3rd International Congress on
Biomedical and Bio Instrumentation (ICBBI)

Antonietta M. Gatti, Ph.D. is the coordinator of the Italian Institute of Technology's Project of Nanoecotoxicology, called INESE.

Biomaterials and Tissue Interface, nanopathology, Nanodiagnostics

Yazen M Alnouti is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center. He worked as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, University of Kansas Medical Center. he received his Post Doctorate from University of Kansas Medical Center. He was selected by Selected by “Who’s Who in America” as a scientist with outstanding achievements in the year 2009. He has a Professional membership in American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). He experienced as a Teaching & Research Assistant in the College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia. His highlights of Research expertise include Drug Metabolism and Disposition, High-Throughput Bioanalytical Chemistry and Pharmacokinetics.

application of bioanalytical chemistry, in vitro models such as microsomes and stably-transfected cell lines, and in vivo animal models such as knock-out mice, to support ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity) and pharmacokinetics studies

Dr. Bluth practices clinical pathology. His expertise includes biomarker discovery and utility, transfusion medicine, artificial blood/blood alternatives, and translational medicine and commercialization. Dr. Bluth is specifically responsible for the transfusion service.

Dr. Bluth�s research interests covers a broad scope including immunology/inflammation, pancreatology, biomarker discovery, glycolipid based anti-inflammatory therapy, role of IgE in viral diseases and cancer, and blood derived stem cell propogation. Dr. Bluth is responsible for the education and training involved in the medical, basic science and translational research in the department. In addition to scholarly peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Bluth served as an Associate Editor of McPherson and Pincus: Henry�s Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods (for 21st Ed and 22nd ed). He is the Editor in chief/founding editor of the Journal of Pharmacogenomics and Personalized Medicine and the Journal of Blood Medicine (Dove Medical Press � Auckland, New

Marcelo L. Larramendy, Ph.D., serves as Professor of Molecular Cell Biology at the School of Natural Sciences and Museum (National University of La Plata, Argentina). Appointed Senior Researcher of the National Scientific and Technological Research Council of Argentina. Former Member of the Executive Committee of the Latin American Association of Environmental Mutagenesis, Teratogenesis and Carcinogenesis. Author of more than 470 contributions, including scientific publications, research communications and conferences worldwide. Recipient of several national and international awards. Prof. Larramendy is a regular Lecturer at the international A. Hollaender Courses organized by the IAEMS and former guest scientist at NIH (USA) and University of Helsinki, (Finland). He is expert in Genetic Toxicology and is, or has been, referee for more than 30 international scientific journals. Member of the International Panel of Experts at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, WHO, Lyon, France) in 2015 for the evaluation of DDT, 2,4-D and Lindane. Presently, Prof. Dr. Larramendy is Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Cytogenetics and Genotoxicology at the UNLP.

Marcelo L. Larramendy’s fields of research interest include genotoxicity, Teratogenesis and Carcinogenesis. His areas of expertise include Molecular Cytogenetcis, Genetic Toxicology and Ecotoxicology.

Ghulam Ahmad Shakeel Ansari is a Professor in the University of Texas Medical Branch, USA. He received his PhD from Aligarh Muslim University in India and post doctoral fellowship from University of Texas Medical Branch in USA. He has more than 120 publications and has written more than 5 book chapters. He also received many honors and awards.

The University of Texas Medical Branch

Head of Laboratory of biomechanical systems research in Mechanical Engineering Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Chief researcher of the Center of interdisciplinary researches of musical creativity of the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory; Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Mathematical Sciences and Computing. Russian organizer of the series of annual Russian-Chinese conferences Artificial Intelligence, Medical Engineering, Education. Co-organizer of many conferences in different countries. He is the author of 7 books and more than 200 other works. He graduated from the Moscow Physical-Technical Institute in the Department of Physics of Living Systems.

