Basic
research is conducted on a variety of topics by investigators of the Children’s
Foundation Research Center.Dr. Dennis Black’s research team is studying how fats are taken up by the intestinal cell and processed and packaged for transport into the bloodstream. Using newborn piglets, as well as cultured piglet intestinal cells, Dr. Black also investigates how different types of fat in the diet regulate genes in the small intestine and liver in the human infant.
Dr. Thomas Chin’s current research studies focus on altered myocyte structure and function in a mouse model with the congenital heart defect Tetralogy of Fallot, an important problem in children.
Dr. Noel Delos Santos studies G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signal transduction, specifically signaling events associated with the beta 1-adrenergic GPRC, important to the areas of hypertension, salt and water balance, as well as heart failure.
Dr. Edsel Arce has been dedicated for the last eight years to the study of circulating plasma cell precursors (PCP) in the blood of pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.
Dr. Keith English’s laboratory studies the biochemical pathways that regulate the response of macrophages and monoctyes to bacteria and bacterial products.
Dr. Ajay Talati’s research interests focus on the role of inflammation in disease affecting the newborn and premature infant. Specifically, he has studied the interaction of exogenous surfactant used for the treatment of hyaline membrane disease with host defense mechanisms in infants.
Dr. Ae-Kyung Yi’s research seeks to determine molecular mechanisms that lead to the activation and deactivation of innate immune cells by CpG DNA, a newly discovered innate immune stimulator and a potent vaccine adjuvant.
Dr. Ron Adkins is in the early stages of a comparative genetic study of preeclamptic and unaffected women to identify genetic differences that may contribute to a woman’s susceptibility to preeclampsia. He is taking a novel approach by using DNA microarrays to study the amount of activity of thousands of genes.
The focus of Dr. Betty Lew’s research is to determine how excess growth of smooth muscle cells occurs in children with severe asthma. Her laboratory has completed the full cloning and overexpression of airway smooth muscle receptors in a transgenic mouse model.
Dr. Linda Myers’ research focuses on the study of arthritis induced in special strains of mice injected with collagen, a component of connective tissue. Her research group has found that by treating these animals with collagen peptides, the severity of arthritis can be down-regulated.
Dr. Xiaobin Han has spent more than a decade studying the amino acid taurine and its regulation by the kidney. He has cloned the gene for the rat taurine transporter (TauT) and demonstrated that its expression can be regulated by various factors.
The interests of Dr. David Rogers’ lab revolve around three areas central to the management of the fungus C. albicans: 1) the molecular basis of antifungal resistance; 2) molecular mechanisms of antifungal resistance, and 3) the role of the innate immune response interaction between C. albicans and the host.
