Current research is primarily focused on respiratory and cardiovascular toxicology, free radical biochemical toxicology and computational and risk assessment approaches to environmental health. Progress and opportunities in each of these (and other) areas are outlined in our website. Briefly,

Pulmonary Biology: a) residential stem cells and stem cell based therapies in repair and remodeling in environmental induced epithelial and interstitial lung injury; b) nitric oxide(NO) and oxidants in endothelial cell biology in acute lung injury; c) effects of environmental agents on regulation of gene expression in respiratory epithelium; d) molecular biology of experimental interstitial lung disease; e) metal (nickel, chromium, copper, zinc) toxicology; f) environmental agents and lung host defense; g) chemical agents and airway disease; and h) gene/environment interaction in human severe asthma and silicosis.

Cardiovascular toxicology: a) molecular toxicology of arsenic including its effects on vascular gene expression and signaling; b) effect of hormones, drugs and environmental agents on myocardial and pulmonary vascular potassium channel gene expression; c) role of copper and oxidants in vascular dysfunction in preeclampsia; d) zinc homeostasis in vascular dysfunction in hemorrhagic shock; and e) antiapoptotic effects of NO in pulmonary circulation.

Free radical biochemistry: a) phospholipid signaling in cell death pathways; b) NO interactions with cellular components including posttranslational modification of proteins and NO signaling; c) redox status and injury and repair; d) antioxidant activity of pulmonary epithelial and endothelial proteins.

Carcinogenesis and mutagenesis and biomarkers of cancer: a) development and validation of cancer early detection and diagnostic molecular markers for application in cancer molecular epidemiology and population-based screening studies; b) molecular epidemiology of human cancer including biomarkers of genotoxicity and susceptibility; and c) mutational spectra of carcinogens.

Computational toxicology and risk assessment: a) computational study of large-scale protein motions and study of binding and dynamics and affinities; b) toxicological assessment databases; and c) estimate and conveyance of risk in environmental health.

Aaron Barchowsky: Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying human blood vessel and lung diseases caused by environmental exposures to metals and chronic changes in redox status.

Kiflai Bein: Cellular signaling mechanisms of lung injury with emphasis on acute lung injury induced by particulate air pollutants such as nickel. In particular, we will investigate the role of TGFa and TGFb-regulated signaling pathways in nickel-induced acute lung injury. Molecular and tissue culture based studies will focus on identification and characterization of key signaling proteins, transcription factors, and promoter sequences that modulate susceptibility to nickel-induced acute lung injury. These studies, combined with animal studies, will advance our understanding of the genetic determinants of acute lung injury.

Y. Peter Di: Effects of environmental stress on airway epithelial cell differentiation and host defense mechanisms, development of biomarkers for early detection of pre-neoplastic lesions and lung pathogenesis.

James P. Fabisiak: Cellular mechanisms by which environmental agents, particularly those that affect the lung, perturb cell physiology and contribute to organ dysfunction during toxicity.

Cheryl Fattman: Antioxidant enzymes in interstitial lung disease, Apoptosis associated with interstitial lung disease, Asbestos related pulmonary damage, Oxidative regulation of apoptosis in Parkinson's disease, Oxidative modification and regulation of proteins in disease, Regulation of antioxidant enzymes via proteolysis.

Robin Gandley: Vascular adaptation to pregnancy. Oxidative stress in the maternal vascular pathogenesis.

Bernard D. Goldstein: Largely focused on the concept of biological markers in the field of risk assessment. Publications in the areas of blood toxicity, the formation of cancer-causing substances (free radicals) following exposure to inhalants, various aspects of public health decision making, and global issues in environmental medicine.

Stephen G. Grant: Molecular epidemiology of human cancer, biomarkers of genotoxic exposure and susceptibility.

Valerian E. Kagan: Nitric oxide(NO) interactions with cellular components, redox status during cellular injury and repair.

Phouthone Keohavong: Molecular mechanisms of mutagenesis, linkage of environmental chemicals to cancer, mutational spectra of potential carcinogens.

Radosveta Koldamova: Cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration use of genetically modified mouse models to explore the role of lipid associated genes in pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Iliya Lefterov: Cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration use of genetically modified mouse models to explore the role of lipid associated genes in pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease.

George Leikauf: Investigate the functional genomics of acute lung injury, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Molecular mechanisms by which air pollutants exacerbate or cause lung diseases are being studied by various strategies including (genetic linkage and microarray) analyses and transgenic/gene-targeted murine systems. A major research interest is uncovering the genetic basis of increased susceptibility to pulmonary epithelial injury and repair. In addition, recent studies are examining on transcriptional regulation of molecular targets (e.g. surfactant proteins) altered by exposure to ozone, aldehydes, and particulate matter.

Patricia Opresko: Molecular mechanisms of genomic instability associated with cancer and aging, with an initial focus on telomeric DNA.

Luis Ortiz: Mechanisms of Lung Injury, Stem Cells, and gene therapy in the lung.

Linda Pearce: Studies of the interactions of reactive oxygen, nitrogen and radiation with mitochondria particularly using microelectrodes and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy.

Jim Peterson: Studies of the interactions of reactive oxygen, nitrogen and radiation with mitochondria particularly using microelectrodes and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy.

Bruce R. Pitt: Role of oxidants and nitric oxide(NO)in affecting pulmonary endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cell function.

Joseph Schwerha: Development of computerized medical record databases. Evaluation of the health effects of contaminated water. Air pollution in Allegheny County, PA.

Claudette St. Croix: Zinc homeostasis and endothelial cell function. Use of FRET technology.

Detcho Stoyanovsky: EPR spin trapping methodology, HPLC methodology, Organic synthesis, Radiation protectors, Nitroxides, Nitric oxide, S-Nitrosothiols, Cell signaling, Liver toxicology, Antioxidant and prooxidant signaling, Apoptosis and nitrosative stress, Thioredoxin

Nancy Sussman: Development of toxicological assessment databases.

Koichi Takimoto: Potassium channel gene expression in heart diseases. Structure and function of potassium channel auxiliary subunits.

Vladimir Tyurin: To elucidate the molecular mechanisms through which lipid metabolites regulate of cellular membrane structures as well as membrane-bound complexes particularly under conditions of oxidative/nitrosative stress.

Yulia Tyurina: The role of free radical reactions and, more specifically, role of lipid peroxidation in apoptosis.

Dan Volz: Employ ommunity Based Participatory Research techniques to determine how point and non-point source toxins and carcinogens are transported through air, water, soil and groundwater to reach people and how to block this movement. Dr Volz uses game fish, like the channel catfish as “canaries in the mine” to determine the bioaccumulation of both heavy metals (including methylmercury) and xenoestrogens in aquatic systems for source identification, exposure assessment and food safety purposes.

Niel Wald: Acute radiation injury and internal radionuclide contamination. Radiation-induced mouse leukemia, and radiation cytogenetics.

Felicia Wu: Risk analysis, management, and communication applied to the following: genetically modified crops, foodborne mycotoxins, food policy, indoor air quality, waterborne contaminants

Daniel Zuckerman: Computational study of large-scale protein motions in calmodulin and other proteins, and study of binding dynamics and affinities.