A specialist in bioinformatics, biomechanics, theory of symmetries, and crystallography

Prof. Dr. Ziyad S. Haidar, DDS, Cert Implantol, MSc OMFS, FRCS(C), MBA, PhD University of los Andes

Patient-oriented development and evaluation of bio nanotechnology; biopolymers; bio ceramics and drug delivery systems for the repair; restoration, reconstruction, and regeneration of challenging craniofacial and orthopaedic defects. please visit: https://www.uandes.cl/biomatx-laboratorio-de-biomateriales-farmaceuticos-y-bioingenieria-de-tejidos-craneo-maxilo-facial/

Head of Laboratory of bio mechanical systems research in Mechanical Engineering Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Chief researcher of the Center of interdisciplinary researches of musical creativity of the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory; Editor-in-Chief of International Journal of Mathematical Sciences and Computing. Russian organizer of the series of annual Russian-Chinese conferences Artificial Intelligence, Medical Engineering, Education. Co-organizer of many conferences in different countries. He is the author of 7 books and more than 200 other works. He graduated from the Moscow Physical-Technical Institute in the Department of Physics of Living Systems.

A specialist in bioinformatics, biomechanics, theory of symmetries and crystallography

HeshamH. Ali is a Professor of Computer Science and the Lee and WilmaSeaman Distinguished Dean of the College of Information Science and Technology, at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). He also serves as the director of the UNO Bioinformatics Core Facility that supports a large number of biomedical research projects in Nebraska. He has published numerous articles in various IT areas including scheduling, distributed systems, data analytics, wireless networks, and Bioinformatics. He has also published two books in scheduling and graph algorithms, and several book chapters in Bioinformatics. He has been serving as the PI or Co-PI of several NSF or NIH funded projects in the areas of data analytics, wireless networks and Bioinformatics. He has been leading a Bioinformatics Research Group at UNO that focuses on developing innovative computational approaches to analyse complex bioinformatics data. The research group is currently developing several next generation data analytics tools for extracting medical-related knowledge from various types of large-scale biological and medical data. This includes the development of new graph theoretic models for assembling short reads obtained from high throughput instruments, as well as employing a novel correlation networks approach for integrating and analyzing large heterogeneous biological data associated with aging and infectious diseases. He has also beenleading a project for developing secure and energy-aware wireless infrastructure to address tracking and monitoring problems in medical environments, particularly to study mobility profiling for various groups and develop a population analysis approach for advancing healthcare research.

He has been serving as the PI or Co-PI of several NSF or NIH funded projects in the areas of data analytics, wireless networks and Bioinformatics.

Dr. Ghulam Rasool Mashori is working as Professor, Peoples University of Medical & Health Sciences for Women, Nawabshah, Pakistan supervises to Graduate & Postgraduates fellows. Dr Mashori after graduation acquired PhD (Pharmacology) from Faculty of Medicine, University Kebangsaan Malaysia in 1994. He completed many Short/Long Courses and Trainings in Management Sciences, & Research areas of Health Sciences. Mr. Mashori has been involved in Teaching & Research/ Supervisory works at MBBS, PharmD, M Phil & PhD levels in various Institutions including, BMSI, JPMC, Karachi, Pakistan and in other Institutions, produced many MPhil/PhD graduate fellows. Beside this he has experiences in Research, Quality Control & Administration with NIH, Islamabad, as Deputy Director General (Pharmacovigilance) and as Director, Central Drugs Laboratory with Ministry of Health, Government of Pakistan He has Supervisory experience with Pharma Industry. He holds Research, Managerial, and Administrative skills with well reputed Organizations. 37 research papers published in reputed Journals are on his credit. He is also Editorial/Review Board Member of various worlds reputed Journals. Dr Mashori delivered many talks on International Forums in various conferences/ workshops held in Pakistan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, USA & Europe.

His field of interest is Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Diabetes, Endocrinology, Neuropharmacology, Genetics etc.

