The Lima lab is broadly interested in the metabolic changes that occur in the process of cells becoming cancerous, and the benefits they gain as a result of these changes. For example, as compared to normal cells, cancer cells can undergo a dramatic reorganization of their lipid profiles. Because lipids are essential components of all cellular membranes, these changes are often accompanied by alterations in cellular processes that depend on the composition of membranes such as endocytosis and autophagy. In fact, in many cancers these critical cellular physiology pathways are exploited by to gain many advantages. The lab seeks to understand how specific mutations observed in cancer lead to changes in the lipid profiles of cells, and to define how these changes allow them to exploit endocytosis and autophagy in developing drug resistance and unbridled growth.

For more information, please contact Santiago Lima, Ph.D., at slima@vcu.edu.

The McCallister lab conducts research in the following areas:

• Biotic and abiotic factors influencing the age of organic carbon in fluvial, estuarine, coastal and open ocean ecosystems
• Biogeochemical transformations of organic carbon along the land to sea continuum
• The sources and ages of organic carbon fueling microbial anabolic and catabolic pathways
• The importance of terrestrial organic carbon subsidies to microbial and higher trophic food webs in aquatic ecosystems

For more information, please contact S. Leigh McCallister, Ph.D., at slmccalliste@vcu.edu.

Neurodegenerative diseases currently affect an estimated 50 million people worldwide, and this number is expected to double over the next 30 years. While the most common neurodegenerative diseases are often associated with aging, such as Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease, there are heritable neurodegenerative diseases that affect individuals of all ages. Interestingly, while each neurodegenerative disease results from discrete genetic or metabolic defects, many of these diseases share pathological features dependent on the distinct population of neurons in the brain that are vulnerable. Current treatments for most of these disorders focus on symptom suppression, however due to the progressive nature of neurodegeneration these treatments are unable to reverse the accumulation of neuronal death
that drives the pathology.

The goal of the Newton lab’s research is to examine the underlying molecular mechanisms behind neuronal cell death, focusing on pathologically common diseases to identify druggable targets upstream of the neuroinflammation and apoptotic cell death that drive disease progression. By focusing on common molecular targets, they hope to identify new therapeutic strategies that can be employed in the context of multiple diseases to slow or even prevent neuronal cell death, regardless of the specific underlying disease.

For more information, please contact Jason Newton at newtonjc2@vcu.edu.

The Prosser lab studies the molecular mechanisms regulating protein sorting and transport within eukaryotic cells. This is achieved primarily through a process known as vesicular trafficking, in which cargo proteins are concentrated into a vesicle that buds from a donor organelle, is transported through the cytoplasm, and fuses with a target organelle. Correct cargo sorting and transport is important to ensure that proteins reach their correct destinations; defects in vesicular trafficking are linked to a variety of diseases in humans. We use a combination of yeast genetics, cell biology, molecular biology and biochemistry techniques to study:

• mechanisms and regulation of clathrin-mediated and clathrin-independent endocytosis
• dysfunction of trafficking mechanisms and identification of potential therapeutic targets in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease)

For more information, please contact Derek Prosser, Ph.D., at dprosser@vcu.edu. 

The Rivera Lab focuses on computational evolutionary biology, phylogenetics and systematics.

For more information, please contact Maria Rivera, Ph.D., at mcrivera@vcu.edu.

The Turbeville Lab focuses on the morphology, ecology, systematics, phylogeography and species delimitation of nemerteans (ribbon worms), especially those species that inhabit the marine intertidal and shallow subtidal zones.

For more information, please contact Clint Turbeville, Ph.D., at jmturbeville@vcu.edu.