Cancer - The major focus of investigators in this area is the use of genetic and molecular approaches to study the underlying mechanisms of cancer and factors that contribute to tumor progression.  Examples include identification of cancer susceptibility genes, genetic variation in tumor formation, DNA damage and repair pathways, and carcinogens.

Steve Akman DNA damage, mutagenesis, and genomic instability.

Hannah Caldas  The role of Survivin in family members with cancer, and the exploitation of the tumor microenvironment for in situ delivery of anticancer agents to tumors.

Yong Chen Tumor suppressor genes; apoptosis; cell-cycle regulation; prostate cancer.

Scott Cramer Molecular tools to understand and cure prostate cancer and growth and metastasis.

Zheng Cui Lipid signaling in apoptosis and carcinogenesis.

Waldemar Debinski Focus of the identification of molecular markers/targets that are specific to brain tumors. 

William Gmeiner My lab is interested in understanding how efficacious anti-cancer drugs cause cancer cell death and in designing new drugs and novel drug delivery strategies. 

Steven Kridel  Proteases and Cancer: Proteases play pivotal roles in the progression of cancer.  Fatty Acid Synthase and prostate cancer: Fatty acid synthase (FAS) has been established as a biomarker and prognostic indicator for prostate cancer.

Karin D. Scarpinato  Defects in the mismatch repair pathway and implications for cancer predisposition, progression and chemotherapy.

Mark Miller Molecular pathogenesis and chemoprevention of lung cancer.

Charles Morrow Transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of expression of genes associated with antineoplastic drug resistance.

Fred Perrino Molecular mechanisms of mutagenesis during DNA replication in animal cells; use of in vitro model systems.

Suzy Torti Regulation of iron metabolism in normal and transformed cells.

Alan Townsend Mechanisms of resistance to cytotoxic and mutagenic agents; enzymes of glutathione metabolism; chemoprevention of cancer; oxidative stress and antioxidant defenses.

Yuh-Hwa Wang  Human fragile sites, DNA rearrangement, oncogenesis, trinucleotide repeat expansion diseases, chromatin structure. 

Functional Genomics and Physiology - Studies in this area explore the contribution of specific genes to both physiologic and pathophysiologic processes.  A major focus is on the experimental manipulation of genes and gene expression in animal models and cell-based systems and analyses of phenotypic consequences. 

Peter Antinozzi  Functional mapping of disease-susceptibility loci with emphasis on diabetes; cell-based functional assessment of disease-associated allelic variants; metabolism-secretion coupling in pancreatic beta-cells.

Paul Dawson Regulation and genetics of hepatic and intestinal cholesterol and bile acid metabolism.

Ashok Hegde Molecular biological, electrophysiological, and behavioral approaches to study questions on long-term memory.

Scott Hemby Molecular neuropathophysiology of schizophrenia and substance abuse. 

Ross Holmes Molecular and biochemical approaches to investigate intermediary metabolism in cells related to the synthesis of glycolate and oxalate.

Doug Lyles Virus assembly; molecular pathogenesis of virus infection.

Charles McCall Neutrophil biology and biochemistry; inflammation of lung; signal transduction; phospholipid metabolism; expression of IL-1, TNFa and cyclooxygenase genes in phagocytes.

Carol Milligan Neuronal development, degeneration, and plasticity after injury: identification and characterization of differentially expressed genes in motoneuron cell death.

Nila Mishra New therapeutic targets for the treatment and prevention of SLE.

Barbara Nicklas  Research focuses on understanding the metabolic and hormonal adaptations to exercise and dietary interventions in older individuals, and the role of genetics in determining these adaptations. 

Ron Oppenheim Developmental neurobiology; programmed cell death; growth factors and neurotrophic molecules.

David Ornelles Molecular virology of adenovirus; the oncolytic and oncogenic potential of human adenovirus.

John Parks Structure-function relationships of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase and high-density lipoproteins.

Tom Register Modulation of the expression of cytokines and connective tissue genes during early atherogenesis.

Greg Shelness Intracellular protein targeting and transport; lipoprotein assembly and secretion.

Mary Sorci-Thomas Regulation of apolipoprotein gene expression; structure-function relationships of apoprotein A-I.

Ann Tallant  Signal transduction; regulation of growth; hypertension; cancer treatment/prevention.

Richard Weinberg Structure and function of human apolipoprotein A-IV (apo A-IV), an intestinal protein synthesized during lipid absorption and incorporated into the surface of nascent chylomicrons.

Bingzhong Xue  Molecular and cellular mechanisms of obesity and insulin resistance. 

Barb Yoza Molecular biology of inflammation, particularly signal transduction and regulation of gene expression in human monocytes during infection and injury.

Liqing Yu Molecular and cellular basis of cholesterol trafficking in vivo and in vitro.