Currently work as Young Scientist at School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University. I was also a visiting postdoc at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. I have completed Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the Jaypee University of Information Technology. My main research interest lies within systems biology, focused around the use of comparative genomics, structural biology, bioinformatics, molecular biology and microbiology to study the complex biological systems. This includes understanding new mechanisms and genes/proteins involved in interesting processes, especially those that can be potential drug targets against pathogenic diseases and developing web platform for retrieval of the identified data for the scientific community.

Comparative Genomics, Bioinformatics, Structural Biology, Proteomics, Molecular Biology and Microbiology

Alireza Khanteymoori is an assistant professor in department of computer engineering at university of zanjan. He is also head of Machine Learning and Bioinformatics Lab (MLBL).

His research interests include Bioinformatics, Machine Learning, Biological Networks and Probabilistic Graphical Models.

. Pavlenko has completed his PhD at the age of 37 years from Sevastopol Polytechnical Institute. He is the director of “Spinor International”, Head of the Laboratory of the Electron Devices chair at Kiev Polytechnical Institute. i has published more than 50 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as Member of the editorial boards of a scientific periodical: Ukrainian Journal Physical vacuum and Nature.

Biopathogenic radiation

Dr. Yu is currently a research assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at The Ohio State University. Dr. Yu’s research focus is to answer genomic based biological questions by utilizing high-throughput omics data. He is currently interested in (1) variance smoothing for testing differential expression in NGS data, (2) sample size calculation for NGS data, (3) data integration of multiple genotypes and multiple platforms, (4) prediction models with biomarkers. Dr. Yu earned his Ph.D. in Statistics at Purdue University, where his research focuses on developing advanced statistical methods for high-throughput proteomic data.

Biomedical experimental design, biomedical data modeling, disease diagnosis and prognosis using biomarkers.

Dr.Yousef Daradkeh is As Assistant Dean for Administrative Affairs and Associate Professor of Computer Engineering and Information Technology at the Department of Computer Engineering and Networks, College of Engineering, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, KSA. Dr. Daradkeh has more than 15 years of teaching, research, and administration experience, He has taught wide spectrum of Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, and Electrical Engineering Courses; He has worked of the Department of Computer Information Systems at the faculty of Systems and Information Technology, The University of Jordan, and has worked of the Intelligent Software Systems Laboratory in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Canada, He received his B.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering at the Department of Computer Science and Systems Engineering from the Technical University of Moldova specializations in Computer`s, Information Systems and Networks, and his M.S. degree in Software Engineering from the (Belarusian National Technical University-specializations in Software of Information Technology, and his Ph.D. degree in Computer Engineering and Information Technology from the Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radio electronics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus in two specializations: 05.13.01 System Analysis, Control and Processing of Information; 05.13.11 “Mathematical and Software of Computers, Complexes and Computer Networks. He has been working as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Specialty Systems, Networks and Devices of Telecommunications, Adjunct Faculty, and Research Associate Faculty at the University of Calgary. He has worked in the Department of Information Technology at the Al-Balq`a Applied University, and has worked in the Computer and Information Centre at the Jordan University of Science and Technology, and He has worked An Instructor, Computer and Information Centre, Yarmouk University, and has worked of the Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science at the faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, AL-Hussein Bin Talal University, and has worked of the Department of Software Engineering at the faculty of Sciences and Information Technology, Jadara University. Dr. Daradkeh is the founder of the Intelligent Resource Management for Wireless Network Services and Resource Allocation in Wireless Networking Research Laboratory in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Calgary, He has an excellent experience in designing courses that bridge the gap between academia and industry as well as follow the accreditation requirements. He has published more than 80 Journal and Conference papers. Edited Book and Published 2 Books. Depending on my ambition and activity, I am insisting to satisfy my plans in the future. Peer reviewed many International Journals and Conferences, He is currently an active many Members of Editorial Boards, Scientific Committees and Advisory Committees in Several International Journals and Conferences. He is experienced in local accreditation, and ABET accreditation. He has have conducted several workshops in KSA for University faculty members on how to write international peer reviewed papers. He is a member of several associations and societies.

