Tulane Cancer Center Members: M
Faculty Membership Application and Membership Definitions

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Makridakis, Marx, Matrougui, McLachlan, A.Miller, C.Miller, Mondal, Moroz, C. Morris, G. Morris, Muneoka

Nick Makridakis, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
TCC Program Member
nmakrida@tulane.edu
(504) 988-5418, fax (504) 988-5516
1430 Tulane Ave., SL-68, New Orleans, LA 70112

Biographical Narrative:
Nick Makridakis was born in Athens, Greece. He obtained his B.S. in biology at the University of Athens in 1989. He then moved to the United States and obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, 1997. Dr. Makridakis conducted his postdoctoral studies at the Institute of Genetic Medicine at the USC, 1997-2001, under the mentorship of Juergen Reichardt, Ph.D., and was an American Cancer Society Research Fellow from 1998-2000. He became an assistant professor of research in 2002 in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at USC. Makridakis moved to New Orleans in 2007 to accept his current position in the Department of Epidemiology. He is interested in understanding the complex cooperative relationship between genetic and environmental contributors of multi-factorial diseases, particularly cancer.

Recent Publications:

• Makridakis NM, Ross RK, Pike MC, Crocitto LE, Kolonel LN, Pearce CL, Henderson BE, Reichardt JKV. Association of missense substitution in the SRD5A2 gene with prostate cancer in African-American and Hispanic men in Los Angeles USA. The Lancet, 354: 975-978, 1999.
• Makridakis NM, diSalle E, Reichardt JKV. Biochemical and pharmacogenetic dissection of human steroid 5alpha-reductase type II. Pharmacogenet, 10: 407-413, 2000.
• Makridakis NM, Reichardt JKV. MAPA: multiplex automated primer extension analysis: simultaneous genotyping of up to four polymorphisms. BioTechniques, 31: 1374 - 1380, 2001.
• Makridakis NM, Akalu A, Reichardt JKV. Identification and characterization of somatic steroid 5alpha-reductase (SRD5A2) mutations in human prostate cancer tissue. Oncogene, 23: 7399-7405, 2004.
• Makridakis NM, Reichardt JKV. Pharmacogenetic analysis of human steroid 5alpha reductase type II: comparison of finasteride and dutasteride. J Mol Endocrinol, 34: 617-623, 2005.
• Makridakis NM, Buchanan G, Tilley W, Reichardt JKV. Androgen metabolic genes in prostate cancer predisposition and progression. Front Biosci, 10: 2892-2903, 2005.

Preston A. Marx, Ph.D.
Professor of Tropical Medicine, Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Senior Scientist, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center
TCC Contributing Member
pmarx@tulane.edu
(504) 871-6255, fax (504) 871-6248
Core Scientist, Tulane National Primate Research Center, 18703 Three Rivers Road, Covington, LA 70433
Homepage: www.drprestonmarx.com
Curriculum Vitae

Biographical Narrative:
Dr. Marx received his BS in Biology in 1966 from the University of New Orleans and received his Ph.D in Microbiology in 1969 from the Louisiana State University Medical Center. He was a Post-Doctoal Reseach Fellowfrom 1972-1974 at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. Dr. Marx was the Head of Virology and Immunology at the California Regional Primate Research Center from 1983-1990, was a Professor at the New Mexico Regional Primate Research Laboratory from 1990-1994, and was a Professor at the New York University Medical Center from 1994-1998. He joined the Tulane faculty in 1998. Dr. Marx is a career virologist with over one hundred publications in AIDS. In 1992, as Director of the New Mexico Primate Center, he oversaw the design and construction of a $10 million chimpanzee facility which included 24 outdoor areas for chimpanzees infected with HIV. Dr. Marx's main areas of research are the simian immunodeficiency virus models for AIDS pathogenesis and vaccine development. Dr. Marx's laboratory uses the SIV/macaque animal model to understand HIVmucosal transmission, pathogenesis and to test candidate vaccines. His recent studies have shown that progesterone, a female hormone, enhances SIV transmission across the vaginal epithelium. The simian origins of HIV-1 and HIV-2 in Africa are also a focus for the laboratory. Dr. Marx has identified new SIVs in West Africa that are part of the HIV-1 and HIV-2 genetic lineages. Dr. Marx has over $2 million dollars in funding for his research.

