Academics


Department of Life Sciences

The Department of Life Sciences is composed of faculty from a variety of scientific backgrounds that encompass the biological, physical, and mathematical sciences. The Department maintains a special emphasis in the area of infectious diseases, an emphasis that informs both the teaching and research the Department undertakes.

In addition to teaching the basic science coursework fundamental to most of the College’s academic programs, the Department offers bachelor’s degree programs in Biomedical Technology, Health Sciences and Microbiology (in addition to the minor in Microbiology). It is also home to master’s degree programs in Biomedical Sciences, Biomanufacturing & Bioprocessing, Molecular Biosciences and the Pre-Pharmacy pathway into the PharmD program.

Infectious disease research in the department is supported by the National Institutes of Health and focuses on host-pathogen interactions with a special emphasis on tularemia, HIV, and influenza. Other areas of interest include investigating cell death pathways and the development of antibiotic resistance. Medicinal chemistry research in the department integrates synthetic organic chemistry, pharmaceutical formulation and stability, and biochemical assays to identify new therapeutic agents.

Departmental Faculty

Scholarly Activity Reports

2022 scholarly activity report

Publications

Betsy Brookins
Betsy Brookins and Alex Tan Coming Soon-NAAHP-Leads (Leadership Training Program) The Advisor, June 2022; 42(2).

Betsy Brookins, Patricia Kreke, Seth Ramus, Reichard-Brown, Louise Russo, and Alex Tan  50+ Years in the Making: Northeast Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NEAAHP) – Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Going The Advisor June 2022; 42(2).

Meenakshi Malik
Ma Z, Higgs M, Alqahtani M, Bakshi CS, Malik M.  ThioredoxinA1 Controls the Oxidative Stress Response of Francisella tularensis Live Vaccine Strain (LVS). J Bacteriol. 2022 May 17;204(5).

Mishra S, Lasek-Nesselquist E, Mathur A, Ma Z, Boonthaworn K, O'Donnell N, Sui H, Pata JD, McDonough KA, Jayachandran P, Malik M.  Phenotypic and genetic changes associated with the seesaw effect in MRSA strain N315 in a bioreactor model.  J Glob Antimicrob Resist. 2022 Mar;   28:249-253.

Michael Racz
M. P. Kane, V. R. Arceri, H. B. Quinn, M. Telese, M. J. Racz, R. S. Busch Implementation of an anabolic therapy program and follow-up of patients prescribed abaloparatide: real-world results of a pharmacist-led osteoporosis clinic  Current Trends in Endocrinology 2022 13:25-35.

Binshan Shi
Barbara Weiser, Binshan Shi, Kimdar Kemal, Harold Burger, Howard Minkoff, Qiuhu Shi, Wei Gao, Esther Robison, Susan Holman, Tamara Schroeder, Alissa Gormley, Kathryn Anastos, Christina Ramirez  Long-term antiretroviral therapy mitigates mortality and morbidity independent of HIV tropism: 18 years follow-up in a women's cohort  AIDS. 2022 Nov 15;36(14):1979-1986.

Vir Singh
Irfan A. Khan, Arthur H. Worrad, Meera V. Singh, Sanjay B. Maggirwar and Vir B. Singh Human immunodeficiency virus-1 Tat exerts its neurotoxic effects by downregulating Sonic hedgehog signaling  Journal of Neuro Virology volume 28, pages305–311 (2022).

Grants

LaRocca, T (PI). “Mechanisms and outcomes of the hyperglycemic shift to necroptosis in myeloid cells.” NIH-NHLBI (2R15HL135675-02). $300,000 direct costs, 165,000 indirect costs. 2021-2024.

Malik, M (PI). “Repression of inflammasome by Francisella tularensis” NIH/NIAID (2R15AI107698-03), $480,000, 9/1/2020-8/31/2023.

Singh, V (Co-I). “Platelet-mediated Neuroinflammatory response to HIV” NIH Subaward from The George Washington University, $96,957, 2021-2022.

Singh, V. (PI)  “Investigating RNA polymerase III driven mechanisms in regulating HIV latency”  R15AI165295-01A1 ($495,321) February 1, 2022-2025.

2021 Scholarly activity report

The activities listed below are by members of the Department of Life Sciences and span the period from January 1, 2021 - December 31, 2021.
* - ACPHS students denoted in bold.

Publications

Steven Gassner, Carlo Cafaro, Sean A. Ali, Paul Alsing. Information geometric aspects of probability paths with minimum entropy productions for quantum state evolution. Int. J. Geom. Methods in Mod. Phys. 18 (8), 2150127 (2021).

Carlo Cafaro and Sean A. Ali. Information Geometric Measures of Complexity with Applications to Classical and Quantum Physical Settings. Foundations 2021, 1(1), 45-62.

Brookins, E and Tan A. How (not if) Am I Biased? Learning to See Your Assumptions through Unconscious Bias Training. The Advisor (September 2021) 41 (3): 6.