He has researches in the areas of Wireless Networking, Modeling of Discrete Systems, Design of Computer Systems and Networks, Artificial Intelligence, Web Development, Java Programming Language, Databases, Agent-Based Software Engineering, Context aware computing, and Problems of cyber-security, Problems of information and economic security, LBS and geo services, Knowledge representation and reasoning, E-learning, E-government applications and its usage impact. Among other projects, His research interests are based on how the digital can impact the human daily life and how computers and networks can help to deal with information overload.

Professor Kattesh V. Katti is internationally recognized as a leader in the interconnecting fields of—chemistry, radiopharmaceutical sciences, nanotechnology/green nanotechnology and nanomedicine—for biomedical applications, specifically for molecular imaging and therapy of living subjects. The impact of Dr. Katti’s work is widespread, as his pioneering discoveries and strategies, originally developed in his laboratory in bioconjugate chemistry and Nanomedicine, and green nanotechnological tools, are used in many laboratories, industries and hospitals around the world. His contributions in nano and green nanotechnologies have already created a transformative progress in nanomedicine by aiding molecular imaging to help diagnose and manage therapy—all at the cellular levels. Dr. Katti’s ground breaking discoveries in green nanotechnology where he has demonstrated that biocompatible nanoparticles can be produced without the intervention of any toxic chemicals, through phytochemicals of high antioxidant capacities and tumor receptor specificities have created a new generation of molecular imaging and therapeutic nanoceuticals. His approach to green nanotechnology has furthered the scope of holistic and integrative medicine with implications in modulating signaling pathways allowing optimization of therapies targeted to tumor cells/regions without causing adverse toxic effects to normal cells. These original discoveries are expected to have a major impact on how molecular imaging and therapies will eventually be individualized to allow their greater success through theranostic approaches using radioactive nanoparticles, photothermal therapy using targeted nanoparticles and novel therapies involving phytochemicals. Myriad of such approaches developed by Dr. Katti are already impacting clinical translation through comparative oncology in realistic ways as new drugs are being validated for their efficacy in imaging and therapy using tumor bearing dogs where the disease mimics human conditions. In recognition of his original contributions, Dr. Katti has been awarded a number of international awards and citations which include: International Hevesy Medal Award (2015) for excellence in Nuclear Sciences; Elected to the fellowship of the National Academy of Inventors (2015); One of the ‘25 Most Influential Scientists In Molecular Imaging in the World’ award by RT Image, the ‘Father of Green Nanotechnology’ citation by the Nobel Prize Winner Norman Borlaug, Gauss Professorship—Hall of Fame—from the Gottingen Academy of Sciences, ‘Outstanding Scientists Fellows’ award and induction as a Fellow of the Academy of Science, St Louis—one of the oldest scientific academies of the world and many more. In 2013, Dr. Katti was elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science with a citation “for distinguished contributions encompassing nanoscale chemistry, particularly for ground breaking discoveries enabling application of nanotechnology concepts for biomedical applications”. His unprecedented discovery of the production of tumor specific gold nanoparticles through 100% green processes have been cited as the Editor’s choice in Nature, Future Medicine, in Science (AAAS), in Popular Science, by the Discovery Channel and have been highlighted in scientific/medical programs of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, London)

