn Cox is the new Program Administra- tor in Research Affairs. Llewellyn received a Ph. D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Wales College of Medicine in 2003 and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Cornell University in Neurosciences. Then he joined City of Hope as a Research Project Manager where he has worked for the past two years in Research Administration.

Llewellyn’s office is in 700M, telephone is 323-442-1737 and he can be reached at llewellc@usc.edu.

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

10

SSTTUUDDEENNTT NNEEWWSS

Best during Academic Year 2009-2010

Best Research Assistant Helen Ha Best Teaching Assistants Kavya Ramkumar Yumna Shabaik

All the above honorees come from the lab of Nouri Neamati.

Krown Fellowship

James Sanchez, a Ph.D. in Clay Wang’s lab, is this year’s recipient of the Krown Fellowship, clinching the award with his project entitled, “Genome-based deletion analysis uncovers the prenyl xanthone biosynthesis pathway in Aspergillus

nidulans." This honor came with a monetary award of $10K for discretionary fund and stipend support.

NIH NRSA Predoctoral Fellowship

Letisha Wyatt (pictured with mentors, Ronald L. Alkana and Daryl Davies), received a perfect score under the new scoring system

of NIH for her project entitled, “Ethanol Modulation of Neuronal P2X4 Receptors.” The grant commenced July 2010.

Summer Internships NIH-NIBB

Melissa Millard, a fourth-year Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences Ph.D. Candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Nouri Neamati recently completed a three month summer internship at the National Institute of Bioimaging and Bioengineering at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Her studies, performed in the Laboratory of Molecular Imaging and Nanomedicine (LOMIN), under the direction of Xiaoyuan Chen Ph.D., focused on the development of nanoparticle formulations to facilitate tumor-specific delivery of highly active phosphonium salts recently discovered in the Neamati laboratory.

MERCK & CO.

Robert Mo, a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Wei-Chiang Shen, participated in a ten-week internship program this past summer at Merck & Co. in Summit, NJ. He worked on the development of controlled release matrix tablet formulations in the division of Product Value Enhancement.

GENENTECH

Dimple Modi, a PPSI master student from the lab of Daryl Davies had been granted a Neuroscience Research Internship for twelve weeks that started from June 1 to August 20 at Genentech, member of the Roche group. Her internship was in the Department of Neuroscience (Neurophysiology) in Genentech’s South San Francisco laboratories. Her projects focused broadly on ways to facilitate future electrophysiology experiments (continued to p.16)

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 5, No. 3 September 2010

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Meetings

APRU DOCTORAL STUDENTS CONFERENCE

Divya Pathania and Jennifer-Ann Bayan, from the laboratories of Nouri Neamati and Bangyan Stiles, respectively, attended and presented at the 11th APRU (Association of Pacific Rim Universities) Doctoral Students Conference in Jakarta

Indonesia on July 12-16, 2010. Divya presented their laboratory’s work: Design and discovery of novel small molecules as modulators

of reactive oxygen species-mediated cell signaling. Her co-authors are Mario Sechi, Michele Palomba and Nouri Neamati. Jennifer’s oral presentation was entitled, “The paracrine effects of PTEN loss in pancreatic beta-cells.”  

CONTROLLED RELEASE SOCIETY

Yan Wang, from Wei-Chiang Shen Lab attended and presented her research work at the 37th

Annual Meeting & Exposition of Controlled Release Society last July 10-14 in Portland, Oregon. Title of her poster presentation: “Proinsulin-Transferrin Recombinant Fusion Protein is a Novel and Potent Inhibitor in Hepatic Glucose Production.”

IPIDD RETREAT

PPSI is copiously represented at the Interdisciplinary Program in Drug Discovery retreat last June 24, 2010 at the Pickwick Gardens of the University Park Campus with the oral presentations of the following graduate students:

Xiaoying Chen, Wei-Chiang Shen Lab: “Pharmacokinetics of Bifunctional Fusion Proteins.”

Anna Popova, Ronald L. Alkana-Daryl Davies Labs: “Mapping DNA with a Nucleotide-Independent Spin Probe.”

Tino Wilson Sanchez, Nouri Neamati Lab: “Novel HIV-Integrase Inhibitors.”

