Faculty Research Interests

The research in my laboratory includes two primary areas of investigation. They are:

(1) mechanisms of signal transduction by nuclear hormone receptors and their associated cofactors, and

(2) mechanisms of transcriptional activation with chromatin templates. My research is focused on the basic biochemistry and molecular biology of these processes, but I am also interested in how these areas of basic research relate to human diseases, especially cancers.

Rui Hai Liu, Department of Food Science, College of Ag and Life Science,

Professor Liu's research program focuses on diet and cancer, functional foods and nutraceuticals. Specific interests include:

1) role of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in the prevention of cancer;
2) antioxidant and anticancer activities of phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables;
3) functional foods for disease prevention and health promotion: roles of antioxidants, phytochemicals and other bio-active compounds targeted at aging, cancers, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases;
4) screening of natural products and herbal formulations for antiviral activity to hepatitis B and C.

He teaches course Food Analysis, Food Lipids, along with a team-taught Food Chemistry course, lecturing on lipid chemistry, toxicants in foods, food additives, and changes of nutrients during food processing.

Roy Levine , College of Veterinary Medicine

Cell proliferation and differentiation are regulated by the interaction of both positive and negative factors. The aberrant expression of these factors can direct a cell toward either a proliferation or differentiation pathway. Little is known of the mechanisms by which proliferation and differentiation-specific factors interact. To study these interactions we have employed two distinct systems: highly proliferative, relatively undifferentiated canine osteosarcoma cell lines and a highly differentiated epithelial cell in which proliferation is developmentally regulated.

Canine osteosarcoma is a highly malignant tumor with a poor clinical prognosis. Despite the large body of information on human OS, little is known about the molecular defects that are responsible for the pathogenesis of the canine disease. We have established five canine osteosarcoma cell lines from independent animals with the goal of identifying the oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and signaling pathways that are aberrantly regulated and the mechanisms by which these mutant proteins and pathways control cellular proliferation and differentiation.

Margaret C. McEntee , College of Veterinary Medicine

Radiation oncology and biology. Michael McEntee, College of Veterinary Medicine Cancer pathology. The effect of NSAIDS on colon cancer development.