Faculty and Their Research
To view a more complete list of each faculty members publications, go to PubMed and enter the faculty members last name and initials.
Timothy Albertson, M.D., Ph.D., Professor. Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine: PSSB/UCDMC Clinical Pharmacology/neuropharmacology/toxicology. Pharmacology/neuropharmacology/toxicology. Stimulant abuse/toxicology/sepsis studies. tealbertson@ucdavis.edu/916-734-3564/916-227-1403
James Angelastro, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Molecular Biosciences: Veterinary Medicine. Cell biology, signal transduction, neurochemistry, gene expression, apoptosis, and neurobiology. jmangelastro@ucdavis.edu/530-752-1591
Deborah H. Bennett, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Medicine:Dept. of Public Health Sciences. Exposure assessment of multimedia organic pollutants. dhbennett@ucdavis.edu/530-754-8282
Robert F. Berman, Ph.D., Professor. Neurological Surgery. Effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure to environmental toxins on brain development and behavior. rfberman@ucdavis.edu/530-754-5102
Ann C. Bonham, M.S., Ph.D., Professor. Pharmacology & Toxicology: Medicine. Central nervous system control of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. acbonham@ucdavis.edu/530-752-3200
Robert Brosnan, DVM, Ph.D, Assistant Professor. Dept. of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, Veterinary Medicine. Mechanisms of anesthetic action; and, cardiorespiratory effects of anesthetics. rjbrosnan@ucdavis.edu/530-754-6476
Alan R. Buckpitt, Ph.D., Professor. Molecular Biosciences: Veterinary Medicine. Metabolism of xenobiotics in the lung to reactive, cytotoxic metabolites. Understanding the importance of protein arylation and oxidation in cytotoxicity. Development of biomarkers for measuring the effects of lung toxic chemicals. arbuckpitt@ucdavis.edu/530-752-7674
Kermit Carraway, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Biological Chemistry: UCDMC and UCD Cancer Center. Effect of growth factor signaling on tumor growth and progression. klcarraway@ucdavis.edu/916-734-3114
Nipavan Chiamvimonvat, Ph.D., Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine. Cellular and molecular mechanisms contributing to cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in patients with cardiac hypertrophy and failure. She is working to develop a multidisciplinary research initiative in cardiovascular biology, which will include emphasis on fundamental mechanisms in cardiac arrhythmias and cardiac ion channelopathy. nchiamvimonvat@ucdavis.edu/530-752-4712
Hongwu Chen, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Med: Biochemistry and Mol Medicine. UCDMC, UCD Cancer Center. Hormonal signaling and gene expression, chromatin modification and remodeling, control of cell cycle and cell proliferation, molecular oncogensis. hwzchen@ucdavis.edu/916-734-7743
Gary N. Cherr, Ph.D., Professor. Environmental Toxicology/Nutrition & Bodega Marine Laboratory. Effects of toxicants and environmental stressors on fertilization and development in aquatic invertebrates and fish; signal transduction events in initiation of sperm motility; effects of endocrine disruptors on reproduction and development in marine organisms; surface coating proteins in primate sperm. gncherr@ucdavis.edu/707-875-2051
Gino A. Cortopassi, Ph.D. Professor. Molecular Biosciences: Veterinary Medicine. Sensitive detection of mitochondrial and nuclear mutagenesis; mitochondrial disease, mitochondrial biochemistry, involvement of mitochondria in apoptosis. gcortopassi@ucdavis.edu/530-754-9665
Arthur Craigmill, Ph.D., Extension Toxicologist. Environmental Toxicology. Pharmaco/toxicokinetics; poisonous plants. Performing kinetic studies in minor ruminants and aquaculture species. Also working to isolate the toxic principle in avocado leaves. alcraigmill@ucdavis.edu/530-752-2936
Michael DeGregorio, Pharm.D., Professor. Hematology/Oncology: Medicine. Research interests include molecular biology, carcinogenesis, and clinical pharmacology. Primary areas of study include breast cancer and drug resistance, as well as DNA adduct formation in Rhesus Macaques. mwdegregorio@ucdavis.edu/916-734-2360
Wenbin Deng, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Cell Biology and Human Anatomy: Medicine. Nervous system development, toxicity, and disease. Receptor pharmacology/toxicology and signal transduction. Basic and translational research in stem cell biology, neural injury and repair, and regenerative medicine. wbdeng@ucdavis.edu/916-453-2287