Shili Xu, Nouri Neamati Lab: “Targeting Bcl-2 in Cancer.”

GORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCE

Nick Mordwinkin, Pharm.D., a graduate student in the laboratory of Stan Louie and Kathy Rodgers under the PPSI program, was selected to present at the Gordon Research Conference last August 8 to 13, 2010 in Biddeford, Maine. He discussed the role of Angiotensin (1-7) on the production nitric oxide and proliferation of endothelial progenitor cells.

Mordwinkin, although still a graduate student, presented at this prestigious conference on the merit of his scientific findings. His findings may explain why diabetic patients have an increased risk of myocardial infarction and other tissue injuries. In addition, his findings suggest that the administration of angiotensin (1-7), a seven amino acid peptide, may reverse this impairment in diabetes.

Divya (center) and Jennifer (left) with their liaison officer at the conference, Citra Safitri. 

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

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Amber got married

Amber Valencia, a Ph.D. Candidate at the lab of Clay Wang, was a radiant and beautiful bride when she married Christian Somoza last June 25, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach with 110 relatives and friends in attendance. The lucky groom served with the United States Marines with two combat tours to Iraq. He is currently a psychology major at California State University at Dominguez Hills and works as a security consultant abroad.

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 5, No. 3 September 2010

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Moving on … Daya Perkins

First is Daya’s recent accolade: she is the recipient of the ISBRA (International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism) President’s Young Investigator

Award during ISBRA’s Annual World Congress in Paris, France, on September 13-16, 2010.

Since graduating, Daya Perkins has been working at Allergan Inc. after being awarded the highly competitive USC-Allergan Global Pharmaceutical Sciences fellowship. She graduated in May with her Ph.D. in Molecular Pharmacology and Toxicology and an M.S. in Regulatory Science. At USC, she had a successful career as a graduate student, with three first author publications in esteemed journals, an NIH F31 predoctoral fellowship and the school’s Krown fellowship under her belt. Daya credits her relatively painless transition into industry in these tough economic times to the education she received at USC and the contacts she made as a student. “My training as a scientist gave me the tools to think independently and creatively, but it wasn’t until I got to Allergan that I realized how invaluable my Regulatory Science degree was,” says Daya. She works in the Chemistry Manufacturing and controls (CMC) Scientific Affairs division at Allergan. She is excited about how much she has learned about the submission process for drugs in just two months at the company. “My supervisor and mentor, Duane Mauzey (pictured with Daya, an alum of the USC Regulatory Science program and currently a candidate for the first cohort of the doctoral degree in Regulatory Science), is a literal repository of incredible knowledge and support,” says Daya of Mauzey. She plans on continuing her research collaboration at USC while at Allergan.

To this end, she traveled to Paris with Ronald L. Alkana, her graduate mentor, at the Annual ISBRA World Congress in Paris, France, last September 13-16, 2010, where she presented their paper that was also published in abstract form as follows: Perkins, DI, Trudell JR, Davies DL and Alkana RL. Changing the structure of extracellular domain loop 2 in glycine and GABA-A receptors markedly alters ethanol sensitivity and

Luis Urbano is now with 3P Biopharmaceuticals in his hometown in Pamplona, Spain, as a scientific project manager. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the lab of Julio Camarero. ■ Ryan Hamilton is a recipient of the Biology of Aging Training Grant at the University of Texas Health Science Center and has now joined the laboratory of Holly VanRemmen as a postdoctoral fellow. Ryan is a Ph.D. graduate and subsequently a postdoc at the laboratories of Roberta Brinton and Enrique Cadenas.

suggests mechanisms of ethanol action. Alcoholism: Clin. Exp. Res Vol 34(S):S165, 2010 Daya is also now teaching, this fall, in the CMC class of the Regulatory Science program. She is also a recent recruit as a health writer for Livestrong.com. ■

Ryan shows off his USC watch gift as Drs. Cadenas, Brinton and Zhao look on. Ryan was also presented with a slideshow of memorable pictures during his times in the two laboratories. 

A pose for posterity with mentors and co‐lab personnel.       

■

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

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Sabine at a concert in Staple Center. 

Caroline showing off her medal for finishing the marathon. 