Recent Publications:

• Chakrabarti LA, Lewin SR, Zhang L, Gettie A, Luckay A, Martin LN, Skulsky E, Ho DD, Cheng-Mayer C, Marx PA. (2000) Normal T cell turnover in sooty mangabeys harboring active simian immunodeficiency virus. J Virol 74: 1209-1223.
• Nixon DF, Donahoe SM, Kakimoto WM, Samuel RV, Metzner KJ, Gettie A, Hanke T, Marx PA, Connor RI.(2000) SIV-specific CTL and protection against challenge in rhesus macaques immunized with a live attenuated simian immunodeficiency virus vaccine. Virology 266: 203-210.
• Binley JM, Clas B, Gettie A, Vesanen M, Montefiori DC, Sawyer L, Booth J, Lewis M, Marx PA, Bonhoeffer S, Moore JP.(2000) Passive infusion of immune serum into simian immunodeficiency virus-infected rhesus macaques undergoing a rapid disease course has minimal effect on plasma viremia. Virol 270: 237-249.
• Donahoe SM, W.J. Moretto, Metzner KJ, Marx PA, Samuel RV, Hanke T, Connor RI, Nixon DF. (2000) Direct measurement of CD8+ T cell responses to simian immunodeficiency virus. Virol 272: 347-356.
• Smith SM, Baskin GB, Marx PA. (2000) Estrogen protects against vaginal transmission of simian immunodeficiency virus. J Infect Dis 182: 708-715, 2000.
• Chakrabarti LA, Lewin SR, Zhang L, Gettie A, Luckay A, Martin LN, Skulsky E, Ho DD, Cheng-Mayer C, Marx PA. (2000) Age-dependent changes in T cell homeostasis and SIV load in sooty mangabeys. J Med Primatol 29: 158-165.

Khalid Matrougui, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology
TCC Contributing Member
kmatroug@tulane.edu
(504) 988-2588, (504) 988-2675 fax
1430 Tulane Ave., Box SL-83, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699

Biographical Narrative:
Dr. Matrougui completed his Ph.D. at the University of Paris VI in 1998 and three post-doctoral fellowships in microvessel physiology at Aarhus University in Denmark (1999 - 2000), University of Paris VI (2000-2002), and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2002-2003). He became an instructor in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at UAB in 2003 and then moved to LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, where he served as assistant professor in the Department of Pharmacology from 2004 - 2007. He joined Tulane's faculty in September 2007. Dr. Matrougui is a reviewer for Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis Vascular Biology, Diabetes, Hypertension, Cardiovascular Research, the Journal of Hypertension, the British Journal of Pharmacology, and the American Journal of Physiology (Renal).

Recent Publications:

• Souad B, Palen D, Gonzalez-Villalobos R, Boulares H, Matrougui K. Elevated epidermal growth factor receptor phosphorylation induces resistance artery dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes, 57:109, 2008.
• Su J, Palen D, Boulares H, Matrougui K. Role of ACE-AT1R and ACE-AT2R complexes in the control of mouse mesenteric resistance artery tone. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 311(1-2):1-7, 2008.
• Ouhtit A, Matrougui K, Bengrine A, Koochekpour S, Zerfaoui M, Yousef Z. Survivin is not only a death encounter but a survival protein for invading tumor cells. Front Biosci, 12:1260-70, 2007.
• Su J, Palen D, Lucchesi PA, Matrougui K. Mice lacking the gene encoding for MMP-9 and resistance artery reactivity. Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 349(4):1177-8, 2006.
• Palen DI, Ouhtit A, Belmadani S, Lucchesi PA, Matrougui K. Hydrogen peroxide acts as relaxing factor in human vascular smooth muscle cells independent of MAP-kinase and nitric oxide. Front Biosci, 11:2526-34, 2006.