Michael S. Denison, Ph.D., Professor. Environmental Toxicology. Molecular toxicology and regulation of gene expression by xenobiotics, molecular mechanisms of action of dioxin, xenobiotic interactions with receptors, bioassay systems for toxicant and other fun things in science. msdenison@ucdavis.edu/530-752-3879
Elva D. Diaz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Pharmacology & Toxicology: Medicine. Molecular and genomic approaches to understanding nervous system development. ediaz@ucdavis.edu/530-754-6080
Jason Eiserich, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Nephrology: Medicine. Vascular and Pulmonary Inflammation, Roles of nitric oxide signaling in inflammatory diseases, Cellular Oxidant Signaling in cancer, Inhalation Toxicology, and use of Drosophila as a model biosensor for studying biochemical, cellular, and genetic effects of atmospheric oxidant pollutants. jpeiserich@ucdavis.edu/530-752-4008
Peggy Farnham, Ph.D., Professor. Geome Center & Bioinformatics program. Leader in developing the technique of chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) to study the function of mammalian transcription factors. Recently, we have extended these studies to allow a high throughput, global analysis of transcription factor target genes by combining chromatin immunoprecipitation with CpG and high densityoligonucleotide microarrays. Current projects include the analysis of changes in chromatin structure as embryonic stem cells differentiate, changes in chromatin structure in normal vs tumor cells, and the identification of target genes of transcription factors such as Oct4 (a key regulator of stem cell self renewal), SUZ12 (a Polycomb Group protein involved in development and tumor progression), and the E2F family (key cell cycle regulators). pjfarnham@ucdavis.edu/530-754-4988
Zelanna Goldberg, M.D., Associate Professor. Radiation Oncology, Cancer Center: UCDMC. Low dose radiation effects in humans using genomics and proteomics to develop a "systems biology approach to radiation response; identification of critical response pathways. Development of Radiosensitizers from new biologic response modifying anti-cancer drugs. zgoldberg@ucdavis.edu/916-734-8172
Tzipora Goldkorn, Ph.D., Professor. Pulmonary Medicine: Medicine. Mechanisms of modulation of tyrosine kinase receptors interaction and stability. Stress modulation of sphingomyelin pathway and apoptosis. Regulation of AKT kinase and other survival factors, such as Bcl2 and NFkB. Molecular characterization of the membrane neutral sphingomyelinase that is regulated by oxidative stress. Ceramide target genes (microarrays). Ceramide mechanistic interactions with Bcl2, Caspases and mitochondria. Dietary sphingolipids in cancer. ttgoldkorn@ucdavis.edu/530-752-2988
Mari S. Golub, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor. Environmental Toxicology. Developmental neurobehavioral toxicology. Our focus is on neurobehavioral effects of developmental interventions such as drugs, toxicants and malnutrition in animal models including nonhuman primates. msgolub@ucdavis.edu/530-752-5119
Fred Gorin, M.D., Ph.D., Professor. Neurology: Medicine. Neuropharmacological research-drug design for brain tumor therapies, ion transporters and metablolism within the central nervous system. Basic neuroinformatics research using statistical methodologies for drug discovery and neurotoxicology. fagorin@ucdavis.edu/530-754-5009
Bruce D. Hammock, Ph.D., Professor. Entomology. Oxidized lipids as second messengers, development of anti-inflammatory drugs, comparative xenobiotic metabolism, metabolomic analysis of arachidonic cascade and vitamin D, molecular toxicology, immunochemical analysis of environmental chemicals, pesticide chemistry and biochemistry. bdhammock@ucdavis.edu/530-752-7519
Richart W. Harper, M.D., Associate Professor. Pulmonary & Critical Medicine/PSSB/UCDMC. Oxidant regulation of innate immunity in airway epithelium, and the molecular mechanisms responsible for oxidant-regulated signaling in the respiratory tract. rwharper@ucdavis.edu/916-734-3564
Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Ph.D., Professor. Public Health Sciences: Medicine. Epidemiology of pregnancy and early childhood development. Environmental exposures, including metals, PCBs, pesticides, and air pollution, in relation to pre- and post-natal growth, childhood respiratory health, and immunologic and neruobehavioral development. Epidemiologic methods, including study, design, validity, dose-response, and other data analysis. ihp@ucdavis.edu/530-752-3025