Cioffi CL, Raja A, Muthuraman P, Jayaraman A, Jayakumar S, Varadi A, Racz B, Petrukhin K. Identification of Transthyretin Tetramer Kinetic Stabilizers That Are Capable of Inhibiting the Retinol-Dependent Retinol Binding Protein 4-Transthyretin Interaction: Potential Novel Therapeutics for Macular Degeneration, Transthyretin Amyloidosis, and Their Common Age-Related  Comorbidities. J Med Chem. 2021 Jul 8;64(13):9010-9041.

Cioffi CL. Inhibition of Glycine Re-Uptake: A Potential Approach for Treating Pain by Augmenting Glycine-Mediated Spinal Neurotransmission and Blunting Central Nociceptive Signaling. Biomolecules. 2021 Jun 10;11(6):864.

McCaig WD and LaRocca TJ (2021). Cell fractionation of U937 cells by isopycnic density gradient purification. Journal of Visualized Experiments. (174).

Marghani D, Ma Z, Centone AJ, Huang W, Malik M, Bakshi CS. An AraC/XylS Family Transcriptional Regulator Modulates the Oxidative Stress Response of Francisella tularensis. J Bacteriol. 2021 Nov 5;203(23):e0018521.

Alqahtani M, Ma Z, Fantone K, Malik M, Bakshi CS. Aim2 and Nlrp3 Are Dispensable for Vaccine-Induced Immunity against Francisella tularensis Live Vaccine Strain. Infect Immun. 2021 Jun 16;89(7):e0013421.

Suresh RV, Bradley EW, Higgs M, Russo VC, Alqahtani M, Huang W, Bakshi CS, Malik M. Nlrp3 Increases the Host's Susceptibility to Tularemia. Front Microbiol. 2021 Oct 6;12:725572.

Rabinowitz J, Sharifi HJ, Martin H, Marchese A, Robek M, Shi B, Mongin AA, de Noronha CMC. xCT/SLC7A11 antiporter function inhibits HIV-1 infection. Virology. 2021 Apr;556:149-160.
 

Grants

LaRocca, T (PI). “Mechanisms and outcomes of the hyperglycemic shift to necroptosis in myeloid cells.” NIH-NHLBI (2R15HL135675-02). $300,000 direct costs, 165,000 indirect costs. 2021-2024.

Malik, M (PI). “Repression of inflammasome by Francisella tularensis” NIH/NIAID (2R15AI107698-03), $480,000, 9/1/2020-8/31/2023.

Singh, V (Co-I). “Platelet-mediated Neuroinflammatory response to HIV” NIH Subaward from The George Washington University, $96,957, 2021-2022.

2020 Scholarly activity report

The activities listed below are by members of the Department of Life Sciences and span the period from January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2020.
* - ACPHS students denoted in bold.

Publications

Brookins, E and Tan A. Love’s Labours Lost- A Tale of Two Conferences. The Advisor (September 2020) 40 (3): 12.

Cioffi CL, Muthuraman P, Raja A, Varadi A, Racz B, Petrukhin K. Discovery of Bispecific Antagonists of Retinol Binding Protein 4 That Stabilize Transthyretin Tetramers: Scaffolding Hopping, Optimization, and Preclinical Pharmacological Evaluation as a Potential Therapy for Two Common Age-Related Comorbidities. JMed Chem. 2020 Oct 8;63(19):11054-11084.

Deragon MA, McCaig WD, Patel PS, Haluska RJ Jr, Hodges AL, Sosunov SA, Murphy MP, Ten VS, and LaRocca TJ (2020). Mitochondrial ROS prime the hyperglycemic shift from apoptosis to necroptosis. Cell Death Discovery. 6:132.

Meera Singh, Sumanun Suwunnakorn, Sydney Simpson, Emily Weber, Vir Singh, Pawel Kalinski, Sanjay Maggirwar. Monocytes complexed to platelets differentiate into functionally defective dendritic cells. Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2020 July 14.

Emily Weber, Meera Singh, Vir Singh, Joseph Jackson, Sara Ture, Sumanun Suwunnakorn, Craig Morrell, Sanjay Maggirwar. A novel mechanism of microvesicle regulation by the anti-viral protein tetherin during HIV infection. J. Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Sep;9(17): e015998.

Grants

Malik, M (PI) “Repression of inflammasome by Francisella tularensis” NIH/NIAID (2R15AI107698-03), $480,000, 9/1/2020-8/31/2023.

2019 Scholarly activity report

The activities listed below are by members of the Department of Life Sciences and span the period from January 1, 2019 - December 31, 2019.
* - ACPHS students denoted in bold.

Publications

Hodges AL, Kempen CG, McCaig WD, Parker CA, Mantis NJ, and LaRocca TJ (2019). TNF family cytokines induce distinct cell death modalities in the A549 human lung epithelial cell line when administered in combination with ricin toxin. Toxins. 11(8): 450.

Ma Z, King K, Alqahtani M, Worden M, Muthuraman P, Cioffi CL, Bakshi CS, Malik M. Stringent response governs the oxidative stress resistance and virulence of Francisella tularensis. PLoS One. 2019 Oct 24;14(10):e0224094.