VVIISSIITTIINNGG SSCCHHOOLLAARRSS

SSaabbiinnee CChhaauuvveeaauu is a student at the University of Auvergne at Clermont-Ferrand in France, concurrently taking two studies for a

degree and diploma. She is in fourth year of an eight-year program leading to a Pharmacy degree and also a fourth-year student for a five-year program for a diploma in Science, Technology and Health, specializing in genetics and physiology. In an examination for entrance to pharmaceutical studies at the University, she ranked fourth of the 285 examinees.

Since going to the university, Sabine had spent her summers being a camp leader or camp supervisor, to children from 6 to 11 and also from 15 to 17 years old, including two summers in Croatia. This summer she chose an internship at the lab of Julio Camarero where her project, with fellow French student, Caroline Martel, is on the induction of various peptides with anti-cancer potential activity. Techniques they use include the cloning and expression of precursor recombinant proteins, purification by HPLC, and characterization of the corresponding peptide by Mass Spectrophotometer. CCaarroolliinnee MMaarrtteell

Just like Sabine, Caroline Martel is a student at the University of Auvergne at Clermont-Ferrand, who is in her fifth year as a Pharmacy student. She aims at joining a pharmaceutical industry after graduation and is certain her internship in Dr. Camarero’s lab will contribute to achieving that goal. “I’m enjoying my internship,” she expresses.

Caroline is hoping for she could study abroad again. Very athletic, she took the opportunity to run a half marathon in San Francisco last July 25, earning a medal for finishing it. She loves travelling and being exposed to new cultures. She also has a penchant for cooking especially her native French recipes. The lab of Julio Camarero had a delicious sampling of her genuine French crepes.

AAnnnnaa PPaappiinnsskkaa is currently a student at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences who recently studied for the summer semester at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium under the Erasmus student exchange program. Her five months study in Katholieke University was capped by a bachelor’s thesis in laboratory functional biology and

laboratory of pharmaceutical biology.

At the lab of Nouri Neamati for two months during the summer, she is being mentored by Erik Serrao, a graduate student. She is helping Erik develop a novel bioluminescent assay to measure HIV-1 integrase dimerization, as well as its interaction with various human proteins. This

assay is applicable to high-throughput drug screening, and Nouri Neamati has access to a database of 10 million unique compounds for use in these assays.

Anna speaks fluent Polish and English, and is conversational in German, Spanish and Russian. She plays the guitar, windsurfs, skis, swims and loves to travel.

Holding an “Oscar” in a Hollywood store. 

Anna in Disneyland.

Sabine and Caroline at a Columbian festival in LA.

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 5, No. 3 September 2010

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SSiimmoonnee TTaammbbaarroo

Dr. Tambaro is an Italian neuroscientist. Over the last eight years, he has worked for a private company (Neuroscienze Pharmaness) in Pula (Sardinia, Italy) on the development of novel anxiolytic and antidolorific agents. In particular, his research has focused on the role of cannabinoid and opioid systems in

the regulation of emotional behavior and neuropathic pain, with a combined approach of animal models and in vitro bioassays. Dr. Tambaro won a fellowship from the Sardinia government to join the lab of Jean C Shih as a visiting scholar. For his project, he will study the long-term behavioral sequelae of serotonergic activation during early postnatal developmental stages in collaboration with Marco Bortolato. This research will help understand the involvement of serotonin in the neurobiological bases of autism and aggression.

DIMPLE MODI (from page 10) as well as analyses and comparison of dendritic spines and plasticity. The main goal of her internship was to see if shRNA packaged in Adeno-Associated Viral (AAV) shall aid in achieving massive knocking down (KD) of Gene 1 and Gene 2 in neurons. Thus her research mainly involved comparing spine density of neurons by knocking down either Gene 1 or Gene 2 in slice cultures. Simultaneously, she also established and validated an AAV transfection method in hippocampal slices. She also made various attempts at exogenous validation of multiple Gene 1 and Gene 2 shRNAs in HeLa cells. Towards the end of her internship period, she was provided with an opportunity to present her findings in the form of a poster to her fellow colleagues and scientists from other departments.