John A. McLachlan, Ph.D.
Professor of Environmental Studies
Director, Tulane/Xavier Center for BioEnvironmental Research
TCC Program Member
john.mclachlan@tulane.edu
(504) 988-6910, (504) 988-6428 fax
1430 Tulane Ave., Box SL-3, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699

Biographical Narrative:
Dr. McLachlan received his B.A. degree in Liberal Arts from the Johns Hopkins University and a doctoral degree in pharmacology from the George Washington University. Before coming to Tulane and Xavier in 1995, he spent the previous two decades at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). While at NIEHS, Dr. McLachlan's scientific contributions led to his discovery of the mechanisms by which environmental chemicals alter fetal development. Dr. McLachlan was named Scientific Director of the NIEHS in 1989. In his first five years in New Orleans Dr. McLachlan established a program on the Environment and Women's Health, formed the nation's first Center in Environmental Astrobiology and initiated the Mississippi River Interdisciplinary Research Program. Dr. McLachlan's scientific findings have been published in over 150 journal articles, 50 book chapters and 5 edited books. He presents, on average, 30 invited lectures per year and has provided scientific counsel to numerous government agencies, most recently the European Parliament. Dr. McLachlan's Environmental Endocrinology Laboratory studies environmental signaling. The major area of concentration for the lab's work is on environmental estrogens, both natural and synthetic chemicals that interact with the estrogen receptor. Lab members examine the interaction of environmental chemicals with other steroid receptors, as well as cellular signaling pathways. Model systems used in these studies include breast and endometrial cancer cell lines. The function of these compounds in animal systems is also examined.

Recent Publications:

• Burow ME, Weldon CB, Melnik LI, Duong B, Collins-Burow BM, Klippel A, Beckman BS, McLachlan JA. (2000) Phosphatidylinositol-3 Kinase/Akt Mediated Regulation of MF-B Signaling Events as a Mechanism for Suppression of TNF-induced Apoptosis. Biochem Biophys Res Comm 271(2): 342-345.
• Burow ME, Weldon CB, Chiang T-C, Tang Y, Collins-Burow BM, Rolfe K, Li S, McLachlan JA, Beckman BS. (2000) Differences in Protein Kinase C and Estrogen Receptor, Expression and Signaling Correlate with Apoptotic Sensitivity of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cell Variants. Int J Oncol 16: 1179-1187.
• Newbold RR, Hanson RB, Jefferson WN, Bullock BC, Haseman J, McLachlan JA. (2000) Proliferative Lesions and Reproductive Tract Tumors in Male Descendants of Mice Exposed Developmentally to Diethylstilbestrol. Carcinogenesis 21(7): 1355-1363.
• Li S, Chiang T-C, Davis GR, Williams RM, Wilson VP, McLachlan JA. (2001) Decreased expression of Wnt-7a mRNA is inversely associated with the expression of estrogen receptor a in human uterine leiomyoma. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 86(1): 454-457.
• Burow ME, Boue S, Collins-Burow BM, Melnik LI, Duong BN, Li S, Wiese TE, Cleavland E, McLachlan JA. (2001) Phytochemical Glyceollins, Isolated from Soy, Mediate Anti-hormonal Effects through Estrogen Receptor a and b. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 86(4): 1750-1758.
• Collins-Burow BM, Burow ME, Duong BN, McLachlan JA. (2001) The Estrogenic and Anti-estrogenic Activities of Flavonoid Phytochemicals Through Estrogen Receptor Binding Dependent and Independent Mechanisms. Nutrition and Cancer (in press).