Cioffi CL, Racz B, Varadi A, Freeman EE, Conlon MP, Chen P, Zhu L, Kitchen DB, Barnes KD, Martin WH, Pearson PG, Johnson G, Blaner WS, Petrukhin K. Design, Synthesis, and Preclinical Efficacy of Novel Nonretinoid Antagonists of Retinol- Binding Protein 4 in the Mouse Model of Hepatic Steatosis. J Med Chem. 2019 Jun13;62(11):5470-5500.

McCaig WD, Hodges AL, Deragon MA, Haluska RJJr, Bandyopadhyay S, Ratner AJ, Spitalnik SL, Hod EA, and LaRocca TJ (2019). Storage primes erythrocytes for necroptosis and clearance. Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry. 53(3). 496-507.

McCaig WD, Deragon MA, Haluska RJ Jr, Hodges AL, Patel PS, and LaRocca TJ (2019). Cell fractionation of U937 cells in the absence of high-speed centrifugation. Journal of Visualized Experiments. (143). e59022.

Ma Z, King K, Alqahtani M, Worden M, Muthuraman P, Cioffi CL, Bakshi CS, Malik M. Stringent response governs the oxidative stress resistance and virulence of Francisella tularensis. PLoS One. 2019 Oct 24;14(10):e0224094.

Alharbi A, Rabadi SM, Alqahtani M, Marghani D, Worden M, Ma Z, Malik M, Bakshi CS. Role of peroxiredoxin of the AhpC/TSA family in antioxidant defense mechanisms of Francisella tularensis. PLoS One. 2019 Mar 14;14(3):e0213699.

Lasek-Nesselquist E, Lu J, Schneider R, Ma Z, Russo V, Mishra S, Pai MP, Pata JD, McDonough KA, Malik M. Insights Into the Evolution of Staphylococcus Aureus Daptomycin Resistance From an in vitroBioreactor Model. Front Microbiol. 2019 Feb 28;10:345.

Graf L, Moran S, Ro S, de Noronha C. and Shi B. Analysis of Early Phase HIV-1 Replication and Integration Events by Using Real-time PCR. Bio-protocol. 2019 Feb 20;  9(4): 1-8.

Grants

Cioffi, CL (Contact PI) “Discovery and Development of Novel Glycine Transporter-2 Inhibitors for the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain” (1R01DA048879-01) NIH/NIDA with Robert Vandenberg, Ph.D., University of Sydney, Australia (Principle Investigator), $1,832,790, 09/30/2019 – 06/30/2023.

Cioffi, CL (Co-PI). “Pharmacological treatment for atrophic age-related macular degeneration compounded by common forms of age-related amyloid disease” (1R01EY028549-01) with Konstatin Petrukhin, Columbia University.

LaRocca (PI). “Mechanisms and outcomes of erythrocyte necroptosis.” NIH-NHLBI (1R15HL135675-01). $300,000 direct costs, $165,000 indirect costs. 2016-2019.

2018 Scholarly activity report

The activities listed below are by members of the Department of Life Sciences and span the period from January 1, 2018 - December 31, 2018.
* - ACPHS students denoted in bold.

Publications

Sean Alan Ali

  • Ali SA, Cafaro C. Theoretical investigations of an information geometric approach to complexity. Reviews in Mathematical Physics 29 (9), 1730002 (2018).
  • Ali SA, Cafaro C, Gassner S, Giffin A. An Information Geometric Perspective on the Complexity of Macroscopic Predictions Arising from Incomplete Information. Advances in Mathematical Physics 2018, 2048521 (2018).

Christopher Cioffi

  • Shin Y, Moiseyev G, Petrukhin K, Cioffi CL, Muthuraman P, Takahashi Y, Ma JX. A novel RPE65 inhibitor CU239 suppresses visual cycle and prevents retinal degeneration. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 2018, 1864, 2420-2429. PMID: 29684583.
  • Racz B, Varadi A, Kong J, Allikmets R, Pearson PG, Johnson G, Cioffi CL, Petrukhin KA. Non-retinoid antagonist of retinol-binding protein 4 rescues phenotype in a mouse model of Stargardt disease without inhibiting the visual cycle. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2018, 293, 11574-11588. PMID: 29871924.
  • Cioffi CL. Modulation of glycine-mediated spinal neurotransmission for the treatment of chronic pain. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2018, 61, 2652-2679. PMID: 28876062.
  • Cioffi CL. Glycine transporter-1 inhibitors: a patent review (2011-2016). Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents 2018, 28, 197-210. PMID: 29338548.

James Doyle

  • Doyle J, Glass KC, Racz M, Teng J. Student-directed interactive animation for learning cytochrome P450-mediated drug metabolism. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 10 (2018) 1565-1573.

Martha Hass

  • Levin RM, Schuler C, Leggett RE, Hass MA. The effect of α- and δ-tocopherol-lipoic acid ester co-drugs on the response of the rabbit bladder to in-vitro ischemia/reperfusion. Turkish Journal of Urology 2018 DOI: 10.5152/tud.2018.48154.

