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Tara
Sabo-Attwood Ph.D.
Public Health Research Center (PHRC), 401C
Secondary Address: Phone: (803) 777-4120
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| Biographical Information: 2003-2005, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Environmental Pathology, University of Vermont 2003, Ph.D., Environmental Toxicology, University of Florida 1996, B.S., Cytogenetics, University of Connecticut Honors & Awards: 2004, Postdoctoral Vermont Cancer Center Award, University of Vermont 2003, Patent for Largemouth bass gene chip, University of Florida (EcoArray Inc.) 2003, NIEHS Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Vermont 2003, Graduate Student Competition Award-Pollutant Responses in Marine Organisms (PRIMO) 2001, Medical Guild Departmental Competition, University of Florida, Gainesville FL |
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| Research: Research Interests: • Cell signaling pathways impacted by airborne pollutants (asbestos, smoke, nanoparticles) relevant to environmental lung disease • The role of estrogen in lung cancer • Molecular mechanisms of xenoestrogens in aquatic models (zebrafish) Airborne pollutants and environmental lung disease Occupational and environmental exposure to airborne pollutants is associated with the development of chronic lung disease including cancer, fibrosis, bronchitis, and asthma, among others. The molecular pathways perturbed by these pollutants (asbestos, smoke, nanoparticles) is not clear, and elucidation of these signaling cascades and control of critical downstream gene targets in lung cells is the focus of my research. Using a toxicogenomic approach, we have discovered several candidate genes (MUCs and Clca1) that may be important in particulate-induced lung disease and are specifically involved in the production and regulation of mucin secretion in the lung. Airway mucus hypersecretion is a prominent feature of chronic lung pathologies, and elucidation of signaling pathways stimulated by airborne pollutants that regulate mucus metaplasia will lead to both a better understanding of basic biology of chronic pulmonary diseases as well as potential therapeutic targets. We are currently investigating the role of EGFR/MAPK signaling pathways in the transcriptional regulation of these genes through in vitro and in vivo applications including microarrays, siRNA, chemical inhibition studies, immunohistochemistry, and transgenic animals. In a related focus, we are also investigating the role of estrogen receptors in lung disease. The increasing incidence of female non-smokers with lung cancer (adenocarcinoma) has led to speculation that estrogen plays a role in disease development and/or progression. Estrogen receptors have been recently discovered in the lung and are overexpressed in some tumors, but the role they play in regulation of cell growth, death, metastasis, and therapeutic resistance is currently unknown. Endocrine disruption in aquatic model systems Many estrogen active compounds (xenoestrogens), including components of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, industrial chemicals, and pharmaceuticals have been causally associated with adverse effects on wildlife and human populations, contributing to impaired reproductive success, developmental abnormalities, and cancer incidence. Xenoestrogens bind and activate estrogen receptors, which are transcription factors that regulate downstream gene targets involved in growth, reproduction, and development. Estrogen signaling pathways have become increasingly complex with the discovery of additional receptor subtypes, and . Investigating the functional roles of the receptor isotypes in aquatic models (zebrafish) in response to estrogen and environmental contaminants is currently underway using molecular techniques including microarrays and morpholino knockdown. |
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Selected Publications: Norman, R.S., J.W. Stone, A. Gole, C.J. Murphy, and T.L. Sabo-Attwood. (2007). Targeted photothermal lysis of the pathogenic bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa using gold nanorods. Nano Letters (In Review).
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| Columbia, SC 29208 • 803-777-5032 • sphweb@gwm.sc.edu | © University of South Carolina Board of Trustees |