Alan M. Miller, Ph.D., M.D.
Associate Senior Vice President for Health Sciences
Interim Medical Director of the Tulane Cancer Center
Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Pharmacology
TCC Program Member
amiller@tulane.edu
(504) 988-7566, fax (504) 988-7644
1430 Tulane Ave., Box TW-5, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699

Biographical Narrative:
Alan M. Miller Ph.D., M.D., serves as the Interim Medical Director for the Tulane Cancer Center Comprehensive Clinic, Tulane University School of Medicine.  He is a practicing medical oncologist and previously has served as Director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Vice President and Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, and, most recently, as Interim Senior Vice President for Health Sciences.

Dr. Miller is Associate Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, and a member of the leadership team in healthcare practice and policy for the university.  He has been a member of the Louisiana Healthcare Commission since 2000 and currently serves as Vice Chairman.  On a national level, he serves on the Association of American Medical Colleges Advisory Panel on Healthcare Delivery.  He is a primary liaison for Tulane in relations with the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Care Services Division and the LSU Health Sciences Center at New Orleans.  He also serves on the governing board of the Tulane University Hospital and Clinic, which is a partnership between Tulane University and the Hospital Corporation of America.  Dr. Miller is Board Chairman and President of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC), which is developing a downtown biotechnology center to include a wet-lab incubator and a GMP facility for producing clinical grade gene therapy agents. Dr. Miller also serves as Chairman of the Board of the Louisiana Gene Therapy Research Consortium, and on the board of the Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium.

Dr. Miller’s research and clinical activity have focused on blood and stem cell regulation.  He has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals on these subjects.  Dr. Miller serves as principal investigator for the Louisiana Board of Regents-funded, $5.95 million, three-year, Tulane University and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Centers’ Clinical and Translational Research Education and Commercialization Program.

Recent Publications:

• Zhang X-Y, Safah H, Mudad R, Maher E, Krause J, Miller AM, Ehrlich M. (1997) Frequency of BCL-2/JH Translocation of Peripheral Blood of Follicular Lymphoma Patients. Am J Hemat 55: 205-207.
• Schwarzenberger, P., LaRussa V, Miller AM, Peng Y, Hugan W, Zieske A, Mynatt R, Spriggs M, Kolls JK. (1998) Interleukin 17 stimulates hematopoiesis in mice via expansion of the hematopoietic progenitor pool. J Immunol 161(11): 6383-6389.
• Miller AM, Khosla P, Lynch J, Moreb J, Cullins S, Safah-Hutcheson C, LaRussa V, Vellis K, Rice J, Mendenhall N, Weiner RS. (1998) Durable remission of locally advanced breast cancer with multimodality management. Medical Oncology 15: 89-95.
• Miller AM, Noyes WE, Taetle R, List AF. (1999) Limited erythropoietic response to combined treatment with recombinant human IL-3 and erythropoietin in muelodysplastic syndrome. Leukemia Research 22: 77-83.
• Ortiz LA, Lasky JA, Safah H, Reyes M, Miller AM, Lungarella G, Friedman M. (1999) Exacerbation of bleomycin-induced lung injury in mice by amifostine. Am J Physiol 277(21): L1239-L1244.
• Miller AM, Morrison D, Safah H, Cullins S, LaRussa V, Rink J, Weiner RS. (2000) Decreased quality of peripheral blood progenitors collected after a peripheral blood progenitor transplant. J Hematotherapy Stem Cell Res 9: 475-480.

Charles A. Miller III, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
TCC Program Member
rellim@tulane.edu
(504) 988-6942, fax (504) 988-1762
1430 Tulane Ave., Box SL-29, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699
Homepage on the EHS website:
http://www.ehs.tulane.edu/Faculty-Profiles/Miller-Chuck.html