QQiinngg ZZhhaaoo,, visiting scholar in the Brinton and Chui laboratories, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Neurology, Jilin University, Changchun, China. She is also a medical doctor of the University's affiliate, China-Japan Union Hospital. Dr. Zhao is pursuing translational research from the bench to the bedside and devotes her time between two laboratories – conducting her discovery and preclinical translational research in Roberta Diaz Brinton’s laboratory in the School of Pharmacy and her clinical research and care with Helena Chui in the Keck School of Medicine. In the Brinton laboratory, Dr. Zhao’s research focuses on the development of NeuroSERMs (Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators) for prevention of Alzheimer's disease and is funded by the USC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) led by Dr. Chui. The significance of this project is to design and synthesize safe and effective alternatives to hormone therapy as a means of sustaining neurological health in women and prevent late-onset age-associated Alzheimer's disease. In the Chui lab, Dr. Zhao is collaborating with Dr. Chui, Ling Zheng, Ph.D., and Rohit Varma, M.D., M.P.H. and is conducting a new epidemiologic study of mild cognitive impairment among Chinese Americans living in Monterey Park, California. Dr. Zhao will return to the Department of Neurology, Jilin University early next year to build her own laboratory where she will continue the translational research she began at USC.

Simone in Santa Monica near where he lives and at the beach (below). 

Qing at the grassland of inner Mongolia (not in San Simeon, California).

A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

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UUppddaattee by LLIIQQIINN ZZHHAAOO

The Jane and Gale Bensussen Translational Research Laboratory is

going to celebrate its first anniversary this October. During the past year, the lab has become fully operational and reached several major goals.

The lab has established a comprehensive operations and management system, including a well-developed infrastructure, an expert support team, and written policies. It also instituted a chargeback procedure for billing, provided online scheduling, and designed a lab web page.

Based on its initial configuration, the lab continues to expand and update its resources. Additions over the past year include the Prospect Edge 200 separation system that allows for non-denaturing density-based sample fractionation; a 384-well microplate heat block compatible with the ABI 7900HT fast real-time PCR workstation; a cooling system connected to the Wyatt DynaPro plate reader for temperature control; a multiscreen vacuum manifold and pressure pump compatible with the Bio-Plex suspension system; a microplate carrier set compatible with the Sorvall Legend T+ centrifuge; accessories such as titer plate shaker, vortex mixer, minicentrifuge and pipetman neo set; and computer/software updates. Presently, the lab houses 14 specialized instruments that enable a broad range of automated and multiplexed biological analyses in a medium- to high-throughput fashion.

Over the year, the lab has expanded its user base from a few labs within the School of Pharmacy to nearly 20 research groups from four schools (Pharmacy, Medicine, Gerontology, and College of Letters, Arts & Sciences) across both campuses, generating 3000+ usage hours.

The lab has organized and hosted a series of seminars and training events in an effort to promote knowledge and applications of state-of-the-art technologies associated with resources housed in the lab.

The lab has welcomed numerous outside visitors including faculty candidates, MS/PhD/PharmD applicants, donors, etc. Dr. Liqin Zhao gave lectures to first-year graduate students in the course PSCI599 in an effort to familiarize students with resources that will be available for their future research.

In the coming year, the lab will continue to provide service and support for translational research endeavors. For additional information:

Lab Web Page: http://www.usc.edu/schools/pharmacy/research/translational_lab.html Lab Online Scheduler: http://www.uburst.com/cgi-bin/ureserve/hosted/usc.pl Inquires can be addressed to Dr. Liqin Zhao (liqinz@usc.edu).

Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, USC School of Pharmacy Newsletter Vol. 5, No. 3 September 2010

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PPUUBBLLIICCAATTIIOONNSS

RRoonnaalldd AAllkkaannaa Asatryan L, Popova M, Perkins D, Trudell JR, Alkana RL, Davies DL.  Ivermectin antagonizes ethanol inhibition in purinergic P2X4 receptors.  J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2010 Sep 1;334(3):720‐8. Epub 2010 Jun 11.   PMID: 20543096   

Perkins, DI, Trudell JR, Davies DL and Alkana RL. Changing the structure of extracellular domain loop 2 in glycine and GABA‐A receptors markedly alters ethanol sensitivity and suggests mechanisms of ethanol action.   Alcoholism: Clin. Exp. Res Vol 34(S):S165, 2010  

