The NHLBI-funded Institutional Training Program in Cell Signaling and Lung Pathobiology supports predoctoral fellows who have completed the one-year interdisciplinary core curriculum in the Basic Medical Sciences PhD program at the University of South Alabama . Trainees receive the current year NIH predoctoral stipend, full tuition remission and health insurance. The Training Program combines state-of-the-art research training with Program faculty with advanced course work in lung biology, lung pathobiology and signal transduction. Training resources include facilities in the Center for Lung Biology and the Cancer Research Institute. Program faculty provide a breadth of expertise with respect to lung biology and pathobiology, with extramurally funded research focusing on regulation of lung endothelial barrier function, acute lung injury, lung remodeling in pulmonary hypertension, sickle cell disease, airway solute transport, cystic fibrosis, and alveolar epithelial cell function. We have the expertise to train students in research approaches to understanding mechanisms at the molecular to integrative level of function. For more information, contact Dr. Mary Townsley, Program Director (460-6815, mtownsley@usouthal.edu). |
Students selected will be initially appointed to the Training Program for one year. Renewal of appointment for a second year of support is contingent upon maintenance of good academic standing and progress in training. Reappointment for a third year of support may be considered in some cases. Trainees will receive the current year NIH stipend ($20,772 in FY2004), tuition remission and health insurance. In addition, funds are available for trainee travel to professional meetings.
Trainees must work with one of the Training Program faculty and complete the curriculum identified for the Training Program. The latter includes the following coursework: Lung Biology (IDL 630), Lung Pathobiology (IDL 631), Advanced Signal Transduction (IDL 636), Biostatistics and Experimental Design (IDL 590 for summer 2004), and Research Integrity (GIS 501). Other coursework may be selected from among the advanced courses offered within the Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Program. Other facets of the research training experience (committee meetings, qualifying examinations, participation in journal clubs and seminars, etc.) will adhere to the requirements set by the Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Program. Trainees will be required to complete the Qualifying Examination early in the second year of Training Grant support and to subsequently submit a proposal for an individual predoctoral fellowship to an extramural funding agency.
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Training Program Faculty:
Abu-Bakr Al-Mehdi, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Mechanisms underlying mechanotransduction in lung endothelium, reactive oxygen species-dependent signaling in endothelium, and mechanisms of lung metastasis
Stephen Ballard, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Physiology
Biophysical transport processes which control lung airway liquid secretion, defects in chloride ion transport and impact on mucocilliary clearance in cystic fibrosis
Sailen Barik, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biochemistry
Molecular mechanisms regulating host-virus interactions and pathogenesis of respiratory syncytial virus, a major lung pathogen which cause bronchiolitis and asthma
Michael Chinkers, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Signal transduction mechanisms elicited by atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) receptors, interactions between ANP and glucocorticoids
Mark Gillespie, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacology
Inter- and intracellular signaling which contribute to hypertensive pulmonary vascular remodeling, impact of reactive oxygen species on gene regulation
Brian Fouty, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
Cell cycle-dependent regulation of pulmonary vascular remodeling in chronic pulmonary hypertension
Richard Honkanen, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Biochemistry
Role of phosphatases in the cross-talk between glucocorticoid and hypoxia-induced signaling networks, regulation of cell growth and apoptosis
Susan LeDoux, Ph.D., Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Cell Biology/Neuroscience
Mechanisms of cellular protection against genotoxic insult, including nuclear and mitochondiral DNA repair
Thomas Lincoln, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Physiology
Nitric oxide-dependent regulation of protein kinase G and vascular smooth muscle cell gene expression
Solomon Ofori-Acquah, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Cell Biology/Neuroscience
Role of signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) and p38 mitogen activating protein kinase pathways in gamma globin gene regulation, regulation of adhesion protein function in endothelium
James Parker, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Physiology
Impact of mechanical stress on lung endothelium and mechanisms of ventilator-induced lung injury
Troy Stevens, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Director Center for Lung Biology
Cellular mechanisms promoting lung endothelial barrier disruption in inflammation, ion channels and endothelial phenotypic heterogeneity
Mary Townsley, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Physiology, Program Director
Structural and functional adaptations in endothelium in chronically hypertensive lung, role of P450 epoxygenases in regulation of lung endothelial permeability
Wiltz Wagner, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Pharmacology
Pulmonary microcirculation, hemodynamics and distribution of flow
Songwei Wu, M.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology
T-type and store-operated calcium channels in lung endothelium, vaso-occlusion of red cells in sickle cell disease
Glenn Wilson, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Cell Biology/Neuroscience
Environmental factors leading to nuclear and mitochondrial DNA damage, mechanisms of aging |