Biographical Narrative:
Dr. Miller received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He worked as a research associate in the Pharmacology and Biochemistry Departments and the Cancer Center at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, studying anti-malarial drug toxicity with Roy Mundy, chemical carcinogenesis with Awni Sarrif, colon cancer biology with Michael Brattain, and the immunology of natural killer cells with Toru Abo and Charles Balch. He joined Max Costa's laboratory and studied carcinogenic mechanisms of nickel and chromium compounds and earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Environmental Oncology from the Sackler School of Basic Medical Sciences of New York University. During this time he was the recipient of a fellowship from Shell Oil Company. His post-doctoral research was conducted in David Kowalski's laboratory at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. There he described several new DNA replication origins in yeast. He is presently an Associate Professor in the Environmental Health Sciences Department at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. His research interests include understanding the regulation of the aryl hydrocarbon (dioxin) receptor by Hsp90 and co-chaperone proteins and understanding the effects of various ligands on this signaling pathway.

Recent Publications:

• Vujcic M, Miller III CA, Kowalski D. Activation of silent replication origins at ARS elements near the HML locus in budding yeast. Mol Cell Biol, 19:6098-109, 1999.
• Miller III CA, Umek RM, Kowalski D. The inefficient ribosomal DNA origin of Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains an ARS consensus sequence and a DNA unwinding element that are functionally compromised. Nucleic Acids Res, 27:3921-30, 1999.
• Miller III CA. A human aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling pathway constructed in yeast displays additive responses to ligand mixtures. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol, 160: 297-303,1999.
• Adachi J, Mori Y, Matsui S, Takigami H, Fujino J, Kitagawa H, Miller III CA, Kato T, Saeki K, Matsuda T. Indirubin and indigo are potent aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligands present in human urine. J Biol Chem in press, 2001
• Miller III CA. Tetratricopeptide repeat-containing proteins facilitate signaling by the human aryl hydrocarbon receptor-Arnt complex expressed in yeast, Submitted.
• Cox M, Miller III CA. Genetic evidence that the p23 co-chaperone regulates human dioxin receptor signaling in a yeast model system. Submitted.

Debasis Mondal, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
TCC Contributing Member
dmondal@tulane.edu
(504) 988-4668, (504) 988-5283 fax
1430 Tulane Ave., Box SL-83, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699

Biographical Narrative:
Dr. Mondal obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Louisiana State University Medical Center. Under the guidance of Dr. Luftig and Dr. Prakash, his research projects during this time included molecular studies on mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). He carried out studies using promoter and enhancer deletions of the long terminal repeat (LTR) regions of MMTV and HIV-1 in order delineate transcription factor binding in response different stimulus. Following his Ph.D., he joined Dr. K.C. Agrawal’s laboratory at Tulane University School of Medicine, Dept. of Pharmacology as a postdoctoral fellow. In Dr. Agrawal’s laboratory, he worked on several funded grants on HIV-1-induced cardiovascular dysfunctions. He focused on deleterious effects of HIV-1 proteins, e.g. Tat, and anti-retroviral drugs, e.g. Protease inhibitors, on vascular endothelial cells. Following his fellowship, he was offered a tenure-track assistant professorship in the Department of Pharmacology. He is currently working with Dr. Agrawal's group on a prostate cancer project and recently published in this field. The group also submitted a grant proposal to NCI to study tumor-stroma interactions in PCa. Dr. Mondal is also involved in a grant with Dr. J.A. Lasky on the understanding of drug-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in HIV-1 positive patients. Independently, heI also started investigating the issue of multidrug resistance (MDR), especially the role of ABC-transporters in drug efflux from cells. Dr. Mondal currently has an active R21 grant on this subject. In addition, he is developing a comprehensive project to understand HIV-1 associated malignancies and the role of viral and cellular factors in the persistence of coinfected microenvironments.