MMaarrccoo BBoorrttoollaattoo Bortolato M, Barberini L, Puligheddu M, Muroni A, Maleci A, Ennas F, Gioi G, Serra A, Piga M, Marrosu F.  Involvement of GABA in mirror focus: a case report.  Epilepsy Res. 2010 Aug;90(3):300‐3. Epub 2010 Jun 16.  PMID: 20558041  

Bortolato M, Cannas A, Solla P, Puligheddu M, Muroni A, Marrosu F.  Treatment of benign essential blepharospasm with finasteride: a case report.  Clin Neuropharmacol. 2010 Jul;33(4):207‐8.PMID: 20386102  

Bortolato M, Frau R, Bini V, Luesu W, Loriga R, Collu M, Gessa GL, Ennas MG, Paola Castelli M.   Methamphetamine neurotoxicity increases brain expression and alters behavioral functions of CB₁ cannabinoid receptors.  J Psychiatr Res. 2010 Oct;44(14):944‐55. Epub 2010 Apr 7.  PMID: 20378129  

Bortolato M, Frau R, Orrù M, Fà M, Dessì C, Puligheddu M, Barberini L, Pillolla G, Polizzi L, Santoni F, Mereu G, Marrosu F.   GABAB receptor activation exacerbates spontaneous spike‐and‐wave discharges in DBA/2J mice.   Seizure. 2010 May;19(4):226‐31. PMID: 20233662  

RRoobbeerrttaa BBrriinnttoonn Liu L, Zhao L, She H, Chen S, Wang JM, Wong C, McClure K, Sitruk‐Ware R, Brinton RD.Clinically Relevant Progestins Regulate Neurogenic and Neuroprotective Responses in Vitro and in Vivo.  Endocrinology. 2010 Oct 13. [Epub ahead of print]   PMID: 20943809  

Henderson VW, Brinton RD.    Menopause and mitochondria: windows into estrogen effects on Alzheimer's disease risk and therapy.  Prog Brain Res. 2010;182:77‐96.  PMID: 20541661  

Yao J, Hamilton RT, Cadenas E, Brinton RD.  Decline in mitochondrial bioenergetics and shift to ketogenic profile in brain during reproductive senescence. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2010 Oct;1800(10):1121‐6. Epub 2010 Jun 9.  PMID: 20538040  

EEnnrriiqquuee CCaaddeennaass Garcia J, Han D, Sancheti H, Yap LP, Kaplowitz N, Cadenas E.  Regulation of mitochondrial glutathione redox status and protein glutathionylation by respiratory substrates.   J Biol Chem. 2010 Oct 11.   PMID: 20937819  

Yao J, Hamilton RT, Cadenas E, Brinton RD.  Decline in mitochondrial bioenergetics and shift to ketogenic profile in brain during reproductive senescence.  Biochim Biophys  Acta. 2010 Oct;1800(10):1121‐6. Epub 2010 Jun 9.  PMID: 20538040  

JJuulliioo CCaammaarreerroo Garcia AE, Camarero JA.  Biological Activities of Natural and Engineered Cyclotides, a Novel Molecular Scaffold for Peptide‐Based Therapeutics.  Curr Mol Pharmacol. 2010 Sep 22. [Epub ahead of print].  PMID: 20858197  

Puttamadappa SS, Jagadish K, Shekhtman A, Camarero JA.  Backbone dynamics of cyclotide MCoTI‐I free and complexed with trypsin.  Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2010 Sep 17;49(39):7030‐4.   PMID: 20715250  

Jagadish K, Camarero JA.  Cyclotides, a promising molecular scaffold for peptide‐based therapeutics.  Biopolymers. 2010 May 26. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 20564025  

Berrade L, Kwon Y, Camarero JA.   Photomodulation of protein trans‐splicing through backbone photocaging of the DnaE split intein.  Chembiochem. 2010 Jul 5;11(10):1368‐72. PMID: 20512791  

Camarero JA.  Optimizing the future for biotechnology therapies, the key role of protein engineering.  Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2009 Sep 30;61(11):897‐8. Epub 2009 Sep 6.  PMID: 19735684  

