Using PCR to Identify Breast Cancer Cell Lines with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)
Breast cancer is a disease that affects nearly 1 of every 8 women in the United States. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infections are known to cause the majority of cervical cancer cases. Recent publications have documented the presence of HPV in clinical isolates from breast cancer patients. I am using a DNA-based technique called PCR to identify existing breast cancer cell lines that are infected with HPV.
Cellular Factors that Contribute to Oxidative DNA Damage by Superoxide
Oxidative DNA damage is a fact of life for all organisms that live in an oxygen-containing environment. The accumulation of oxidative DNA damage over time has been attributed to aging and cancer. During my graduate study at the University of Illinois, I had identified a number of mutants in the bacterium Escherichia coli that were rescued from overwhelming oxidative DNA damage. These mutants are deficient in a cellular factor that is contributing to oxidative DNA damage. Further characterization is needed to determine the role of each factor.
Cellular Factors that are Necessary for Systemic Infections by Yersinia enterocolitica
Yersinia enterocolitica is a bacterium that is associated with food poisoning and in some individuals can cause a fatal systemic infection of the blood stream. Using IVET (in vitro Expression Technology) I was able to identify a number of genes which were used to make proteins only under condiitions of systemic infection. Due to the selective nature of their expression, these genes very likely represent cellular factors that are necessary for the initiation and maintenance of a systemic infection.