Recent Publications:

• Reiser J, Zhang XY, Hemenway CS, Mondal D, Pradhan L, La Russa VF. Potential of mesenchymal stem cells in gene therapy approaches for inherited and acquired diseases. (2005) Expert Opin Biol Ther.;5(12):1571-84.
• Kukreja P, Abdel-Mageed AB, Mondal D, Liu K, Agrawal KC.(2005). Up-regulation of CXCR4 expression in PC-3 cells by stromal-derived factor-1alpha (CXCL12) increases endothelial adhesion and transendothelial migration: role of MEK/ERK signaling pathway-dependent NF-kappaB activation. Cancer Res.;65(21):9891-9898. .
• D. Mondal, L. Pradhan, and V. F. LaRussa,. (2004). Signal transduction pathways involved in Lineage-specific differentiation of NSCs: Can the knowledge gained from blood be used in the brain? (Review). Cancer Invest. 22(6):925-943.
• Chen, L., R.N. Ré, O. Prakash, D. Mondal. (1991) Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition reduces neuroblastoma cell growth rate. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine;196:280-283.
• Squinto, S.P., D. Mondal, A.L., Block, and O. Prakash. (1990) Activation of HIV expression by morphine in human neuroblastoma cell. AIDS Res. Hum Retro; 6: 1163-1168.

Krzysztof Moroz, M.D.
Associate Professor of Pathology
Section of Surgical Pathology & Cytopathology
Director of Cytopathology Fellowship Program
Head of Cytology and Imaging Laboratory
TCC Contributing Member
kmoroz@tulane.edu
(504) 988-5224
1430 Tulane Ave., Box SL-79, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699
Homepage on the Pathology website:
http://www.som.tulane.edu/departments/pathology/faculty/moroz/moroz.html

Biographical Narrative:
Fellowship: Cytopathology, Mallory Institute of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 1994.
Residency: Clinical Pathology, University Hospital, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 1993; Anatomic Pathology, Mallory Institute of Pathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 1991
Education/Training: M.D., Academy of Medicine, Bialystok, Poland, 1984
Certification: Cytopathology, 1994; Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, 1993
Interests: Cytopathology and Surgical Pathology, Breast Cancer, Prognostic Tumor Markers

Selected Publications:

• Dhurandhar N, Cramer H, Gallo LN, Kurtycz DFI, Moroz K, Neal MH, Prey M, Radcliffe G, Selvaggi SM. Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy (FNAB) Technique; Approved Guideline - Second Edition. NCCLS Publication: GP20-A2, Vol. 23 No. 27 (2003)
• Lyons-Boudreaux V. Moroz K. Pathologic Quiz Case: A 4-year-old boy with headache, seizures, and brain mass. Ganglioglioma. Arch Pathol Lab Med 127(9):e387-8 (2003)
• Zhang JW, Dry J, Moroz K. Pathologic Quiz Case: Post Lung Transplant Patient With Bilateral Breast Masses. Arch Pathol Lab Med 127(3):375-6 (2003)
• Nowfar S, Teplitzky SR, Melancon K, Kiefer TL, Cheng Q, Dwivedi PD, Bischoff ED, Moroz K, Anderson MB, Dai J, Lia L, Yuan L, Hill SM. Tumor prevention by 9-cis-retinoic acid in the N-nitroso-N-methylurea model for mammary carcinogenesis is potentiated by the pineal hormone malatonin. Breast Cancer Res Treat 72(1):33-43 (2002)
• David O, Gattuso P, Razan W, Moroz K, Dhurandhar N. Unusual Cases of Metastases to the Breast. A Report of 17 Cases Diagnosed by Fine Needle Aspiration. Acta Cytol 46(2):377-385 (2002)
• Moroz K, Lipscomb J, Vial LJ Jr., Dhurandhar N. Cytologic nuclear grading of malignant breast aspirates as a predictor of histologic grade: Light microscopy and image analysis characteristics. Acta Cytol 41(4):1107-1111 (1997)

Cindy A. Morris, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
TCC Program Member
cmorris2@tulane.edu
(504) 988-8245
1430 Tulane Ave., Box SL-36, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699

