Research Mentors
Director, BIO5 Institute
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Research Topic:
Biomedical Optics, Optical Coherence, Tomography, Fluorescence, Spectroscopy, Tissue Optics, Colon Cancer, Ovarian Cancer
Associate Professor, Immunobiology
Research Topic:
Stem cells and lymphocytes of the immune lineage are both inherently programmable systems, designed to cope with a broad diversity of demands. Research in the Bhattacharya Lab merges the fields of stem cell biology and immunology to understand the basic biology of lymphocyte development, survival pathways that promote both plasma cell longevity and malignancies, and to develop creative translational strategies to combat cancer.
Professor, Pathology
Research Topic:
Relationship between oxidative stress and disease processes, particularly cancer
Associate Professor, Immunology
Vice Chair, Cancer Biology Graduate Interdisciplinary Program
Research Topic:
Biology of capsid structure, viral entry, trafficking, uncoating, membrane penetration, and the innate cellular responses to HPV viral infection
Associate Professor, Otolaryngology
Research Topic:
Molecular mechanisms promoting the development of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, head and neck
Associate Professor, Medicine
Research Topic:
Breast cancer and bleeding/clotting disorders
Associate Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Research Topic:
Understanding the molecular basis of directed cell migration
Professor, Pharmacology
Research Topic:
Molecular mechanisms of oxidative injury and adaptation, stress signal transduction pathways, stress gene expression, senescence, apoptosis and cardiac hypertrophy
Professor, Nutritional Sciences
Research Topic:
How genetic and epigenetic variations interact with human diets (especially the modern Western diet) to drive inflammation and inflammatory disorders (including cardiovascular disease and cancer), as well as psychiatric/developmental disorders (ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and depression)
Research Professor, Medicine
Research Topic:
Early phase clinical development of cancer chemopreventive agents and development of biochemical and molecular biomarkers for evaluation of cancer risk and drug efficacy
Professor, Cellular & Molecular Medicine
Deputy Dean, Research Affairs, Coll. of Medicine
Research Topic:
Regulation of normal and cancer cell responses to environmental signals
Research Assistant Professor, Cellular & Molecular Medicine
Research Topic:
Single-cell genomic technologies
Research Associate Professor, Pharmacology
Cancer Prevention and Control Program
Research Topic:
Our team explores the roles of MAP Kinases, PI3-Kinase, mTOR/Akt and TLR4-induced signaling in the development of UV-induced non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). We are examining the use of natural products or small molecule inhibitors of these targets to boost our efficiency at topically preventing NMSC.
Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Research Topic:
Organelle organization and function
Department Head, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research Topic:
Dr. Ding studies enzyme function and regulation, genetics as applied to translational research for drug safety and efficacy, and genetic and environmental risks for chemical toxicity.
Associate Professor, Cellular & Molecular Medicine
Research Topic:
Genomic instability, cancer susceptibility, genetic analysis of colorectal cancers
Associate Professor, Medicine
Research Topic:
Use of medicinal compounds for disease treatments such as breast cancer
Professor, Pharmacology & Toxicology
Research Topic:
Cancer epigenetics
Professor, Immunobiology
Research Topic:
Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) latency
Professor, Natural Resources & the Environment
Research Topic:
Natural products and medicinal chemistry including isolation, characterization and partial synthesis of anticancer agents and their mechanisms of action
Associate Professor, Molecular & Cellular Biology
Research Topic:
Computational systems biology and population genetics; mathematical simulations of protein networks
Associate Professor, Basic Medical Sciences
Research Topic:
Antigen processing and immune recognition of melanoma
Professor, Surgery
Research Topic:
Molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis and prostate carcinoma epithelial-mesenchymal transformation; regulation of cadherins in vascular morphogenesis
Professor Emeritus, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Therapeutic Development Program; Clinical and Translational Oncology Department
Research Topic:
Dr. Hurley’s present research interests are in the areas of design and development of antitumor agents. Most recently his research has centered on secondary DNA structures, particularly G-quadruplexes and C-quadruplexes (also called i-motifs), as gene targets for drug design.
Professor, Pediatrics
Research Topic:
Mechanisms of tumor-induced immunosuppression; promotion of anti-tumor immunity
Associate Professor, Basic Medical Sciences
Research Topic:
Cancer biology and tumor suppressors
Professor, Medicine
Research Topic:
Genetic biomarkers in prostate cancer; The role of multiple protein kinases and signal transduction pathways in regulating tumor growth
Professor, Medical Imaging
Research Topic:
Contrast agents, Molecular Imaging, PET, Nuclear Medicine, MR Imaging, Cancer, Neurology, Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis
Professor Emeritus, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Cancer Prevention and Control Program
Research Topic:
My basic, translational, and clinical research has been on the mechanisms of colorectal carcinogenesis and approaches for prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer. Earlier mechanistic studies focused on the regulation of glycosylation in colonic epithelium. My laboratory focused more recently on prostaglandin synthesis and inflammation in the colonic microenvironment.