Dr. Katti's research is focused on unraveling fundamentals of science and apply those principles and concepts to developing new chemical species at the macro and nano scales. In the nanodomain, he is interested in exploring chemical, biophysical, magnetic and photophysical properties, that are unique to specific nanoparticulates, toward the design and development of sophisticated diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Targeted nanoparticles are being utilized in the detection of diseases at the cellular/sub cellular levels while radiochemical and X ray absorption properties of gold nanoparticles, embedded selectively within tumor cells/sites, are being applied for effective therapy of breast, liver, lung, oral, prostate and pancreatic cancers. Drug discovery approaches are built around clinical translation motif as Dr. Katti strongly believes that discoveries should translate into value added products to ultimately serve humanity. Green nanotechnology is at the focal point of Dr. Katti's approach to pursuing research in nanotechnology as he strongly believes in the total elimination of toxic chemicals either for the synthesis or as byproducts in the production of engineered nanoparticles. Toward this end, phytochemicals occluded within plants, herbs or from various sources from mother nature are being used in developing 100% green processes for the development of nano constructs for use in a plethora of medical, agricultural, hygienic and technological applications

Dr. Burton Altura is currently serving as Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine, USA

Role of magnesium, sphingolipids and lipid messengers in vascular biology and disease processes, such as stroke, diabetes mellitus and atherogenesis

At the NCL, Dr. Dobrovolskaia directs characterization related to a nanomaterials' interaction with components of the immune system. She monitors acute/adverse effects of nanoparticles as they relate to the immune system, both in vitro and in animal models. Dr. Dobrovolskaia is also responsible for the development, validation and performance qualification of in vitro and ex vivo assays to support preclinical characterization of nanoparticles, and for monitoring nanoparticle purity from biological contaminants such as bacteria, yeast, mold and endotoxin. Additionally, she leads structure activity relationship studies aimed at identifying the relationship between nanoparticle physicochemical properties and their interaction with macrophages, components of the blood coagulation cascade, and complement systems. Prior to joining the NCL, Dr. Dobrovolskaia worked as a Research Scientist in a GLP laboratory at PPD Development, Inc. in Richmond, VA. She was responsible for the design, development and validation of bioanalytical ligand-binding assays to support pharmacokinetic and toxicity studies in a variety of drug development projects. She received her M.S. degree from the Kazan State University in Russia, her Ph.D. from the N.N. Blokhin Cancer Research Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow, Russia, and completed two postdoctoral trainings in immunology at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, MD and the University of Maryland in Baltimore, MD. Her areas of expertise include cell signaling, innate immunity, immunogenicity and analytical methodology.

Her areas of expertise include cell signaling, innate immunity, immunogenicity and analytical methodology.

Raghbir Athwal has done his BSc Biology, MSc Genetic at the Punjab Agricultural University. He completed his PhD in Genetics at the University of Missouri. Dr. Raghbir Athwal has done his Postdoctoral fellowship in the Division of Human Genetics, Department of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri and in the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the Howard University Medical School. Dr. Raghbir Athwal has been research associate National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute. Currently, Dr. Raghbir Athwal is working as a Professor in the department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Temple University School of Medicine and Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology

The long term goal of our research is to elucidate molecular and genetic pathways involved in the regulation of normal cell growth leading to senescence, and their role in the development of cancer and cellular aging. Normal mammalian cells, unlike cancer cells, multiply only for a finite number of generations, and eventually enter a state of irreversible growth arrest, “the replicative senescence”. Applying a functional strategy, we have identified four cell senescence genes, three on chromosome 6q and one on 16q. The ectopic expression of one of the genes (SEN6A), cloned in a retroviral vector, induce senescence in ovarian and breast tumor cells, and lead to premature senescence in normal human fibroblasts. SEN6A is either rearranged or not expressed in many of the breast and ovarian tumor cells, suggesting that it plays a role in the etiology of breast and ovarian cancers. Further pursuit of our research includes delineation of mechanisms of SEN6A inactivation in tumor cells; and identifies signaling pathways involved in the functioning of SEN6A. Our preliminary observations revealed that SEN6A may be involved in DNA damage-repair response through a pathway related to the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). These finding evoked our interest to study genes associated with DNA damage – repair pathways in relation to cellular senescence. Signaling pathways that regulate cell senescence has gained significance as emerging targets for cancer therapy. In another project, we are investigating the molecular mechanisms of virus induced malignant transformation of human cells. These studies are driven by the hypothesis that immortalization of human cells requires the disruption of specific genes through viral integration. Using SV40 mediated immortalization of human fibroblasts as a model system; we have isolated a human DNA segment, corresponding to the viral insertion site. The introduction of this cloned human DNA segment, into SV40 immortalized cells, led to the restoration of normal cell growth pattern and senescence. Almost 100 percent of cervical cancer is positive for the presence of HPV virus. Future studies in this project are directed to identify human genes disrupted through HPV integration, and examine their role in the etiology of cervical cancer. The ultimate aim of our research is to identify molecular targets for diagnosis and therapeutic intervention of cancer.