Timothy LaRocca

  • McCaig WD, Deragon MA, Haluska RJ, Hodges AL, Patel PS, and LaRocca TJ (2019). Journal of Visualized Experiments. In press.
  • McCaig WD, Patel PS, Sosunov SA, Shakerley NL, Smiraglia TA, Craft MM, Walker KM, Ten VS, and LaRocca TJ. Hyperglycemia potentiates a shift from apoptosis to RIP1-dependent necroptosis. Cell Death Discovery 2018 May 10;4:55. doi: 10.1038/s41420-018-0058-1. 
  • Rampersaud R, Lewis EL, LaRocca TJ, and Ratner AJ (2018). Environmental pH modulates inerolysin activity via post-binding blockade. Scientific Reports 8(1):1542.

Meenakshi Malik

  • Ma Z, Lasek-Nasselquist E, Lu J, Schnieder R, Shah R, Oliva GL, Dotson R, Pata J, McDonough KM, Pai MP, Rose WE, Sakoulas G, Malik M. Characterization of genetic changes associated with daptomycin nonsusceptibility in Staphylococcus aureus strains. PLOS ONE; 13(6):e0198366. 2018.
  • Mansour AA, Banik S, Suresh RV, Kaur H, Malik M, McCormick AA, Bakshi CS. An improved Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV)-conjugated multi-antigen subunit vaccine against respiratory tularemia. Frontiers in Microbiology – Infectious Diseases 9:1195. 2018. 
  • Alqahtani M, Ma Z, Ketkar H, Suresh RV, Malik M, Bakshi CS. Characterization of a Unique Outer Membrane Protein Required for Oxidative Stress Resistance and Virulence of Francisella tularensis. Journal of Bacteriology 200(8). 2018. 

Michael Racz

  • Doyle J, Glass KC, Racz M, Teng J. Student-directed interactive animation for learning cytochrome P450-mediated drug metabolism. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning 10 (2018) 1565-1573.

Nicole Shakerley

  • McCaig WD, Patel PS, Sosunov SA, Shakerley NL, Smiraglia TA, Craft MM, Walker KM, Deragon MA, Ten VS, LaRocca TJ. Hyperglycemia potentiates a shift from apoptosis to RIP1-dependent necroptosis. Cell Death Discovery 2018 May 10;4:55. doi: 10.1038/s41420-018-0058-1. 

John Sharifi 

  • Shi B, Sharifi HJ, DiGrigoli S, Kinnetz M, Mellon K, Hu W, de Noronha CMC. Inhibition of HIV early replication by the p53 and its downstream gene p21. Virology Journal. 2018 Mar 27;15(1):53. PubMed PMID: 29587790; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5870690.

Binshan Shi

  • Shi B, Sharifi HJ, DiGrigoli S, Kinnetz M, Mellon K, Hu W, de Noronha CMC. Inhibition of HIV early replication by the p53 and its downstream gene p21. Virology Journal 2018 Mar 27;15(1):53. PubMed PMID: 29587790; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5870690.
Conferences and Presentations

Elizabeth Brookins

  • Brookins E, et al. Writing Challenging Letters for Admissions Committees. National Association of Advisors for the Health Professional National Meeting, Washington DC, June 2018.
  • Brookins E, Beaton R. Best Practices for Advisors- Developing Measurable Objectives (Leadership Session). National Association of Advisors for the Health Professional National Meeting, Washington DC, June 2018.

Christopher Cioffi

  • Cioffi CL. Design, Synthesis, and Evaluation 0f Non-Retinoid Retinol Binding Protein 4 Antagonists for the Potential Treatment of Atrophic Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Stargardt Disease. Abstracts of Papers, 256th ACS National Meeting & Exposition, Boston MA, August 19-24, 2018, MEDI-9.

Martha Hass

  • Vadgama R, Hass MA. Prodrug Therapy for the Treatment of Psoriasis: Formulation, Stability and Drug Delivery to the Skin. 18th Annual AAPS Northeast Regional Discussion Group, Farmington CT, April 12, 2018.

Timothy LaRocca

  • McCaig WD, Patel PS, Sosunov SA, Shakerley NL, Smiraglia TA, Craft MM, Walker KM, Ten VS, and LaRocca TJ. Hyperglycemia potentiates a shift from apoptosis to RIP1-dependent necroptosis. Keystone Symposia Conference: Cell Death, Inflammation, and Adaptation to Tissue Stress, Breckenridge CO, January 21-25, 2018 (poster presentation).
  • LaRocca TJ. Hyperglycemia potentiates a shift from apoptosis to RIP1-dependent necroptosis. 21st Annual Upstate NY Immunology Conference, Cooperstown NY, October 18, 2018 (invited oral presentation).