Genomics - The major focus of investigators in this area is the use of genetic approaches to identify genes that contribute to human disease.  These include studies in families and populations and are facilitated by advanced, high-throughput technologies in combination with functional computational analysis. 

Don Bowden Genetics of common diseases with emphasis on type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and renal disease.

Bao-Li Chang Genetic contributions to prostate cancer through family-based linkage and case-control association studies.

Barry Freedman Molecular genetics of human renal disease, diabetes mellitus and hypertension.

Greg Hawkins Molecular genetics of complex diseases.

Tim Howard  Identification of genes for complex diseases, asthma and allergy.

Deborah Meyers Family studies and association studies on the genetics of common respiratory diseases.

Mark Pettenati Molecular cytogenetics.

Jianfeng Xu The goal of my research is to identify genetic and epigenetic changes, at both germline and somatic levels, that increase cancer risk and/or modify disease progression. 

Immunology and Pathogenesis - The major focus of investigators in this area is the use of genetic approaches to identify factors that are involved in determining the outcome of pathogen infection.  The immune cells that respond to infection as well as proteins produced by pathogens (both bacterial and viral) that contribute to virulence are studied.

Martha Alexander-Miller Regulation of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes; control of functional avidity.

Rajendar Deora Bordetella pathogenesis.

Elizabeth Hiltbold Antigen presenting cell responses to intracellular bacterial pathogens; regulation of T cell responses.

Islam Khan  T cell effector function in health and autoimmune diseases.

Steven Mizel Vaccines against agents of bio-terrorism; flagellin signal transduction.

Griff Parks Molecular biology of paramyxoviruses.

Ed Swords Cellular microbiology; bacterial genetics and pathogenesis; innate host defenses and host/pathogen interactions.

Dan Wozniak Pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa; genetic and environmental regulation of capsule and toxin synthesis

Regenerative Medicine - The mission of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) is to harness the body’s ability to heal itself.  Using biomaterials, genetic engineering, stem and progenitor cells, and tissue engineering modalities, the Institute investigates translational approaches ranging from gene and cell therapy to the replacement of damaged organs with engineered tissues.  More than 130 investigators, students, research fellows, and postdocs work on more than 80 formal research programs.  The WFIRM is a truly multidisciplinary environment where biologists, engineers, chemists, materials scientists, and clinicians of all types work side-by-side in a large, open laboratory environment.  The training philosophy stresses interactions between investigators with different backgrounds in a team-environment to solve challenging clinical problems.

Colin Bishop  The overall focus of my laboratory concerns the genetics of primary sex determination, germ cell development and fertility. 

Martin Childers  Cell therapy for muscular dystrophies, whole muscle and single fiber physiology.

George Christ  Cell and tissue physiology, advanced tissue maturation

Grace Lim  Biomaterials development, cell encapsulation, controlled release

Shay Soker  Stem and progenitor cell biology and genomics, molecular biology, angiogenesis

Mark Van Dyke  Genomics-guided biomaterials development, interaction of stem and progenitor cells with biomaterials, keratin biomaterials

James Yoo  Tissue engineering and clinical translation

Structural Biology – Investigators in structural biology study the molecular structures and physical properties of proteins, nucleic acids and their complexes. The tools of molecular biology are used to synthesize proteins in large quantities suitable for physical analysis by X-ray crystallography, mass spectrometry, enzymology, and a variety of biophysical methods such as light scattering and sedimentation.

Rebecca Alexander Understanding protein-nucleic acid interactions at the molecular level. 

Al Claiborne Structural and mechanistic studies of flavoproteins in streptococcal oxygen metabolism; catalytic functions of flavin coenzymes.

Jacquelyn Fetrow  Computational analysis of functional sites in proteins; development of methods to model biological networks from experimental time course data; and analysis of molecular dynamics and motion in proteins. 

Roy Hantgan Molecular mechanisms of blood coagulation and fibrinolysis; conformation of proteins in solution.

Tom Hollis X-ray crystallographic studies of DNA repair proteins and Fanconi anemia-associated proteins.

David Horita Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy/structural biology of protein-lipid interactions. 

Daniel Kim-Shapiro  Nitrogen oxide signaling in hemoglobin and other heme proteins in normal physiology, disease and therapeutics using various spectroscopies including EPR, light scattering, and time-resolved absorption.

Mark Lively Analysis of protein structure and function using mass spectrometry, proteomics, and bioinformatics; proteolytic enzymes; cell biology and biochemistry of laryngopharyngeal reflux and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Todd Lowther X-ray crystallographic and biochemical analyses of enzymes that repair the oxidative damage to free and protein-incorporated methionine.

Derek Parsonage Enzymology of bacterial enzymes involved in defending against oxidative stress: enzymes that utilize flavin and cysteine residues at the catalytic site.

Leslie Poole Mechanistic enzymology of bacterial enzymes involved in protection against oxidative stress; novel roles of catalytic cysteine residues.