Research Interest: Bioinformatics
| Name | PhD Program | Research Interest | Publications |
|---|---|---|
| Schrank, Travis PUBLICATIONS |
PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST |
I am a surgeon-scientist specialized in head and neck cancers. My goal is to address translationalquestions with genomic data and bioinformatic methods, as well as benchtop experimentation. My clinical practice as a head and neck cancer surgeon also influences my research by helping me seek solutions to problems that will directly inform gaps in the current treatment protocols. I have developed a strong interest in HPV genomics as well as HPV/host genome integrations, as these factors are intrinsically related to transcriptional diversity and patient outcomes in HPV-associated head and neck cancers. Our work has helped to demonstrate that a novel mechanism of HPV-mediated oncogenesis requiring NF-kB activation is present in nearly 50% of oropharyngeal tumors. In this vein, we are aggressively investigating the cellular interplay between the NF-kB pathway and persistent HPV infection, tumor radiation response, NRF2 signaling, and more. Another outgrowth of this work has been investigating APOBEC3B and its non-canonical roles in regulating transcription. Our preliminary work has demonstrated that APOBEC3B has surprisingly strong transcriptional effects in HPV+ HNSCC cells and may promote oncogenesis and tumor maintenance by suppressing the innate immune response and influencing the HPV viral lifecycle. Our group also have a strong interest in translational genomic studies. Our group is working to develop methods that will make gene expression-based biomarkers more successful in the clinic, as well as studying many aspects of genomic alterations that contribute to the development of squamous cell carcinomas. |
| Popov, Konstantin WEBSITE PUBLICATIONS |
PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST |
The Popov Lab develops inventive, cutting-edge approaches to solve problems in modern computational structural biology and drug discovery. Their computational research, in collaboration with experimental screening and medicinal chemistry efforts in the Center for Integrative Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery enables the identification of novel chemical probes and drug candidates to advance understanding of biological processes. |
| Chung, Kay WEBSITE PUBLICATIONS |
PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST |
The Chung lab is engineering immune cells, particularly T cells, to achieve maximum therapeutic efficacy at the right place and timing. We explore the crossroads of synthetic biology, immunology, and cancer biology. Particularly, we are employing protein engineering, next-gen sequencing, CRISPR screening, and bioinformatics to achieve our objectives: (1) Combinatorial recipes of transcription factors for T cell programming. (2) Technologies for temporal regulation and/or rewiring of tumor and immune signal activation (chemokine, nuclear, inhibitor receptors). (3) Synthetic oncolytic virus for engineering tumor-T cell crosstalk. |
| Pruitt, Kevin WEBSITE PUBLICATIONS |
PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST |
Pruitt lab research involves 3 broad areas. Interest in the first area (cancer epigenetics) stemmed from discoveries made during postdoctoral training assessing how tumor progression disrupts epigenetic mechanisms of control. The second area (Wnt pathway regulation) was the result of early screens as an Assistant Professor at LSU Health Sciences Center. We uncovered novel regulators of oncogenic Wnt signaling and published the first observation that epigenetic enzymes regulate a critical mediator of Wnt signaling (Dishevelled). The third project involves elucidating mechanisms of aromatase regulation which emerged from the obsession of early trainees in the lab with understanding mechanisms cancer-associated estrogen biosynthesis. Within the context of these three projects, I have mentored and guided multiple trainees at every level over the course of 17 years. |
| Liu, Qingyun PUBLICATIONS |
PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST |
Traditionally, basic science has sought to enter the translational pipeline through what can be referred to as “Bottom-Up” science, that is, studies that start with a hypothesis in the lab and aim to develop clinical relevance of the findings. In some cases, notably in conventional antibiotic development, this has worked well – but it assumes one-size fits all solutions that are only as good as our assumptions about the biology of many infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. By contrast, my research focuses on a “Top-Down” approach, leveraging the power of bacterial population genomics to identify bacterial processes important for Mtb success in people and to then employ cutting-edge experimental techniques to mechanistically dissect these processes with the goal of leveraging them using new translational tools. In my work to date, I have applied this “Top-Down” strategy to define bacterial determinants of treatment outcomes and transmission success, as evident in first-author/corresponding author publications in prestigious journals such as Science, Nature Ecology Evolution, Cell Host Microbe, Science Advances, Genome Biology, PNAS, etc. My work combines expertise in evolutionary biology and bacterial genomics, cutting-edge bacterial genetics and high-throughput experimental phenotyping. In my own lab, I will use these tools to (1) define the biological mechanisms that enable Mtb to survive antibiotic treatment; (2) identify bacterial determinants of TB transmission success; and (3) elucidate the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the emergence of new bacterial pathogens. |
| Landis, Justin |
PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST |
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| Kenney, Grace |
PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST |
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| Huang, Emma |
PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST |
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| Kavalipati, Archishma |
PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST |
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| Fisher, Caleb |
PHD PROGRAM RESEARCH INTEREST |
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