Dr. Mustafa I. Selim is currently working as Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. Dr. Mustafa I. Selim expertise in Toxicology, Biochemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Pharmacology

Research in Dr. Selim's laboratory is focused on two areas: 1) investigating the toxic and detoxification mechanisms of hazardous and cancer causing chemicals, such as pesticides and mycotoxins (particularly aflatoxin B1), with the goal of developing technology for treatment or mitigation of exposure to such chemicals.2) method development and application of modern analytical techniques (e.g. SFE, GC/MS & LC/MS) for studying: the effect of air pollutants on cardiovascular and upper respiratory diseases; assessing the health effects of human exposure to toxic and endocrine disrupting chemicals in drinking water, foods, dietary supplements, and consumer products.

Dr Chuanshu Huang is currently Professor, Department of Environmental Medicine;Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology Environmental Medicine Environmental Medicine Deputy Director

Signal transduction involved in cellular function, tumor promotion and nutrient chemo-prevention. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) involved in cellular signaling and cancer development . Molecular mechanism of anti-cancer nutrients; Environment and carcinogenesis; |Signal transduction involved in cellular function, tumor promotion and nutrient chemo-prevention. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) involved in cellular signaling and cancer development . Molecular mechanism of anti-cancer nutrients; Environment and carcinogenesis; |Signal transduction involved in cellular function, tumor promotion and nutrient chemo-prevention. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) involved in cellular signaling and cancer development . Molecular mechanism of anti-cancer nutrients; Environment and carcinogenesis; |Signal transduction involved in cellular function, tumor promotion and nutrient chemo-prevention. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) involved in cellular signaling and cancer development . Molecular mechanism of anti-cancer nutrients; Environment and carcinogenesis;

Dr. Costa has been working in the area of epigenetics and cancer for over 20 years. He has studied how carcinogenic metals affect the epigenetic program through inhibition of histone demethylases. In particular, Dr. Costa has studied how Arsenic, Nickel and Chromate alter histone posttranslational modifications in chromatin using cell culture and in human PBMCs. Dr. Costa has also conducted ChIP-Seq using several histone marks and RNA-Seq following carcinogenic metal treatment of cells. He has been working on the mechanism of metal carcinogenesis for over 35 years.

Environmental Medicine, Genotoxicity, Toxicology, Pharmacology,Oncology

Dr. Mohamed Abou-Donia is a Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University Medical Center. He also holds a secondary appointment as a Professor of Neurobiology. He has been the Director of the Neurotoxicology Laboratory at Duke University Medical Center (1975-present). He was the Deputy Director of the Toxicology Program at Duke University from 1981 to 1995. He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a Certified Toxicologist by both the American Board of Toxicology since 1981 and the Academy of Toxicological Sciences since 1982. The overall research program in his laboratory is directed toward understanding the basic mechanism by which chemicals, e.g., pesticides, solvents, industrial chemicals, heavy metals, drugs, and nerve agents, adversely the nervous system. He has been investigating the mechanisms involved in the Persian Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses and developing treatment for them. His research program has focused on the assessment of brain injury from chemicals and trauma and developing serum biomarkers for such injuries. (e.g. J. Toxicol. Environ Health 76:363-380.). His research program has been funded by private organizations, e.g., Rockefeller Foundation and World Health Organization and federal agencies including NIESH, NIOSH, EPA, USDA, and DOD. He has more than 300 peer reviewed publications, most of which are in the area of neurotoxicology and edited a book “Neurotoxicology”.