Associate Professor, Pharmacology
Research Topic:
Cancer pharmacology/biology, cardiovascular pharmacology, molecular and biochemical pharmacology
Professor, Nutritional Sciences
Research Topic:
Radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction; mechanisms of damage, clinical prevention measures, and restoration therapies
Associate Professor, Cellular & Molecular Medicine
Research Topic:
Relationship between epigenetic and genomic instability; regulation of transposable elements and repeat-gene clusters
Professor, Medicine
Research Topic:
Gastric cancer
Chair, Cancer Biology Graduate Interdisciplinary Program
Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Research Topic:
Prostate cancer, integrin interactions within the tumor microenvironment
Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry
Research Topic:
Determine the atomic structures of proteins and seek to understand how protein structure gives rise to protein function - both in vitro and in living cells
Assistant Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Research Topic:
Invasion and metastasis of breast cancer through use of analytical cell biology and quantitative cellular microscopy
Associate Professor, Medicine
Research Topic:
Evaluation of the molecular mechanisms of action of novel experimental cancer therapeutics with an emphasis on targeting protein degradation and autophagy
Professor, Pathology
Research Topic:
Inflammation and tumor progression/metastasis; Racial disparities and cancer; Molecular diagnosis of cancer and other genetic diseases
Assistant Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research Topic:
Hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC); Development of algorithms for the analysis of transcriptomic data; Transcriptional and metabolic reprogramming in response to physiochemical stimuli
Assistant Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Research Topic:
The Padi lab develops new computational approaches to integrate genomic “big data” and model how cellular networks are functionally altered by disease, genetic variation and epigenetics. Our ultimate goal is to identify drivers of disease, propose new therapeutic targets, and predict prognosis and drug response in a patient-specific manner.
Assistant Professor, Molecular & Cellular Biology
Research Topic:
The Paek Lab research focuses on understanding the heterogeneous response of cancer cells to chemotherapy treatment. The goal is to understand at the single cell level why some cells live while others die in response to treatment.
Professor, Pharmacology
Research Topic:
Bone pain in cancer
Associate Professor, Medicine; Clinical and Translational Oncology Program; Chief of Leukemia and BMF Diseases Section
Research Topic:
Dr. Pu’s research interests include hematopoietic mechanism of hematological malignant disease progression, stem cell biology, biomarker translational research, cellular therapy, early phase clinical trials, and HCTT outcome-research.
Assistant Professor, Immunobiology
Research Topic:
Molecular remodeling of cellular metabolic and lipid environments by viruses
Associate Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Research Topic:
Regulation of centrosome duplication; Genomic instability and cancer
Professor, Nutritional Sciences
Research Topic:
Cellular and molecular mechanisms in mammary function; gene expression in cell proliferation and differentiation
Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Research Topic:
Breast cancer progression and invasion
Associate Professor, Medicine
Research Topic:
Melanoma
Associate Professor, Medicine
Research Topic:
Clinical and translational research in gastrointestinal malignancies
Associate Professor, Nutritional Sciences
Research Topic:
The effects of exercise and stress on the immune system
Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research Topic:
Epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression, particularly their regulation through signaling pathways and their modulation by anti-cancer drugs
Associate Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences
Research Topic:
The long-term research goals of my lab are to define the roles of lipid metabolic pathways centered on bioactive sphingolipids in intestinal biology and pathobiology and determine the mechanisms involved.
Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research Topic:
Angiogenesis; understanding the chemical and biological mechanisms of the antineoplastic, DNA-damaging natural product leinamycin; understanding inducible resistant mechanisms in human cancer cells to DNA-damaging anticancer drugs
Assistant Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Research Topic:
Molecular basis of aging and age-related disease
Associate Director, Basic Sciences, University of Arizona Cancer Center
Director, University of Arizona Cancer Center
Research Topic:
Genomic instability and mutations that result in human diseases, such as cancer
Assistant Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Reseach Topic:
Intestinal stem cells, kinase networks, drug discovery
Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research Topic:
The microenvironment of tumors is recognized as providing cancer cells with a selective advantage for growth. Using HER2+ breast cancer cells, we have been investigating the role of lactate and the lactate receptor, GPR81, in regulating cancer cell growth.
Assistant Professor, Immunobiology
Research Topic:
My lab is interested in uncovering why, despite being genetically closely related, only a limited subset of human papillomaviruses is associated with human cancers. My research program leverages evolutionary vidence to gain understanding of the complex, and medically relevant phenotypes. We use state-of-the-art molecular techniques including 3D (organotypic) skin models, genomics approaches, and confocal microscopy combined with thorough evolutionary analysis to address the genetic and molecular basis of tumorigenicity of HPV.
Co-Director, MD/PhD Dual Degree Program
Department Head, Pharmacology
Professor: Anesthesiology, BIO5 Institute, Neurology, Neuroscience - GIDP, Pharmacology, and Physiological Sciences - GIDP
Research Topic:
Mechanisms and pharmacology of acute and chronic models of pain; endogenous opioid systems; sensory neural systems; opioid tolerance; antinociceptive synergy between cannabinoids and opioids.
Assistant Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Research Topic:
Understanding the biological mechanisms that allow cancer cells to survive in the hypoxic tumor microenvironment, with a focus on developing novel strategies to oppose hypoxia-mediated therapeutic resistance
Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Research Topic:
Genome instability in yeast and the mechanisms of genetic change
Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Research Topic:
Epithelial cells and neurons:regulation of development and polarity
Assistant Professor, Immunobiology
Research Topic:
The Wilson lab's research focuses on understand how the dynamic relationship between innate immune sensors and the microbiota impacts chronic inflammation and cancer development at mucosal surfaces.
Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research Topic:
Development of novel molecular agents for skin cancer chemoprevention and chemotherapy
Associate Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Research Topic:
Cancer pathways using quantitative systems biology
Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Research Topic:
Mechanisms that drive gastric epithelial regeneration and Helicobacter pylori-induced disease using in vitro and in vivo organoid systems
Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Research Topic:
Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway