Cell & Molecular Biology Track

The CMB Track is designed for graduate students with a broad interest in investigating how prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells function as a living unit, respond to external cues, communicate with other cells, and contribute to the homeostatic and pathological processes in complex systems.

The track has a strong emphasis in interdisciplinary approaches to graduate education and training to provide students with a broad foundation for future career development in more specialized areas of biomedical research and education. Students will be exposed to molecular, genetic, genomic, proteomic, structural and/or whole organism research approaches.

The research interests of the faculty include signal transduction, cell cycle, DNA repair, apoptosis, cell-cell communication, cell migration, stem cell biology, regulation of gene expression, exo-/endo-cytosis, cytoskeleton, protein structure and complex assembly, post-translational modification, and protein degradation, as these processes relate to various human health issues such as aging, cancer, immune surveillance, infectious disease, neural, metabolic, and hereditary disorders, and development.

Cell and Molecular Biology - CSB Faculty:

Yidong Bai, Ph.D.
Alex Bishop, Ph.D.
Lily Q. Dong, Ph.D.
Ellen Kraig, Ph.D.
Pamela L. Larsen, Ph.D.
James D. Lechleiter, Ph.D.
William W. Morgan, Ph.D.
Susan L. Naylor, Ph.D.
Babatunde O. Oyajobi, Ph.D.
Luiz Otavio F. Penalva, Ph.D.
Olivia Pereira-Smith, Ph.D.
Qitao Ran, Ph.D.
Manjett K. Rao, Ph.D.
Vivienne I. Rebel, M.D., Ph.D.
LuZhe Sun, Ph.D.
Christi A. Walter, Ph.D.


 

Linda DeGraffenried, Ph.D., Department of Medicine
Peter J. Hornsby, Ph.D., Department of Physiology
John R. McCarrey, Ph.D., Department of Biological Sciences

Cell and Molecular Biology
Complete Faculty List and Interests:

Asmis, Reto, Biochemistry - Thiol Oxidative Stress and Macrophages Dysfunction in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases.

Bai, Yidong, Cellular and Structural Biology - mitochondrial, respiratory chain, complex assembly, turnover, copy number control.

Berton, Michael T., Microbiology - Regulation of immunity in infection, allergy and cancer; cytokine and Toll-like receptor signal transduction, regulation of gene expression.

Bishop, Alex, Children's Cancer Research Institute - Genomic instability, DNA repair, homologous recombination, cell signaling, cancer and aging.

Bose, Santanu, Microbiology - Anti-viral signaling against respiratory RNA virus

Chatterjee, Bandana, Molecular Medicine - Gene regulation; nuclear receptors; cancer cell biology; environmental carcinogenesis; transgenic/knock out mice; live cell microscopy.

Clark, Robert, Medicine - Neutrophil phagocytosis, microbial killing and tissue injury, gene regulation, cell signaling, reactive oxygen species.

de Graffenried, Linda, UT Austin - Signal transduction, tumorigenesis, molecular therapeutics.

Dong, Lily, Cellular and Structural Biology - Adiponectin signaling in Obese and Diabetes.

Dube, Peter, Microbiology - Endocytosis, bacteria/macrophage interacition.

Eaton, Benjamin A., Physiology - synaptic growth, stability, and function in Drosophila.

Galvan, Veronica, Physiology - Alzheimer's disease, nervous system, aging, mTOR pathway, stem cell.

Gao, Shou-Jiang, Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute - Viral oncogenesis, inflammation, angiogenesis, cancer invasion, microRNA, and herpesvirus entry, latency and reactivation.

Ghosh, Rita, Urology - Melanoma, DNA damage, GU and skin cancer.

Ghosh-Choudhury, Nandini, Pathology - Gene expression, growth factor, signal transduction, kinase, breast cancer, metastasis, transgenic models, knockout mice, reactive oxygen species.

Hinck, Andrews, Biochemistry - Melanoma, DNA damage, GU and skin cancer.

Hornsby, Peter, Physiology - Cell transplantation, cellular aging.

Hu, Yanfen, Molecular Medicine - BRCA1, breast cancer, gene expression and regulation.

Izumi, Kenneth M., Microbiology - Epstein Barr virus oncogenicity, LMP1 signal transduction.

Jiang, Jean, Biochemistry - Intercellular and intracellular signaling, amino acid transport.

Kadosh, David, Microbiology - Cell morphology, filamentous growth, fungal pathogenesis, gene regulation, genomics.

Kraig, Ellen, Cellular and Structural Biology - Effects of aging and infection on immunity and autoimmunity.

Kumar, A. Pratap, Urology - Molecular targets, cancer therapy.

