Chronic pancreatitis represents a well-known risk factor for the development of pancreatic cancer. Although the causative environmental and genetic factors are poorly understood, the accompanying inflammation results in tissue injury and accumulation of DNA damage which facilitates cellular...
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women in the United States. Despite 98% survival for patients with localized disease, current therapies are largely ineffective against metastatic disease, reducing survival to 25%. Thus, a better understanding of the...
The premise for this study is the utilization of a non-invasive approach to attenuate the effects of perinatal injury (perinatal hypoxia, HX) on the developing brain. Hypoxic damage to the brain sustained as a consequence of preterm birth is associated with permanent neurodevelopmental...
Very preterm (VPT) infants (i.e., born before 32 weeks of gestation) are at increased risk for long-term socio-cognitive impairments. During the ex utero third trimester of VPT infants, critical interconnected neurobiological processes occur (e.g., dendritic arborization, synaptogenesis), thus...
Brain tumors are the leading cause of mortality among all cancer-related deaths in children. Among them, more than 90% of children diagnosed with midline gliomas (MLGs) often die within one year of diagnosis. Thus, there is an urgent need to elucidate the biology of these tumors with the chief...
Precise formation of neural circuits depends upon the ability of neuronal growth cones to sense and respond to guidance cues in 3-dimensional space. While many molecular components of the growth cone sensory apparatus have been identified, we still do not understand the organization of signaling...
Instinctive behaviors such as mating and aggression are key for the survival and propagation of species. As innate behaviors manifest without prior training, there must be embryonic genetic mechanisms that specify these innate behavioral circuits. Focusing on the MeA and hypothalamus, both major...
Rod and cone photoreceptors in the retina are polarized sensory neurons that possess uniquely modified primary cilium, called the outer segment, to capture photons. Circadian-mediated shedding and renewal of outer segment membrane discs requires extensive vesicular transport of protein cargo from...
Heart development is an intricate process that involves complex morphological events controlled by transcriptional/signaling networks. Any alterations in these processes can result in congenital heart defects (CHDs), the most common structural birth defect in the world. While some genetic risk...