Future Students | Current Students | Alumni | Community & Friends

One-micron diameter latex microspheres, with an antibody added to their surface, seek out estrogen receptors within colorless breast cancer cells.

Cancer Research

From cell growth and basic biochemical interactions research to diagnosing skin cancer using laser-induced ultrasound, researchers in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources are attacking cancer from many different perspectives.

Georgia Davis

Georgia Davis, an associate professor in the Division of Plant Sciences, and her team are working to identify genes for resistance to the fungus Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin, a carcinogenic substance produced by the fungus, reduction in corn.

Reducing aflatoxin contamination in corn will reduce the potential for liver cancer in humans with long-term exposure while providing economic stability by reducing crop loss for the producer.

Gene Stevens

Extension Associate Professor in the Division of Plant Sciences William (Gene) Stevens and his research group have developed a greenhouse technique utilizing wide soil beds and drip irrigation that produces higher tobacco leaf yields and pharmaceutical protein expression levels compared to conventional pot methods.

Their research indicates that protein from the transgenic tobacco might be effective for treating cancer.

William Folk

William Folk, professor of Biochemistry and senior associate dean for research at the School of Medicine, and members of the International Center for Indigenous Phytotherapy Studies (TICIPS) are studying medicinal plants used in South Africa, which might block growth of cervical cancer, a major killer of women in African and other resource-poor regions.

Folk and members of his laboratory also study how proteases, their receptors and inhibitors promote the spread and growth of tumors. The team has also gained insight into some of the genetic factors that influence tumor malignancy and growth.

Steven Van Doren

Associate Professor of Biochemistry Steven Van Doren and his research group are working to refine therapeutic strategies through enhanced understanding of the molecular details and origins of certain aspects of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Knowledge of the interactions of this diverse group of proteins will lead to a fine-grained picture of the inner workings of cancerous and other diseased cells.

Susan Deutscher

Associate Professor of Biochemistry Susan Deutscher's program focuses on using novel methods to identify cancer-homing molecules. These molecules are small peptides that can be selected to have excellent tumor targeting and stability as compared to more traditionally discovered molecules and could lead to the development of powerful new cancer drugs.

Their research is also leading to new ways to think about carbohydrate-mediated cancer cell growth, adhesion and metastasis. Her team has developed a non-invasive test for early breast cancer detection that they hope to develop further for clinical use worldwide.

Dennis Lubahn

Dennis Lubahn, professor of Biochemistry and principle investigator and director of the MU Center for Phytonutrient and Phytochemical Studies, a comprehensive research program that investigates the molecular mechanisms of human diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disease and immune-mediated abnormalities, is studying the action of the sex steroids and their receptors, in particular the estrogen receptors.

The goals of his research program are to find novel functions for estrogens and their receptors, and then to identify the molecular mechanisms that mediate those functions. This will lead to a better understanding of estrogen’s developmental, physiological, behavioral, and biochemical roles in humans and diseases.

Valeri Mossine

Valeri Mossine, research assistant professor of Biochemistry, and his team are working to develop a new class of low- or nontoxic carbohydrates as potential anti-metastatic and chemo-preventive drugs. By designing, synthesizing and isolating different carbohydrates from dietary sources, they are evaluating the ability of these chemicals to inhibit cell adhesion and drug resistance of highly metastatic cancer cells.

The team hopes to create a new class of carbohydrate-based drugs that would target metastatic cancer cells and prevent them from initial growth and spreading throughout the patient’s body.

Thomas Quinn

Professor of Biochemistry Thomas Quinn's research program is focused on the development of novel cancer-targeting peptides for diagnostic imaging and therapy and the identification of cancer biomarkers for diagnosis.

Because there are no effective treatments for metastatic melanoma, their compound, if it is shown to be safe and effective, could have a positive effect on patient treatment.

In collaboration with fellow professors Deutscher and Sauter, they have also developed a simple breast cancer screen.

Mark Hannink

Mark Hannink, a professor of Biochemistry and associate director of fellowships and education at the Life Sciences Center, and his research group are investigating how human cells sense and respond to oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress results from an excess of reactive oxygen molecules, which damage DNA, proteins and other cellular components. Oxidative stress is a major cause of cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson’s and other age-related diseases. Their work on understanding how dietary antioxidants counteract oxidative stress will lead to the development of new and more effective cancer preventive compounds.

John Viator

Assistant Professor of Biological Engineering John Viator has developed and tested a system for the photoacoustic detection of circulating melanoma cells.

Using a combination of ultrasound and laser techniques, Viator has shown that cancerous cells vibrate and emit a distinct sound that can be detected with special microphones. This development promises to speed cancer diagnosis so that it can be treated before it spreads to other parts of the body.

Brenda Peculis

Brenda Peculis, an associate professor of Biochemistry, is examining the metabolism of RNA to understand how events on the molecular scale affect the growth rates of cells. RNA is critical for cell growth and comprises the core of the ribosome - the protein synthesis machine present in all cells.

If there are too few ribosomes a cell does not have enough proteins and fails to grow; if there are too many ribosomes, the growth rate can spiral out of control as seen in cancerous cells. Identification of the molecular machinery directly involved in dictating the rate of ribosome production will allow them to understand how control of ribosome biogenesis affects cell growth and might identify unique targets for treatment with drugs that regulate the rate of cell growth and cell division.

Thomas Mawhinney

Thomas Mawhinney, associate professor of Biochemistry, is studying the binding mechanisms of metastatic cancer cells. These binding mechanisms allow cancers and other diseases to spread beyond the primary site of infection.

His team is developing model systems that will provide the tools for key basic science observations that might lead to new therapeutic approaches or provide insight into new area of inquiry. The goal of this research is to determine possible ways of interfering with these binding mechanisms as a part of an overall therapy.

Mark Martin

Associate Professor of Biochemistry Mark Martin and his team are exploring the function of mitochondria and their role in regulating antioxidant enzymes during oxidative stress, an imbalance in a cell's chemical makeup that causes damage and is thought to be an important component in aging.

Because mitochondria are essential to a process called programmed cell death, or apoptosis, understanding how factors regulate the activity of mitochondria during oxidative stress might also provide the means to target tumor cells for apoptosis by interfering with their mitochondria or by making tumor cells more susceptible to oxidative stress.