Silas S. O. Hung, Ph.D., Professor. Animal Science. By training I am a fish nutritionist. However, I always consider fish nutrition and toxicology as a continuum, fromnutrient deficiency to excess of unwanted contaminants or toxicants. Since 2000, my group has conducted experiments on the toxicology of Sacramento splittail and sturgeon. The CalFed Bay-Delta Program funded my lab for five years (2000-2005) to use a biomarker approach to the study of the chronic toxicity of environmental contaminants in the Sacramento splittail. We are currently being funded by CalFed (2007-2010) to study the quantitative indicators and life history implications of selenomethionine alone and in combination with methyl mercury, and salinity and heat stress in green and white sturgeon. sshung@ucdavis.edu/530-752-3580, 752-7174
Dallas M. Hyde, Ph.D., Professor. Anatomy, Physiology & Cell Biology: Veterinary Medicine. Mechanisms of chemically induced pulmonary inflammation; chemical pathogenesis. dmhyde@ucdavis.edu/530-752-0420
Jan E. Ilkiw, BVSc, Ph.D., Professor. Surgical and Radiological Sciences: Veterinary Medicine. Pharmacology of general anesthetic agents in small animals with emphasis on feline anesthesia. jeilkiw@ucdavis.edu/530-752-5336
Rivkah R. Isseroff, M.D., Professor. Tissue Bioengineering Laboratory/ACC/UCDMC. Kertinocyte differentiation/growth control. Examining arsenic, ultra violet light and tobacco as common toxins to target keratinocytes. Alterations in keratinocyte migration and wound healing induced by environmental agents. rrisseroff@ucdavis.edu/916-734-6379
Jesse P. Joad, M.D. Professor. Pediatrics: Medicine. The effects of air pollutants (ozone and side stream smoke) on neural control of airways using pulmonary mechanics of the isolated lung, single unit recording, radio ligand binding, and biochemical techniques. jpjoad@ucdavis.edu/916-734-3189
Carl L. Keen, Ph.D. Professor. Nutrition. Influence of diet on embryonic and fetal development, the study of gene-nutrient interactions, with an emphasis on how subtle changes in cell mineral concentrations influence the expression of select genes, the study of how diet influences oxidant defense systems. clkeen@ucdavis.edu/530-752-6331
John Knezovich, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor. Environmental Toxicology. Director, UC Toxic Substances Research and Teaching program. Environmental fate and toxicity of organic contaminants, heavy metals and radionuclides. Emphasis on the application of ion-beam analytical techniques to assess the bioavailability of contaminants and their in vivo disposition. knezovichl@llnl.gov/925-422-0925
Hsing-Jien Kung, Ph.D., Professor. Cancer Center. Signal transduction; oncogenes; tyrosine kinases; prostate cancer and cancer virology. hkung@ucdavis.edu/916-734-7805
Anne Knowlton, M.D., Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine and Pharmacology. Heat shock proteins and cardiovascular disease. We are interested in the role of HSP60 in apoptosis in myocytes, and the role of extra- vs. intra-cellular HSP60. Aging, estrogen, and cardiovascular injury. We are interested in estrogen withdrawal related changes and how these predispose to the development of cardiovascular disease. aaknowlton@ucdavis.edu/530-752-5461
Kit S. Lam, M.D., Ph.D., Professor. Hematology/Oncology: Medicine. Canter Center/UCDMC. Combinatorial chemistry, chemical microarrays, drug discovery cancer diagnostics, imaging and therapy, cancer targeting agents, tyrosine kinase, nanoparticles, technology development. Kit.lam@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/916-734-8012
Bill Lasley, Ph.D., Professor. Female reproductive toxicology; early fetal loss; menstrual function. Population Health & Reproduction. bllasley@ucdavis.edu/530-752-8506
Jerold A. Last, Ph.D., Professor. Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Application of biochemistry and cell biology to study the effects of air pollutants in lung biochemistry; lung collagen and fibrosis. Effects of mixtures of pollutants. Animal models of asthma: pharmacology. Signal transduction systems. jalast@ucdavis.edu/530-752-6230
Derick H.M. Lau, Ph.D., M.D., Professor. Hematology/Oncology: Medicine. Carcinogenises of lung cancer and mechanisms of anticancer drugs. Derrick.lau@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/916-734-5630
Su Hao Lo, Ph.D., Associate Professor. Center for Tissue Regeneration and Repair. UCDMC. The roles of focal adhesions in normal and diseased tissues as well as in tumorigensis. shlo@ucdavis.edu/916-734-3656
Bruce Lyeth, Ph.D., Professor. Neurological Surgery. Neurological Surgery. Pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury. Emphasis lies in excitotoxic cascades and therapeutic interventions for brain injury. bglyeth@ucdavis.edu/530-754-5244
Fumio Matsumura, Ph.D., Professor. Environmental Toxicology. Biochemical toxicology. Mechanisms of action of dioxins, PCBs, pyrethroids and chlorinated pesticides; mechanism of carcinogenesis - oncogenes and their expressions, regulation of gene expressions and their modulations by chemicals; nerve transmitter release; GABA receptor, and sodium channels; microbial degradation of pesticides. fmatsumura@ucdavis.edu/530-752-2725
