Biography
Xiuwei Yang completed his post-doctoral fellowship from Manitoba Cancer Treatment & Research Foundation in cancer biology.He presently working as assistant professor in department of Molecular & Biomedical Pharmacology at University of Kentucky.He holds a membership for American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB).
Research Interest
Biological, pathological and signaling roles of cell adhesion molecules in tumor onset or recurrence, progression and metastasis. Potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Biography
Hem D. Shukla is Research Scientist in Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of Maryland and adjunct Professor of Genomics in Notredame of Maryland University. He has also worked as Research Faculty in Department of Biology at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Shukla has worked on proteomic analysis of oxidative stress response in BxPC-3 pancreatic cell lines and identification of biomarkers for pancreatic cancer. He has worked on “The Nrf2 mediated antioxidant defense against oxidative stress in pancreatic cancer cell lines and targets for therapeutic interventionâ€. He has shown elevated level of Nrf2 transcriptional factor in pancreatic cancer cell lines under oxidative stress which is phosphorylated by protein kinase C and affects phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and MAP kinase pathways. After phosphorylation, Nrf2 translocates to the nucleus, binds AREs and transactivates detoxifying enzymes and antioxidant enzymes, such as glutathione S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase. The IPA analysis has suggested a potential role of Nrf2 under oxidative stress conditions.
Research Interest
Proteomic analysis of oxidative stress response in BxPC-3 pancreatic cell lines Identification of biomarkers for pancreatic cancer Nrf2 mediated antioxidant defense against oxidative stress in pancreatic cancer cell lines
Biography
I have a PhD in Biochemistry (Kolkata, India, 2001) and have over nine years of post-doctoral experience first at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and then at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2010, I got promoted to Research Instructor at the Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh and in 2012 to the position of Research Assistant Professor. Presently my research focusses on understanding epigenetic changes in cancer, development of therapeutic strategies based upon epigenetic alterations and development of alterations in DNA methylation for use as predictive biomarkers and early detection of lung cancer. My previous research was focused primarily on identifying new molecularly targeted strategies for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) therapy. I have prior experience working in the area of glaucoma where we have looked at the effect of a novel therapeutic agent in the delay of progression of glaucoma. I have over 30 peer-reviewed publications.
Research Interest
Understanding and characterizing epigenetic changes in cancer as well as focusing on molecular targeted therapies in targeting novel molecules that are upregulated in cancer.