SSaarraahh HHaammmm--AAllvvaarreezz Kim YH, Fazlollahi F, Kennedy IM, Yacobi NR, Hamm‐Alvarez SF, Borok Z, Kim KJ, Crandall ED.  Alveolar Epithelial Cell Injury Due to Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle Exposure. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2010 Jul 16. [Epub ahead of print]  PMID: 20639441  

Li X, Wu K, Edman M, Schenke‐Layland K, MacVeigh‐Aloni M, Janga SR, Schulz B, Hamm‐Alvarez SF. Increased expression of cathepsins and obesity‐induced proinflammatory cytokines in lacrimal glands of male NOD mouse.  Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010 Oct;51(10):5019‐29. Epub 2010 May 12.  PMID: 20463324  

IIaann HHaawwoorrtthh Romero RM, Eriksen SP, Haworth IS.  Quantitative assessment of assisted problem‐based learning in a pharmaceutics course.  Am J Pharm Educ. 2010 May 12;74(4):66. PMID: 20585427  

JJ.. AAnnddrreeww MMaaccKKaayy Mackay JA, Li Z.  Theranostic agents that co‐deliver therapeutic and imaging agents? Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2010 Oct 16. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 20937334  

Mackay JA, Callahan DJ, Fitzgerald KN, Chilkoti A.  Quantitative Model of the Phase Behavior of Recombinant pH‐Responsive Elastin‐Like Polypeptides.  Biomacromolecules. 2010 Oct 6. [Epub ahead of print]  PMID: 20925333  

Janib SM, Moses AS, Mackay JA.  Imaging and drug delivery using theranostic nanoparticles. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2010 Aug 13. [Epub ahead of print].  PMID: 20709124  

 

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A trimester publication for the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the Department

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NNoouurrii NNeeaammaattii Millard M, Pathania D, Shabaik Y, Taheri L, Deng J, Neamati N.Preclinical evaluation of novel triphenylphosphonium salts with broad‐spectrum activity.  PLoS One. 2010 Oct 4;5(10). pii: e13131.  PMID: 20957228  

Hadi V, Koh YH, Sanchez TW, Barrios D, Neamati N, Jung KW.  Development of the next generation of HIV‐1 integrase inhibitors: Pyrazolone as a novel inhibitor scaffold. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2010 Nov 15;20(22):6854‐7. Epub 2010 Aug 17.  PMID: 20864343  

Ramkumar K, Neamati N.  Raltegravir: The evidence of its therapeutic value in HIV‐1 infection.  Core Evid. 2010 Jun 15;4:131‐47.  PMID: 20694070  

Ramkumar K, Yarovenko VN, Nikitina AS, Zavarzin IV, Krayushkin MM, Kovalenko LV, Esqueda A, Odde S, Neamati N.  Design, synthesis and structure‐activity studies of rhodanine derivatives as HIV‐1 integrase inhibitors.  Molecules. 2010 Jun 1;15(6):3958‐92.PMID: 20657419  

Ramkumar K, Serrao E, Odde S, Neamati N.  HIV‐1 integrase inhibitors: 2007‐2008 update.Med Res Rev. 2010 Feb 4. [Epub ahead of print].  PMID: 20135632  

Yamada R, Kostova MB, Anchoori RK, Xu S, Neamati N, Khan SR.  Biological evaluation of paclitaxel‐peptide conjugates as a model for MMP2‐targeted drug delivery.Cancer Biol Ther. 2010 Feb;9(3):192‐203. Epub 2010 Feb 16.  PMID: 20023432  

Sanam R, Tajne S, Gundla R, Vadivelan S, Machiraju PK, Dayam R, Narasu L, Jagarlapudi S, Neamati N.  Combined pharmacophore and structure‐guided studies to identify diverse HSP90 inhibitors.  J Mol Graph Model. 2010 Feb 26;28(6):472‐7. Epub 2009 Nov 24. PMID: 20005756  

WWeeii--CChhiiaanngg SShheenn Chen X, Bai Y, Zaro JL, Shen WC.  Design of an in vivo cleavable disulfide linker in recombinant fusion proteins.  Biotechniques. 2010 Jul;49(1):513‐8.  PMID: 20615204  