Organophosphorus compounds (Ops) induce neurodegenerative disorders. This action is related to their ability to phosphorylate target proteins. Ops have three distinct actions: 1) Cholinergic neurotoxicity resulting from inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), 2) Organophosphorus ester-Induced Delayed Neurotoxicity (OPIDN), and 3) Organophosphorus ester-Induced Chronic Neurotoxicity (OPICN). Our recent studies using gene expression of rat brain, 15 min and 3 months after exposure to sarin, elucidated the sarin-induced neurotoxicity. A lethal dose of sarin caused up-regulation of nicotinic, muscarinic, GABAnergic and glutamergic receptors, consistent with the activation of glutamate receptors leading to the release of l-glutamate amino acid and activation of NMDA receptor resulting in massive Ca2+ influx and neuronal cell death. Calcium calmodulin kinase II was up-regulated in brain regions that are sensitive to OPIDN. This enzyme that is involved with glutamate receptors in the process of learning and memory is activated by Ca2+ influx through NMDA receptors resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction and free radical formation, followed by caspase activation and apoptotic cell death.

The research in Dr. Thomas Slaga's laboratory is focused on glucocorticoid hormones (GC), very potent inhibitors of physiological DNA synthesis in keratinocytes in vivo. These hormones are also very effective in preventing carcinogen- and tumor promoter-induced skin hyperplasia, inflammation, and mouse skin tumor formation when applied to skin together with a carcinogen or a tumor promoter. We and others have shown, however, that the GC do not affect the growth of either established papillomas, squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), or transformed keratinocytes in vitro. In addition, we recently found that the GC do not affect glucocorticoid-responsive genes in transformed keratinocytes both in vitro and in vivo. We have generated skin-targeted transgenic mice over-expressing the GR under the control of the keratin 5 (K5) promoter. These adult transgenic mice have impaired proliferative and inflammatory responses to skin tumor promoters. Our initial studies showed that the K5.GR transgenic animals are resistant to ras-induced tumorigenesis. The constitutively nuclear overexpression and activation of the GR in the epidermis dramatically inhibited skin tumor development in K5.GR/ras+ double transgenic mice in terms of number of animals that develop tumors, number of tumors per animal, and tumor size. In another study we plan to determine the mechanism(s) of synergistic action of the natural source compounds, known to inhibit one or more stages of skin carcinogenesis, i.e., initiation and promotion/progression. The concurrent topical and systemic (i.e., dietary) treatment with selected natural source inhibitors of different stages of skin carcinogenesis result in synergistic effects leading to more efficient prevention of skin cancer. The natural source inhibitors to be tested include ellagic acid, imperatorin from the family of coumarins, proanthocyanidin B-2-gallate, (-)-epigallocatechin from the family of green tea polyphenols, N-acetylcysteine, calcium D-glucarate, lycopene, carnosol and ursolic acid from rosemary extract, and resveratrol. We propose to initially utilize a number of very predictive short-term in vitro and in vivo tests in order to identify the mechanism(s) and to differentiate the potencies of selected inhibitors at various concentrations under standard conditions. The most effective compounds will then be studied in long-term tumor experiments utilizing a 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-promoted multistage carcinogenesis model in SENCAR mice.