Gilbert F. Morris, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pathology
Co-Director, Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology
TCC Program Member
gmorris2@tulane.edu
(504) 988-6953, (504) 988-5707 fax
1430 Tulane Ave., Box SL-79, New Orleans, LA 70112-2699
Homepage on the Pathology website:
http://www.som.tulane.edu/departments/pathology/faculty/morris/Morris.html
Biographical Narrative:
Dr. Morris received his B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Georgia in 1975. He started graduate school in the Chemistry Department at Florida State University in 1976 where he studied small RNA synthesis during sea urchin development with Dr. W. F. Marzluff and obtained his Ph.D. in 1982. Post-doctoral training with Dr. Marzluff, was followed in 1985 by a brief post-doctoral position with Dr. E. S. Weinberg at the University of Pennsylvania studying histone biosynthesis during sea urchin development. In 1986, Dr. Morris received a post-doctoral fellowship from the Arthritis Foundation to work on autoimmunity with Dr. M. B. Mathews at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Upon receiving a NIH post-doctoral fellowship later that year, Dr. Morris changed the focus of his project to regulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), a DNA replication and repair protein. Dr. Morris maintained his interest in regulation of PCNA expression while he was promoted to Staff Associate in 1989 and Staff Investigator in 1992 at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He came to an Assistant Professor position in the Department of Pathology at Tulane University Health Sciences Center in 1993 and began work in lung biology. He reached the academic rank of Associate Professor in 1999. Dr. Morris has published over 30 papers relating to transcriptional regulation and control of cell growth. He has served on a NIH grant review panel and as a reviewer for numerous journals.

The Morris laboratory is interested in the molecular biology of lung injury and repair and the transcriptional regulation of the gene encoding proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Specific interests are enumerated below.

• p53 expression and asbestos inhalation: Dr. Morris' laboratory has demonstrated the expression of the p53 tumor suppressor protein at sites of fibrotic lesions after inhalation exposure of rodents to asbestos. To characterize p53 function in asbestos-induced pulmonary fibrosis, Dr. Morris has been comparing cell proliferation and consequent pulmonary pathology of normal and p53-deficient mice after exposure to asbestos. In addition, transgenic mice have been prepared with diminished or augmented p53 expression in the lung epithelium. Analyses of fibrogenesis in these novel transgenic animals after inhalation exposure to asbestos fibers are underway. Preliminary analyses suggest that mice with compromised function of p53 in the lung epithelium display a reduced fibrogenic response to asbestos.
• p53 in lung cancer: A strong correlation exists between mutations in the p53 gene and malignant conversion. To assess the role of p53 in lung carcinogenesis, transgenic mice with lung-specific expression of a dominant negative form of p53 were developed. The mutant p53-expressing mice are expected to display disrupted p53 function in the epithelial cells of the small airways and the peripheral lung. This animal model is being used to study lung carcinogenesis and to identify agents that contribute to neoplastic conversion in the lung.
• Regulation of PCNA expression in irradiated cells: The Morris laboratory has shown that the p53 tumor suppressor protein binds upstream of the PCNA promoter and regulates expression of a PCNA-CAT reporter construct in irradiated cells. Thus, a p53-mediated mechanism accounts for induction of PCNA for purposes of DNA repair. To evaluate this pathway in vivo, transgenic mice have been prepared with the human PCNA promoter fused to a CAT reporter. Interbreeding these PCNA-CAT transgenic mice with the animals with altered p53 expression in the lung will provide the means of evaluating this DNA damage inducible pathway in mouse lung epithelial cells exposed to genotoxic substances.