JJeeaann CC.. SShhiihh Cheng A, Scott AL, Ladenheim B, Chen K, Ouyang X, Lathia JD, Mughal M, Cadet JL, Mattson MP, Shih JC.   Monoamine oxidases regulate telencephalic neural progenitors in late embryonic and early postnatal development.  J Neurosci. 2010 Aug 11;30(32):10752‐62. PMID: 20702706  

Ou XM, Stockmeier CA, Meltzer HY, Overholser JC, Jurjus GJ, Dieter L, Chen K, Lu D, Johnson C, Youdim MB, Austin MC, Luo J, Sawa A, May W, Shih JC.  A novel role for glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase and monoamine oxidase B cascade in ethanol‐induced cellular damage.  Biol Psychiatry. 2010 May 1;67(9):855‐63. Epub 2009 Dec 22. PMID: 20022592  

Yin HS, Chen K, Shih JC, Tien TW.   Down‐regulated GABAergic expression in the olfactory bulb layers of the mouse deficient in monoamine oxidase B and administered with amphetamine.  Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2010 May;30(4):511‐9. Epub 2009 Nov 10. PMID: 19902350  

RRaajjiinnddaarr SS.. SSoohhaall Mockett RJ, Sohal BH, Sohal RS.  Expression of multiple copies of mitochondrially targeted catalase or genomic Mn superoxide dismutase transgenes does not extend the life span of Drosophila melanogaster.  Free Radic Biol Med. 2010 Oct 2. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 20923705  

Radyuk SN, Rebrin I, Klichko VI, Sohal BH, Michalak K, Benes J, Sohal RS, Orr WC.  Mitochondrial peroxiredoxins are critical for the maintenance of redox state and the survival of adult Drosophila.  Free Radic Biol Med. 2010 Sep 22. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 20869434  

Ren JC, Rebrin I, Klichko V, Orr WC, Sohal RS.  Cytochrome c oxidase loses catalytic activity and structural integrity during the aging process in Drosophila melanogaster. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2010 Oct 8;401(1):64‐8. Epub 2010 Sep 15. PMID: 20833144  

BBaannggyyaann SSttiilleess He L, Hou X, Kanel G, Zeng N, Galicia V, Wang Y, Yan J, Wu H, Bimbaum MJ, Stiles BL.  The critical role of AKT2 in hepatic steatosis induced by PTEN loss. Am J Pathology 176(5):2302‐2308, 2010. PMID: 20348245  

Ko KS, Tomasi ML, Iglesias‐Ara A, French BA, French SW, Ramani K, Lozano JJ, Oh P, He L, Stiles BL, Li TW, Yang H, Martínez‐Chantar ML, Mato JM, Lu SC.  Liver‐specific deletion of prohibitin 1 results in spontaneous liver injury, fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma in mice.  Hepatology. 2010 Aug 20. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 20890892  

Galicia VA, He L, Dang H, Kanel G, Vendryes C, French BA, Zeng N, Bayan JA, Ding W, Wang KS, French S, Birnbaum MJ, Rountree CB, Stiles BL.  Expansion of hepatic tumor progenitor cells in Pten‐null mice requires liver injury and is reversed by loss of AKT2..  Gastroenterology. 2010 Sep 10. [Epub ahead of print]  PMID: 20837017  

Ding W, You H, Dang H, LeBlanc F, Galicia V, Lu SC, Stiles B, Rountree CB.  Epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition of murine liver tumor cells promotes invasion.  Hepatology. 2010 Sep;52(3):945‐53.  PMID: 20564331  

CCllaayy CC.. WWaanngg Palmer JM, Mallaredy S, Perry DW, Sanchez JF, Szewczyk E, Oakley BR, Wang CC, Keller NP, Mirabito PM.    Telemere position effect is regulated by heterochromatic associated proteins and NkuA in Aspergillus nidulans.  Microbiology.  2010 Aug 19.  PMID: 20724388  

Chiang YM, Oakley BR, Keller NP, Wang CC .  Unraveling polyketide synthess in members of the genus Aspergillus.  Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2010 May;86(6):1719‐26.  Epub 2010 Apr 2.  PMID: 20361326  

WWaalltteerr WWoollff Wolf W.  The Unique Potential for Noninvasive Imaging in Modernizing Drug Development and in Transforming Therapeutics: PET/MRI/MRS.  Pharm Res. 2010 Oct 1. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 20886263.