Biochemistry and Microbiology

BBSC, 1 John Marshall Drive , Huntington, WV 25755
(304) 696-7301  |  fax: (304) 696-7253  Email: tmathis@marshall.edu

Current Lab Personnel

	Sarah Miles, postdoctoral fellow, 2005-present. Sarah is studying the ability of quercetin to inhibit human melanoma growth and induce apoptosis. She is also determining how ascorbic acid (vitamin C) synergizes with quercetin to enhance its action. A second project in collaboration with Jose Pulido, M.D. Mayo Clinic is examining the melancyte proliferation activity found in the serum and plasma of patients with the para-neoplastic syndrome known as BDUMP (bi-lateral diffuse uveal melanocytic proliferation), which leads to blindness and eventual death.
	Linda Eastham,  Laboratory Technician II and part-time graduate student 1995-present. Linda is conducting experiments on vitamin A metabolism and function in human melanocytes and melanoma. For her doctoral dissertation, Linda is studying the induction of A-kinase anchoring protein type 12 (AKAP12) by retinoic acid and its role in mediating the effect of retinoic acid on proliferation and differentiation of retinoic acid-sensitive melanoma cells.
	Sandeep Joshi, graduate student, 2006-2010. Postdoctoral Fellow July 2010-present. Sandeep is studying the normoxic expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF). He has published that HIF expression increases as a function of melanoma progression and contributes to some of the malignant characteristics such as invasion through extracellular matrix. He has also shown that MITF a master transcription factor in melanocytes is a direct target gene of HIF and contributes to the survival of melanoma cells. Currently Sandeep is determining whether certain dietary constituents can inhibit the expression of HIF.