Lafer, Eileen, Biochemistry - Clathrin mediated endocytosis, Synaptic vesicle recycling, Molecular mechanisms underlying clathrin coat assembly and uncoating .

Larsen, Pamela, Cellular and Structural Biology - Metabolism, stress resistance, aging and C. elegans development .

Lechleiter, James D., Cellular and Structural Biology - Molecular and cellular mechanisms of protection during ischemic stress, acute brain injury and aging.

Lee, John, Biochemistry - Skeletal system.

Li, Rong, Molecular Medicine - Breast cancer, BRCA1, hormone-dependent gene regulation, obesity, adipose tissue, tumor microenvironment.

Li, Senlin, Pharmacology - stem cell/gene therapy, neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson's disease, atherosclerosis, hematopoietic stem cell, aging, rejuvenation.

LoVerde, Philip, Biochemistry - Molecular, Genetic and Immunological Investigation of the human blood fluke, Schistosoma mansoni.

Lu, Xin-Yun, Pharmacology - Neurobiology of stress-related disorders, Depression and obesity, Leptin signaling in the central nervous system.

Luduena, Richard, Biochemistry - Structure of tubulin; biochemistry of microtubules; tubulin isotypes, mechanism of action of anti-tumor drugs.

McCarrey, John R., UTSA Department of Biology - Cellular biology; cellular development & differentiation.

McEwen, Donald, Children's Cancer and Research Institute - Apoptosis, development, cell signaling, planar cell polarity, oncogenesis.

Morgan, William, Cellular and Structural Biology - Neurodegeneration, aging, gene expression, transgenic models.

Naski, Michael, Pathology - Skeletal development, bone and cartilage, osteoblast and chondrocyte, Wnt signaling, Runx2, FGF and FGF receptors.

Naylor, Sue, Cellular and Structural Biology - microRNA, cell interaction, cancer cells.

Nicholson, Bruce, Biochemistry - Cell communication; gap junction channel structure, permeability and gating; mechanisms of tumor suppression; intercellular communication and cell migration.

Oddo, Salvatore, Physiology - Alzheimer's disease, neurodegeneration, aging, transgenic mice, dementia.

Oyajobi, Babatunde (KAY), Cellular and Structural Biology - Skeletal biology, cancer-induced bone diseases, multiple myeloma, ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, non-invasive small animal imaging.

Penalva, Luiz O., Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute - Post-transcriptional regulation and RNA binding proteins.

Pereira-Smith, Olivia, Cellular and Structural Biology - Cell senescence, chromatin remodeling, transcriptional regulation, tumor suppression.

Ran, Qitao, Cellular and Structural Biology - Oxdative damage, antioxidant defense, aging, Alzheimer's, transgenic mice, apoptosis.

Ranjan, Ravi, Pharmacology - Aging, mechanism of neurotransmitter secretion.

Rao, Hai, Molecular Medicine - ubiquitin, regulated proteolysis, protein quality control, prion diseases.

Rao, Manjeet, Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute - Pediatric cancers, microRNA, RNAi, transcription.

Rebel, Vivienne, Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute - Stem cell regulation, transcriptional regulatory networks, CBP, p300.

Saikumar, Pothana, Pathology - Cell injury, cell death, oncogenes.

Shiio, Yuzuru, Biochemistry - Quantitative proteomics, ICAT (isotope-coded affinity tag), ubiquitin ligases, VHL, BRCA1, protein secretion, senescence, cancer biomarkers.

Sun, Luzhe, Cellular and Structural Biology - Cancer biology, Signal transduction, Cell cycle, Cell senescence, Experimental therapeutics.

Tekmal, Rajeshwar, Ob-GYN - growth factor/hormone crosstalk, signal transduction, steroid hormone coactivation.

Toney, Glenn M., Physiology - Neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, membrane channels, neuronal osmosensation.

Vadlamudi, Ratna K., Ob-GYN - neclear receptors, coregulators, hormone, growth factor, chromatin regulation, epigenetics, cytoskeleton signaling, kinases, breast cancer.

Walss-Bass, Consuelo, Psychiatry - schizophrenia, neuregulin.

Walter, Chris, Cellular and Structural Biology - DNA repair, mutagenesis, mitochondria, transgenic mice, aging, spermatogenic cells.

Yew, P. Renee, Molecular Medicine - Vertebrate cell cycle regulation, DNA replication initiation, Ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis and signaling, Tumor suppressor function.

Yuan, Zhi-Min, Radiation Oncology - Stress response, tumor suppressor gene, tumor microenvironment, experimental therapeutics.

Zhong, Guangming, Microbiology - Microbial manipulation of mammalian cell apoptosis and other signaling pathways, Infection and Immunity, Vaccine.