Meenakshi Malik

  • Ma Z, King K, Worden M, Bakshi CS, Malik M. Regulatory role of pp(p)Gpp in oxidative stress response in Francisella tularensis. 9th International conference on Tularemia, Montreal CA, October 16-19, 2018 (poster presentation).
  • Lasek-Nesselquist E, Lu J, Schneider R, Ma Z, Russo V, Mishra S, Pai MP, Pata J, McDonough KM, Malik M. Genetic basis for daptomycin resistance in methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Eastern New York Branch of American Society for Microbiology Meeting, Albany NY, October 16, 2018 (poster presentation).
  • Fantone K, Miller J, Ma Z, Bakshi CS, Malik M. Investigating the mechanisms of AIM2 inflammasome suppression in Francisella tularensis. American Society for Microbiology Trainee Symposium – Student Chapter of Eastern New York Branch, Albany NY, December 6, 2018 (poster presentation).
  • Higgs M, Ma Z, Bakshi CS, Malik M. Role of FTL_0586 and FTL_1939 genes of Francisella tularensis in immune suppression. American Society for Microbiology Trainee Symposium – Student Chapter of Eastern New York Branch, Albany NY, December 6, 2018 (poster presentation).
  • Mishra S, Lasek-Nesselquist E, Lu J, Schneider R, Ma Z, Pata J, McDonough KM, Malik M. Genetic basis for daptomycin resistance in methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. American Society for Microbiology Trainee Symposium – Student Chapter of Eastern New York Branch, Albany NY, December 6, 2018 (poster presentation).
  • King K, Ma Z, Worden M, Bakshi CS, Malik M. Regulatory role of pp(p)Gpp in oxidative stress response in Francisella tularensis. American Society for Microbiology Trainee Symposium – Student Chapter of Eastern New York Branch, Albany NY, December 6, 2018 (poster presentation).
  • Malik M (speaker invitation). Understanding the mechanisms of oxidative stress response and virulence of Francisella tularensis LVS. 9th International conference on Tularemia, Montreal CA, October 16-19, 2018 (oral presentation). 

Nicole Shakerley

  • Phelps CM, Ketter PM, Arulanandam BP, Malik M, Shakerley NL. Contribution of Thioredoxin A to Acinetobacter baumannii Virulence. ASM 53rd Annual Regional Meeting, Albany NY, October 16, 2018. 
  • Phelps CM, Ketter PM, Arulanandam BP, Malik M, Shakerley NL. Contribution of Thioredoxin A to Acinetobacter baumannii Virulence. ASM Trainee Symposium, Albany NY, December 6, 2018

John Sharifi

  • Petersen JC, Goyette MT, Lucey ES, Sharifi HJ, Porter KA. Characterization of Macrophage Growth, Maturation and Polarization: Best-Practices for the THP-1 Cell Line. Upstate New York Immunology Conference, Cooperstown NY, October 2018.

Binshan Shi

  • Graf L, Mellon K, Shi B. Quantification of HIV-1 1-LTR Cycle DNA by Using a Nested Real Time PCR. American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science Annual Meeting, Chicago IL, July 29 - August 2, 2018 (oral presentation). 

Ebot Tabe

  • Brownell N, Tabe E. Antimicrobial activity of an antitumor peptide; Magainin II against Acinetobacter baumanii BAA747. Student Research Symposium, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Albany NY, April, 2018.
  • Lang J, Tabe E. Antimicrobial activity of Cathelicidin-derived peptide (FK-16) is superior to the parent Cathelicidin (LL-37) against Klebsiella pneumoniae. Graduate School Orientation, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Albany NY, August 2018.

Eric Yager

  • Yager E. “Epidemic” Engagement: Infecting an Immersive Online Virology Course with Gamification. Magna Teaching with Technology Conference, St. Louis MO, October 5-7, 2018 (presented with Tammy Garren).
  • Yager E. Educational and Instructional Approaches. Panel presentation with Michelle Parent, Anna McLoon, and Kelly Hallstrom, 53rd Regional American Society for Microbiology meeting, Albany NY, October 16, 2018.
Grants

Christopher Cioffi
Role: Co-Principal Investigator (with Konstantin Petrukhin)
Project Title: Pharmacological treatment for atrophic age-related macular degeneration compounded by common forms of age-related amyloid disease
Grantor: National Institutes of Health – National Eye Institute 
Amount: $1,452,045 
Grant Number: 1R01EY028549-01
Term: 2/01/2018 – 1/31/2021

John Sharifi
Investigator: John Sharifi
Project Title: Understanding NRF2 Mediated Restriction of HIV Infection
Grantor: National Institutes of Health - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Amount: $50,000 (sub-award)
Project Number: 1R21AI140993-01
Term: May 14, 2018 - April 30, 2020

Honors, Awards and Appointments

Elizabeth Brookins

  • Nominated and elected as President Elect for NEAAHP (Northeast Association of Advisors for the Health Professions) – Term is 2018-2020.
  • Named co-chair of 2020 NAAHP (National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions) National Meeting.