• Shan B, Zhuo Y, Chin D, Morris CA, Morris GF, Lasky, JA. CDK9 is required for tumor necrosis factor-a stimulated MMP-9 expression in human lung adenocarcinoma cells. J Biol Chem 280, 1103-1111 (2005).
• Shan B, Morris GF. Binding sequence-dependent regulation of the human proliferating cell nuclear antigen promoter by p53. Exp Cell Res (in press).
• Morris GF, Notwick A, David O, Fermin C, Brody AR, Friedman M. Development of lung tumors in mutant p53-expressing mice after inhalation exposure to asbestos. Chest 125, Suppl. 5, 85S-86S (2004).
• Zhuo Y, Hoyle GW, Zhang J, Morris GF, Lasky, JA. A novel murine PDGF-D splicing variant results in significant differences in peptide expression and function. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 308, 126-132 (2003).
• Shan B, Xu J, Zhuo Y, Morris CA, Morris GF. Induction of p53-dependent activation of the human PCNA gene in chromatin by ionizing radiation. J Biol Chem 278, 44009-44017 (2003).
• Ghosh S, Mendoza T, Ortiz LA, Hoyle GW, Fermin CD, Brody AR, Friedman M, Morris GF. Enhanced bleomycin sensitivity in mice expressing dominant negative p53 from the surfactant protein C promoter. Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 166: 890-897 (2002)
• Nelson A, Mendoza T, Hoyle GW, Brody AR, Fermin CD, Morris GF. Enhancement of fibrogenesis by the p53 tumor supressor protein in asbestos-exposed rodents. Chest 120: 33S-34S (2001)
• Kannabiran C, Morris GF and Mathews MB. Dual action of the adenovirus E1A 243R oncoprotein on the human proliferating cell nuclear antigen promoter: repression of transcriptional activation by p53. Oncogene 18, 7825-7833 (1999).
• Xu J, Morris GF. p53-mediated regulation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression in cells exposed to ionizing radiation. Mol Cell Biol 19: 12-20 (1999).
• Morris GF, Brody AR. Molecular mechanisms of particle-induced lung disease. pages 305-333. In: Environmental and Occupational Medicine. Rom WR Ed. Little, Brown and Company, Boston, MA. (1998).
• Mishra A, Liu JY, Brody AR, Morris GF. Inhaled asbestos fibers induce p53 expression in the rat lung. Am J Resp Cell Mol Biol 16: 479-485 (1997).

Ken Muneoka, Ph.D.
Professor and Chairman of Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology
TCC Associate Member
kmuneoka@tulane.edu
(504) 865-5546, (504) 865-6785 fax
Percival Stern Hall #402, Tulane Uptown Campus
6823 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70118
Homepage on the CMB website:
http://www.tulane.edu/~cellmol/Muneoka/index.htm

Biographical Narrative:
Dr. Muneoka received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Irvine in 1983. He has been a member of the Cell and Molecular Biology faculty since 1986 and has served as Chair of the department since 1993. Dr. Muneoka's primary research interests are in limb development and regeneration, pattern formation, wound healing, cell migration, and growth control. The role of cellular position and positional information in the control of cell proliferation is being investigated in the developing mouse limb. Dr. Muneoka's lab employs embryonic surgical procedures to investigate spatial and temporal differences in the regulation of cell growth by introducing cells that have been characterized in vitro. By using a combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches, the long term goal is to understand how cellular interactions regulate the reproducible patterns of proliferation during limb development. Dr. Muneoka's research is presently funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research.

Recent Publications:

• Ngo-Muller V, Muneoka K. (1999). Exo Utero Surgery. In: Developmental Biology Protocols, Vol.1 R.S. Tuan and C.W. Lo eds. Humana Press Inc., Totowa, New Jersey. pp 481-492.
• Muller TL, Ngo-Muller V, Reginelli A, Taylor G, Anderson R, Muneoka K. (1999). Regeneration in higher vertebrates: Limb buds and digit tips. Sem Cell Dev Biol 10: 405-413.
• Li S, Muneoka K. (1999). Cell migration and chick limb development: chemotactic action of FGF-4 and the AER. Dev Biol 211: 335-347.
• Ngo-Muller V, Muneoka K. (2000). Influence of FGF4 on digit morphogenesis during limb development in the mouse. Dev Biol 219: 224-236.
• Schaller S, Muneoka K. (2001). Inhibition of polarizing activity in the anterior limb bud is regulated by extracellular factors. Dev Biol 240: 443-456.

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