The research in Dr. Thomas Slaga's laboratory is focused on glucocorticoid hormones (GC), very potent inhibitors of physiological DNA synthesis in keratinocytes in vivo. These hormones are also very effective in preventing carcinogen- and tumor promoter-induced skin hyperplasia, inflammation, and mouse skin tumor formation when applied to skin together with a carcinogen or a tumor promoter. We and others have shown, however, that the GC do not affect the growth of either established papillomas, squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), or transformed keratinocytes in vitro. In addition, we recently found that the GC do not affect glucocorticoid-responsive genes in transformed keratinocytes both in vitro and in vivo. We have generated skin-targeted transgenic mice over-expressing the GR under the control of the keratin 5 (K5) promoter. These adult transgenic mice have impaired proliferative and inflammatory responses to skin tumor promoters. Our initial studies showed that the K5.GR transgenic animals are resistant to ras-induced tumorigenesis. The constitutively nuclear overexpression and activation of the GR in the epidermis dramatically inhibited skin tumor development in K5.GR/ras+ double transgenic mice in terms of number of animals that develop tumors, number of tumors per animal, and tumor size. In another study we plan to determine the mechanism(s) of synergistic action of the natural source compounds, known to inhibit one or more stages of skin carcinogenesis, i.e., initiation and promotion/progression. The concurrent topical and systemic (i.e., dietary) treatment with selected natural source inhibitors of different stages of skin carcinogenesis result in synergistic effects leading to more efficient prevention of skin cancer. The natural source inhibitors to be tested include ellagic acid, imperatorin from the family of coumarins, proanthocyanidin B-2-gallate, (-)-epigallocatechin from the family of green tea polyphenols, N-acetylcysteine, calcium D-glucarate, lycopene, carnosol and ursolic acid from rosemary extract, and resveratrol. We propose to initially utilize a number of very predictive short-term in vitro and in vivo tests in order to identify the mechanism(s) and to differentiate the potencies of selected inhibitors at various concentrations under standard conditions. The most effective compounds will then be studied in long-term tumor experiments utilizing a 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-promoted multistage carcinogenesis model in SENCAR mice.

Dr. Trosko was Summa Cum Laude, CMU (1956), was a NDEA Predoctoral Fellow, from 1960-63, at Oak Ridge National Lab, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow from 1963-64. He also was an American Cancer Society, Postdoctoral Fellow from 1965 to 66. He received the Teacher-Scholar Award from MSU in 1970, the NCI-Research Career Development Award from 1972-to 77, the Searle Award from U.K. Environmental Mutagen Society in 1979 and the Sigma Xi Senior Scientist Award in 1985. He was honored with the MSU Distinguished Faculty Award in 1987 and the Scientific Achievement Award from the Society of Toxicology in 2001. In 2002, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award, Central Michigan University, for academic teaching and research. He recently received the 2006 "Brain Pool" award, from the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology, Seoul National University, for Adult Stem Cell Research. This award has allowed him to spend three months at Seoul National University, August-October, 2006, to identify adult cancer stem cell markers. More recently, Dr. Trosko has received a Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology “World Class University” award to do research at Seoul National University as an Invited Research Professor on human adult stem cells for two months during 2010 & 2011.

The Trosko lab focused on the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and mutagenesis. His initial research involved the study of radiation-induced mammalian mutagenesis. This led to the discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair in normal human cells and the lack of DNA repair and increased mutagenesis in the cancer-prone xeroderma pigmentosum syndrome. Later work with the tumor promoter, phorbolester, he discovered that the inhibition by tumor-promoting chemicals, oncogenes and growth factors were related to the mechanism of tumor promotion by their shared ability to modulate gap junction function. His team then developed several in vitro assays to detect chemical modulators of gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) (e.g., metabolic cooperation assays; fluorescent recovery after photobleaching; scrape loading dye transfer, etc.) Later they found that modulation of GJIC was related to chemical induced teratogenesis, reproductive dysfunction and neurotoxicity. Most recently, his group demonstrated that normal human epithelial stem cells could be isolated from kidney tissues and breast tissues. In addition, anti-tumor chemicals, as well as tumor suppressor genes appear to up-regulate GJIC in a manner opposite to tumor promoters and oncogenes. He has recently discovered biomarkers for adult human stem cells that has provided strong evidence for the "stem cell theory" of cancer.