Jenna LeBlanc

  • Immediate Past President for the American Society for Cytotechnology (ASCT)
  • Executive Board Member for ASCT Services
  • ASCT representative for the Cytotechnology Education and Technology Consortium (CETC)
  • American Society of Cytopathology (ASC) Research and Current Concepts Committee Member

Meenakshi Malik

  • Member, Study Section, Immunology (ZRG1 IMM-T81, ZRG1 IMM-U81), IRG Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health, August 2018.
  • Member, Microbiology BSc Fellowship Peer Review Committee, American Heart Association, September 2018.
  • Reviewer, Czech Science Foundation, 2018.
  • Organizer, Eastern New York Branch of American Society for Microbiology Meeting, Albany NY, October 2018.
  • Moderator, Host-Pathogen Interactions session in Eastern New York Branch of American Society for Microbiology Meeting, Albany NY, October 2018.

Nicole Shakerley

  • Elected Secretary of the Eastern New York Branch of the American Society for Biology

Binshan Shi

  • Laura Graf, Katie Mellon, Binshan Shi. Won top research paper award at the 2018 Education Scientific Assembly Student Awards competition, American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science.
  • Winning Research Paper at 2018 American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science Student Awards competition (with Laura Graf).

2017 Scholarly activity report

The activities listed below are by members of the Department of Life Sciences and span the period from January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017.

Publications

Sean Ali
Sean Alan Ali, Carlo Cafaro. Theoretical investigations of an information geometric approach to complexity. Reviews in Mathematical Physics, 29 (9), 173002 (2017).

Chis Cioffi
Cioffi, CL. Modulation of Glycine-Mediated Spinal Neurotransmission for the Treatment of Chronic Pain. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2017, doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.7b00956; PMID:28876062

Meenakshi Malik
Alqahtani M., Ma, Z., Ketkar, H., Suresh, R.V., Bakshi, C.S*., Malik, M.* Characterization of a Unique Outer Membrane Protein Required for Oxidative Stress Resistance and Virulence of Francisella tularensis. J Bacteriol. 2018 Jan 29. pii: JB.00693-17. doi: 10.1128/JB.00693-17. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 29378894
*Co-senior Authors

Singh A, Periasamy S, Malik M, Bakshi CS, Stephen L, Ault JG, Mannella CA, Sellati TJ.  Necroptotic debris including damaged mitochondria elicits sepsis-like syndrome during late-phase tularemia. Cell Death Discov. 2017 Sep 25;3:17056. doi: 10.1038/ cddiscovery. 2017.56. eCollection 2017. PMID: 28955505

Martirosov DM, Bidell MR, Pai MP, Scheetz MH, Rosenkranz SL, Faragon C, Malik M, Mendes RE, Jones RN, McNutt LA, Lodise TP. Relationship between day 1 and day 2 Vancomycin area under the curve values and emergence of heterogeneous Vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (hVISA) by Etest® macromethod among patients with MRSA bloodstream infections: a pilot study. BMC Infect Dis. 17(1):534. doi: 10.1186/s12879-017-2609-0. PMID: 28764660. 2017

Michael Racz
Kinnetz M, Alghamdi FS, Racz M, Wenwei H, Shi B, (2017) “The impact of p53 on the early stage replication of retrovirus” Virology Journal; 14, 151-62

Nicole Shakerley
Stote KS, Sweeney-Nixon MI, Kean T, Baer DJ, Novotny J, Shakerley NL, Chandrasekaran A, Carrico P, Melendez JA and Gottschall-Pass KT (2017) The effects of 100% wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) juice consumption on cardiometablic biomarkers: a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial in women with increased risk for type 2 diabetes. BMC Nutrition 3(45). DOI: 10.1186/s40795-017-0164-0

Binshan Shi
Kinnetz M, Alghamdi F, Racz M, Hu W, Shi B. The impact of p53 on the early stage replication of retrovirus. Virol J. 2017 Aug 9; 14(1):151. (Corresponding author)

Presentations

Chris Cioffi
Cioffi, CL. “GlyT-2 Inhibition for Analgesia”, 2017 The Art and Science of Pain Management: A CLINICAL AND RESEARCH UPDATE, October 7, 2017, The Gideon Putnam, 24 Gideon Putnam Road, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, Sponsored by Albany Medical College’s Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics and the Office of Continuing Medical Education

Martha Hass
Hass, M.A.; Sodvadia, R.; Purohit, D.; Thomas, S. Inhibition of UVR-Induced lipid peroxidation in skin by novel co-drugs. Barrier Function of Mammalian Skin: Convergence of Biological and Technological Frontiers of Skin Barrier, Gordon Research Conference, Waterville Valley, NH, August 13-18, 2017

Cruz, R; Hass, M.A. Cyclooxygenase inhibition with combinations of ibuprofen and methotrexate. 17th Annual AAPS Northeast Regional Discussion Group, Farmington, CT, April 20, 2017.
Jadhav, A.; Hass, M.A. Evaluation of stability and efficacy of co-drugs derived from methotrexate and ibuprofen in microemulsion formulations. 17th Annual AAPS Northeast Regional Discussion Group, Farmington, CT, April 20, 2017.

Timothy LaRocca
LaRocca TJ. "Hyperglycemia potentiates a cell death shift that exacerbates neonatal stroke injury" SUNY Purchase College, Purchase, NY October 17, 2017. Invited Presentation.

