Inna Shokolenko, Ph.D., a post doctoral researcher at the University of South Alabama
Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, won first place in the “Best New Investigator
Poster” contest at the Environmental Mutagen Society’s 35th Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh,
Pa. recently.
Shokolenko studies mitochondrial DNA damage and the repair in mammalian cells with
emphasis on how such processes influence the survival of the cells under injurious
conditions, such as oxidative stress. Being able to repair oxidative damage in
mitochondrial DNA is important in maintaining cell functions and may play a role in cancer
cell resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. Shokolenko and her research colleagues have
found that the addition of DNA repair enzymes to mitochondria can either enhance the repair
process or diminish it depending on the nature of the enzyme.
One of Shokolenko’s findings presented at the EMS meeting showed that a disruption
in the normal repair of mitochondrial DNA in human cancer cells by the addition of
Exonuclease III from E.coli, made the cancer cells more vulnerable to oxidative stress and
eventually led to their death. Shokolenko also tested a new way of delivering the proteins
to their cell destinations called protein transduction. This method allows for a protein of
interest with slight modifications to be introduced directly into the cells. Once in the
cell, the protein is directed to its final destination, the mitochondrial matrix, with the
help of the mitochondrial targeting signal located on the protein. When successful, this
approach can be used for the delivery of other potentially therapeutic proteins into the
cell. Shokolenko continues to work on developing this technique.
Shokolenko received her masters in molecular biology from Kiev State University in
Ukraine. She completed her doctorate in basic medical sciences at USA in 2003. Shokolenko
is currently working in Dr. Susan Ledoux’s lab at the USA Department of Cell Biology and
Neuroscience.
The Environmental Mutagen Society (EMS) is made up of a unique combination of
academic, government, and industrial scientists and policy makers. EMS has over 850 members
worldwide and is affiliated with the International Association of Environmental Mutagen
Societies (IAEMS). EMS and IAEMS members have contributed substantially to the recognition
of the critical role of mutation in the etiology of cancer. EMS also publishes a well-known
journal, Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis.
