CURRENT LAB MEMBERS
Carmen J Narvaez, PhD Rutgers University. Senior
Research Associate. “Judy” Narvaez originally joined the Welsh lab
as a post-doctoral fellow to study mechanisms of vitamin D mediated apoptosis
in breast cancer cells. She has pursued
multiple projects since that time, including characterization of vitamin D
resistant cell lines, examination of interactions between breast cancer cells
and bone, and
analysis of VDR phosphorylation. As Senior Research Associate, Judy continues
to be an essential resource for undergraduate and graduate students in the
Welsh lab. Her expertise in all aspects
of cell biology, including flow cytometry, western
blotting, ELISA analyses and mammalian cell culture, is legendary. Judy’s current project focuses on the role of
the VDR in mesenchymal stem cell differentiation,
with an emphasis on adipogenesis and osteoblastogenesis.
This project relies on the use of genetic mouse models of vitamin D
deficiency (VDRKO and CYP27B1 KO).
Meggan Keith, PhD, University of Notre Dame. Post-Doctoral Fellow.
Meggan
conducted her dissertation research in the Welsh lab on the molecular functions
of VDR and received her PhD degree in 2007. She is currently working on a
joint project between Drs. Welsh, Tenniswood and Conklin to develop novel
mammary epithelial cell models to study the impact of genomic alterations in
cancer, including her2,
BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.
Don Matthews, MSc,
Lakehead
University. PhD Student, Biomedical Sciences. Don came to the Welsh lab
from Lakehead
University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, where he completed a
Masters degree in Biology in 2005. His thesis focused on the effect of the chemotherapeutic
agent Flavopiridol on cell cycle regulator cdk2
activity. Don’s current project involves the use of mammary gland organ culture
and genetically engineered mouse models to identify genomic profiles downstream
of VDR signaling.
Erika LaPorta, BSc,
College of St. Rose; MSc,
University at Albany Department of Biomedical Sciences. PhD Student, Biomedical
Sciences. Erika completed her
MSc degree in Dr. Derek Symula’s
lab, where she worked on lung development in mouse models. She joined the Welsh lab in the summer of 2008
to study molecular functions of VDR in breast cancer cell models.
Lei Li, BS, MS, School of Pharmacy,
Fudan
University, China. Graduate Student, Environmental Health Sciences. Lei is a first
year graduate student in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences. She
completed her MSc thesis on the mechanism of action of
a natural anti-arrhythmia drug. Lei is currently examining the expression and activity of xenobiotic enzymes in mammary cells.
Cintia Milani,
BS, MSc Experimental Oncology, University of Sao Paolo, Brazil. Cintia is a
visiting graduate student
from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. In a collaborative
project, Cintia is identifying and validating vitamin
D regulated genes in human breast cancer tissue.
Romae Palmer,
Undergraduate Student, University at Albany.
Romae completed the 2008 University at Albany
Summer Research Program in the Welsh lab where she assisted with the
characterization of our newly created mammary-specific VDR knockout mouse. This
semester she is employed in the lab as a work-study student and is also
registered for Undergraduate Research credit (Bio399). Romae is currently
assisting with genotyping of our mouse colonies.
Last updated on 02/18/2009