McCaig WD, Patel PS, Sosunov SA, Shakerley NL, Smiraglia TA, Craft MM, Walker KM, Ten VS, and LaRocca TJ “Hyperglycemia potentiates a shift from apoptosis to RIP1-dependent necroptosis.” Keystone Symposia Conference: Cell Death, Inflammation, and Adaptation to Tissue Stress, Breckenridge, CO, January 21-25 2018 (poster presentation)

Jenna Benson LeBlanc
Diagnostic Seminar Session at the American Society of Cytopathology (ASC) Annual Scientific Conference, Phoenix, AZ; November 2017. (collaborated oral presentation)

Meenakshi Malik
Worden, M, Ma, Z, Bakshi, C.S., and Malik, M. Elucidation of Unknown Antioxidant Defense Mechanisms of Francisella tularensis. 117th General Meeting of American Society for Microbiology, New Orleans, June 1-5, 2017. (poster presentation)

Marghani, D., Ma, Z., Malik, M., and Bakshi, C.S. Phenotypic and Functional Role of AraC Transcriptional Regulator of Francisella tularensis. 117th General Meeting of American Society for Microbiology, New Orleans, June 1-5, 2017. (poster presentation)

Mansour, A.M., Banik, S., Malik, M., Bakshi, C.S. An improved Tobacco Mosaic Virus-based multivalent subunit vaccine against respiratory tularemia. 2017 ASM Biothreats: Research, Response, and Policy meeting, Washington D.C., February 6-8, 2017. (poster presentation)

Suppression of host immune defenses by Francisella tularensis. Pathogenesis and Infectious Disease monthly seminar series at Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health. April 5th, 2017. (Invited talk). 

Michael Racz 
Wells M, Notaro J, Englert S, Racz MJ, Brewer JM, “Evaluation of Barriers Implementing Medication Therapy Management in Outpatient Pharmacies.” AMCP Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting, March 2017, Denver, CO (poster presentation)

H. John Sharifi
McCluskey H, Porter K, King K, Sharifi HJ, The role of Oxytocin in Wound Closure: a link between psychological care, immune regulation and wound repair in the female reproductive tract. New York Immunology Conference, Bolton Landing, NY, October 23-26, 2017 (poster presentation)

Grants

Michael Racz
Racz MJ [PI]. “Jamboxx: Interactive Respiratory Therapy through Music and Gaming”, NIH Sub award, 2017-19

Honors

Jenna LeBlanc 
President of the American Society for Cytotechnology (ASCT) from April 2017 - May 2018.

Meenakshi Malik
Member, Study Section, Immunology (ZRG1 IMM-T81, ZRG1 IMM-U81), IRG Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health. March & October 2017.

Member, Study Section, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology (ZRG1 IDM-S81), IRG Center for Scientific Review, National Institutes of Health. March 2017.

2016 Scholarly activity report

The activities listed below are by members of the Department of Life Sciences and span the period from January 1, 2016 - December 31, 2016.

Publications

Sean Ali
Cafaro C, Ali SA. Maximum caliber inference and the stochastic Ising model. Physical Review E, 2016, 94 (5); 052145.

Cafaro C, Ali SA, Giffin A. On the Violation of Bell's Inequality for all non-Product Quantum States. International Journal of Quantum Information, 2016, 14 (3); 1630003.

Cafaro C, Ali SA, Giffin A. Thermodynamic Aspects of information Transfer in Complex Dynamical Systems. Physical Review E, 2016, 93 (2); 022114.

Cafaro C, Giffin A, Ali SA. Application of the maximum Relative Entropy Method to the Physics of Ferromagnetic material. Physica A, 2016, 455; 11-26.

Charles Bergeron
Boles NC, Stone T, Bergeron C, Kiehl TR. Big Data Access and Infrastructure: Case Studies in Data Repository Utility. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Volume 1387, pages 112-123, published online on 1 November 2016.

Siedlik JA, Bergeron C, Cooper MA, Emmons R, Moreau W, Nabhan D, Gallagher P, Vardiman JP. Advanced treatment monitoring for athletes using unsupervised modeling techniques. Journal of Athletic Training 51(1), 74-81.

Christopher Cioffi
Cioffi CL, Liu S, Wolf MA, Guzzo PR, Sadalapure K, Parthasarathy V, Loong DT, J.; Maeng J-H, Carulli E, Fang X, Kalesh KA, Matta L, Choo SH, Panduga S, Buckle RN, Davis RN, Sakwa SA, Gupta P, Sargent BJ, Moore NA, Luche MM, Carr GJ, Khmelnitsky YL, Ismail J, Chung M, Bai M, Leong WY, Sachdev N, Swaminathan S, Mhyre AJ. Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of N-((1-(4-(Sulfonyl)piperazin-1-yl)cycloalkyl)methyl) benzamide Inhibitors of Glycine Transporter-1. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2016, 59; 8473-8494.

Cioffi CL, Guzzo PR. Inhibitors of Glycine Transporter-1: Potential Therapeutics for the Treatment of CNS Disorders. Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry 2016, 16; 3404-3437.  

