Research
Featured Research
Nathalie Pham, Page Speiss and David Krawiec performing lysis lavage to selectively remove proteins from airway epithelium in Dr. Buckpitt’s lab. The research conducted in faculty labs and by PTX graduate students is very diverse. Much of the research is directed at understanding the basic mechanisms for drug and toxicant action. Many studies use an integrated approach to addressing a problem that involves molecular and cellular approaches and then proceeds to whole animals through nonhuman primates and into human populations. Faculty labs are well equipped with state of the art instruments-those that are highly specialized can be accessed by students through core facilities on campus. UC Davis prides itself in being a highly interdisciplinary campus and ample proof of this is in the number of large research programs funded by extramural funding agencies. UC Davis graduates more PhD’s in biological sciences than any university in the country. The breadth and depth of the programs in biological sciences translates to greater opportunities for tailoring a training program based on the interests of graduate students in the program.
This oxidative post-translational modification activates a signal transduction cascade, which ultimately induces the expression of antioxidant defense proteins.Research in the Wood Laboratory is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms by which environmental toxicants contribute to oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and how oxidative stress regulates the function of biological molecules and signal transduction pathways to control gene expression. Recent studies have clearly demonstrated that ROS, such as hydrogen peroxides and alkyl hydroperoxides, can regulate signal transduction pathways, transcription factors and gene expression
Zinc finger DNA-binding domains Can this be the future of medicine? David Segal’s group studies how proteins do their job, then tries to reprogram them to do that job for us. In this case, zinc finger DNA-binding domains are re-engineered to bind to disease-causing genes, and cleavage domains cut that gene. When the cell tries to repair the DNA, the sequence of the gene can be changed. We are exploring this method to correct damaged genes within living cells as a form of gene therapy.
Cindy Tsai is preparing samples for LC/MS/MS analysis. She is using metabolic approaches, where multiple analytes are measured in cells, to more broadly understand the impact of toxicants on cellular homeostasis.
Air pollution is a substanitial problem both nationally and internationally. Several of the faculty members in Pharmacology/Toxicology graduate group have a keen interest in the effects of air pollution on human health. Here Laurie Hopkins holds a sample of ultrafine particles obtained by air sampling in California's Central Valley.
An important part of the training at UC Davis will involve close interactions with your major professor. These involve a variety of formal and informal interactions and vary by laboratory.
Here Professor Tzipora Goldkorn is meeting with her students and staff to discuss progress on the proteosome and pulmonary hyperplasia.
The new Genome Sciences Building which houses several of the PTX faculty including the entire faculty in the Department of Medical Pharmacology has specialized facilities for imaging, for mass spectrometry of proteins (proteomics) and small molecules (metabolomics).
Panel shows brain cells from a patient with a glioblastoma tumor labeled with anti-CD133 antibody (green), anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibody (red), and nuclear staining with DAPI (blue). The merged image shows the localization of both CD133 and EGFR proteins. CD133 has been shown to be a cancer stem cell biomarker and 50% of the glioblastomas are positive for EGFR biomarker. This work is being conducted in part by Angelo Arias in Professor James Angelastro’s laboratory.
Heather Knych is a graduate of UCD School of Veterinary Medicine with an interest in equine pharmacology. She is completing a Ph.D. where her research is focused on cDNA directed expression of some of the drug metabolizing enzymes from equine liver. She will use these to investigate the metabolism and potential elimination products from drugs used in horse racing.
Once used as insulators in electrical transformers, the PCB's are now widespread environmental contaminants. Work in Professor Issacs Pessah's labs, shown here, indicates that these agents are capable of dramatically altering the binding of ryanodine to it's receptor.