Kimberly McAllister, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Center for Neuroscience. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of synapse formation between visual cortical neurons. kmcallister@ucdavis.edu/530-752-8114
Marion Miller-Sears, Ph.D., Professor. Environmental Toxicology. Male reproductive toxicology, metabolic mechanisms in testicular toxicity, sperm biomarkers of male reproductive damage. mgmillersears@ucdavis.edu/530-754-8982
F. Charles Mohr, D.V.M., Ph.D., Associate Professor. Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology; Veterinary Medicine. Environmental toxicology and pathology, mechanisms of petroleum oil toxicity, endocrine toxicology. fcmohr@ucdavis.edu/530-752-7234
Thomas North, Ph.D., Professor. Center for Comparative Medicine. Clinical pharmacology/toxicology with a specialization in antiviral drugs and mechanisms of viral drug resistance. twnorth@ucdavis.edu/530-752-3414
Peter J. Pascoe, SVM, Professor. Surgical & Radiological Science: Veterinary Medicine. Anesthesia and analgesia in dogs and cats. pjpascoe@ucdavis.edu/530-752-3151
John A. Payne, Ph.D., Professor. Physio & Membrane Bio: Medicine. Molecular and cellular physiology of membrane transport proteins with an emphasis on chloride transporters in excitable and epithelial cells. Functional modulation of these transporters by phosphorylation, dephosphorylation, and membrane trafficking. Techniques include molecular biological, biochemical, and fluorescent microscopic imaging. japayne@ucdavis.edu/530-752-1359
Isaac N. Pessah, Ph.D., Professor. Molecular Biosciences: Veterinary Medicine. Cardiovascular Toxicology and Neurotoxicology. Anthraquinone cardiotoxicity; PCB neurotoxicity, molecular and cellular mechanisms; molecular events of excitation - contraction coupling of muscle. inpessah@ucdavis.edu/530-752-6696
Kent E. Pinkerton, Ph.D., Professor. Center for Health & Environment. Pulmonary toxicology. Effects of environmental tobacco smoke on lung development, metabolism, cellular expression and differentiation; effects of environmental pollutants (ozone, nitrogen dioxide, acid aerosols) on lung structure. kepinkerton@ucdavis.edu/530-752-8334
Robert Poppenga, D.V.M., Ph.D., Professor of Clinical Diagnostic Toxicology. Dept. of Molecular Biosciences. California Animal Health & Food Safety Laboratory. Clinical and diagnostic veterinary toxicology with a special interest in wildlife toxicology. Involved with the application of new analytical chemistry techniques as they apply to clinical and diagnostic toxicology and the investigation of new biomarkers to measure the pathophysiologic effects of chemicals on whole organisms. rhpoppenga@ucdavis.edu/530-752-8700
Birgit Puschner, D.V.M., Ph.D., Associate Professor. California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System: Veterinary Medicine (CAHFS). Involved in diagnostic and clinical veterinary toxicology, establishing accurate diagnoses in suspect poisoning cases in livestock, pets, and wildlife, and protecting the food supply from potentially harmful compounds. bpuschner@ucdavis.edu/530-752-1154
Bruno Pypendop, DVM, Surgical & Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine. Clinical phmacology of anesthetic and analgesic agents, with an emphasis on cats; inhalant anesthetics; anesthetic drug interactions; and, cardiovascular effects of anesthetic drugs. bhpypendop@ucdavis.edu/530-752-7474
Robert H. Rice, Ph.D, Professor. Environmental Toxicology. Regulation of epidermal cell differentiation; mechanisms by which environmental agents (TCDD, arsenic) affect epidermal cell growth and differentiation; xenobiotic metabolism in keratinocytes and related epithelia. rhrice@ucdavis.edu/530-752-5176
Marc B. Schenker, M.D., MPH, Professor. Public Health Sciences: Medicine. Epidemiology of occupational and environmental diseases, focus on respiratory diseases, occupational cancer, reproductive hazards and agriculture/pesticide related diseases. mbschenker@ucdavis.edu/530-752-5676
David Segal, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Genome Center and Dept. of Pharmacology: Medicine. Therapeutic gene correction using custom DNA endonucleases. Sequence-based diagnostic tools. Zinc finger-DNA recognition. Zinc finger-protein recognition. djsegal@ucdavis.edu/530-754-9134
Takayuki Shibamoto, Ph.D., Professor. Environmental Toxicology. Food toxicology, lipid chemistry. Trace analysis of volatile chemicals (in particular, toxic chemicals) formed in food; lipid peroxidation associated with biological complications (aging, carcinogenesis, and immune deficiency). tshibamoto@ucdavis.edu/530-752-4523
Scott D. Stanley, Ph.D., Associate Professor. California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System: Veterinary Medicine (CAHFS). Analytical Chemistry, technology development for the detection of performance enhancing drugs in horses. sdstanley@ucdavis.edu/530-752-8735
Yoshikazu Takada, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Dermatology: Medicine. Mechanism and regulation of integrin/ligand interactions; role of integrins in uPA/uPAR signaling; and role of integrims in biology of ADAMs. ytakada@ucdavis.edu/916-734-7443
Susan Timmer, Ph.D., Clinical Specialist, Pediatrics: Medicine, UC Davis Children’s Hospital. Developmental effects on children of prenatal and postnatal exposure to drugs and alcohol. susan.timmer@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu,/ 916-734-6630
Ronald S. Tjeerdema, Ph.D., DABT, Professor. Environmental Toxicology. Investigation of the environmental fate and toxic action mechanisms of pesticides, petroleum, hydrocarbons and natural toxins in aquatic systems and organisms. rstjeerdema@ucdavis.edu/530-754-5192
Alfonso Tramontano, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Medicine: Pediatrics. Autoimmune disease in animal models and molecular mechanisms of immune responses. tramontano@ucdavis.edu/530-752-8909
Kenneth G. Turteltaub, Ph.D., Adjunct Associate Professor. Internal Medicine: Medicine. Molecular mechanisms of disease development, particularly cancer. Biomarkers and macromolecular adduction. Low dose toxicology of chemicals and drugs. Metabolism and toxicokinetics. Biomedical applications of accelerator mass spectrometry. Turteltaub2@llnl.gov/925-423-8152
Laura S. Van Winkle, Ph.D., DABT, Associate Adjunct Professor. School of Veterinary Medicine. Dept. of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology. Pulmonary cell biology and toxicology. Epithelial injury and repair. Airway remodeling in response to air pollutants (ozone, tobacco smoke) and during postnatal lung development. lsvanwinkle@ucdavis.edu/530-754-7547
Richard P. Vulliet, D.V.M., Ph.D., Professor. Molecular Biosciences: Veterinary Medicine. We are investigating therapeutic use of adult bone marrow stem cells in a variety of cell loss diseases including exposure to various xenobiotic agents. We are also studying factors affecting growth and differentiation in in vitro and in vivo model systems. prvulliet@ucdavis.edu/530-752-7409
Inge Werner, Ph.D., Associate Adjunct Professor, Director, Aquatic Toxicology Laboratory, Dept. of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine. Physiological, cellular and biochemical responses of aquatic animals to environmental stressors. iwerner@ucdavis.edu/530754-8060
Barry W. Wilson, Ph.D., Professor. Animal Science. Biomedical and ecotoxicology. Mechanism of action of neurotoxicants, especially organophosphates. Cell culture and development. bwwilson@ucdavis.edu/530-752-3519
Dennis W. Wilson, D.V.M., Ph.D., DACVP, Professor. Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology: Veterinary Medicine. Pulmonary Hypertension, Pulmonary and Cardiovascular Toxicology, Cardiovascular effects of environmental particular matter, Toxicopathology. dwwilson@ucdavis.edu/530-752-0158
Matthew J. Wood, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Environmental Toxicology. Investigating the biochemical mechanisms involved in the perception of and protection against oxidative stress and other toxic compounds. mjwood@ucdavis.edu/530-754-2271.
Reen Wu, Ph.D., Professor. Internal Medicine: Medicine. Molecular mechanisms of cell type-specific injury, repair, and differentiation of lung epithelial cells, effects of air pollutants on airway epithelium, stem cell and regenerative lung biology, cytokines and airway innate immunity, cell signaling and transcriptional regulation. rwu@ucdavis.edu/530-752-2648
Heike Wulff, Ph.D., Assistant Professor. Pharmacology & Toxicology: Medicine. The role of potassium channels in the immune system and explores whether selective blockers of lymphocyte potassium channels can be used as immunosuppressants. hwulff@ucdsom.ucdavis.edu/530-754-6135
Jie Zheng, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Physiology and Membrane Biology, University of California School of Medicine. Molecular mechanisms of ion channel function. Using novel fluorescence techniques in combination with electrophysiology, molecular biology, and biochemistry to better understand channel structures and their dynamic rearrangements that underlie channel activities in cellular signal transduction. jzheng@ucdavis.edu/
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