Cioffi C, Petrukhin KE, Johnson G. Recent developments in agents for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration and Stargardt disease. 2016 Medicinal Chemistry Reviews, 51, chapter 16; 261-278.

Timothy LaRocca
LaRocca TJ, Sosunov SA, Shakerley NL, Ten VS, Ratner AJ. Hyperglycemic conditions prime cells for RIP1-dependent necroptosis. Journal of Biological Chemistry, June 2016, 291(26): 13753-61.

LaRocca TJ. Programmed cell death dynamics during hyperglycemia and ischemic brain injuries. Journal of Neurology and Neurorehabilitation Research, Nov 2016, 1(2): 4-12.

Meenakshi Malik
Ma Z, Russo VC, Rabadi SM, Catlett SV, Bakshi CS, Malik M. Elucidation of the Mechanism of Oxidative Stress Regulation in Francisella tularensis. Molecular Microbiology, 101(5):856-78. Sept. 2016.

Rabadi SM, Sanchez BC, Varanat M, Ma Z, Catlett SV, Melendez JA, Malik M, Bakshi CS. Antioxidant defenses of Francisella tularensis modulate macrophage function and production of proinflammatory cytokines. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 291(10):5009-21. March 2016.

Michael Racz
Hannan EL, Racz MJ, Walford G, Jacobs AK, Stamato NJ, Gesten F, Berger PB, Sharma S, King SB 3rd, (2016). Disparities in the use of drug-eluting coronary stents by race, ethnicity, payer and hospital. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 32(16): 987.e25-987.e31.

H. John Sharifi
Furuya AKM, Sharifi HJ, Jellinger RM, Cristofano P, Shi B, de Noronha CMC (2016). Sulforaphane Inhibits HIV Infection of Macrophages through Nrf2. PLoS Pathogens 12(4): e1005581.

Binshan Shi
Watanabe S, Simon V, Kemp B, Machihara S, Kemal K, Shi B, Foley B, Weiser B, Burger H, Anastos K, Chen C, Carter C. The HIV-1 Late Domain-2 S40A Polymorphism in Antiretroviral (or ART)-Exposed Individuals Influences Protease Inhibitor Susceptibility. Retrovirology, 2016; 13(1):64.

Furuya AKM, Sharifi HJ, Jellinger RM, Cristofano P, Shi B, de Noronha CMC (2016). Sulforaphane Inhibits HIV Infection of Macrophages through Nrf2. PLoS Pathogens 12(4): e1005581.

Ebot Tabe
Tabe N, Rahman S, Tabe ES, Doetkott D, Khaitsa M (2016). Shigatoxin producing Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp burden in cattle feedlot runoff from two cattle feedlot facilities. North Dakota Food Protection Trends, Vol 36, No. 1, pp. 33-42.

Eric Yager
Kohlmeier JE, Ely KH, Connor LM, Yager EJ, Woodland DL, Blackman MA. Beneficial and detrimental manifestations of age on CD8+ T-cell memory to respiratory pathogens. Handbook on Immunosenescence: Basic Understanding and Clinical Applications, Eds. T. Fulop, C. Franceschi, K. Hirokawa and G. Pawelec. Springer Netherlands, 2016.

Presentations

Jenna LeBlanc
Envision Your Value, Advocate for the Future. American Society of Cytopathology Annual Scientific Meeting, New Orleans, LA, November 2016.

Charles Bergeron
Bergeron C, Stone T, Kiehl TR. A pipeline for a growing data resource: Electrophysiological behavior of in-vitro cell cultures. Meeting of the National Science Foundation Workshop on Data Science, Learning, and Applications to Biomedical and Health Sciences, New York City, New York, Jan 7-8, 2016.

Stone T, Kiehl TR, Bergeron C. Cutting through the spatial scale complexity of multielectrode array neuron recordings. New York Academy of Sciences Symposium on Neuronal Connectivity in Brain Function and Disease: Novel Mechanisms and Therapeutic Target, New York City, NY, March 22, 2016 (abstract and poster presentation)

James Doyle
Doyle J, Teng J. Cyber-CYP: A Student Self-Directed Interactive Tool for Learning Cytochrome P450. EdMedia 2016 Conference, Vancouver, BC, June 29, 2016 (oral presentation).

Peter R. Guzzo
Guzzo PR. ConSynance: An Emerging Drug Discovery Company. Capital Region Biotechnology Innovation Day, Troy, NY, September 16, 2016.

Guzzo PR. Novel Therapeutics for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. BIO International Convention, San Francisco, CA, June 7, 2016.

Guzzo PR. Novel Therapeutics for Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. New York BIO Convention, New York City, NY, May 11, 2016.

Timothy LaRocca
LaRocca TJ. Hyperglycemia upregulates necroptosis. Long Island University Post, Brookville, NY, May 23, 2016 (invited oral presentation).

LaRocca TJ, Sosunov SA, Shakerley NL, Ten VS, Ratner AJ. High glucose sensitizes host cells to necroptosis in response to bacterial pore-forming toxins and inflammatory signals. ASM Microbe General Meeting, Boston, MA, June 16-20, 2016 (poster presentation).

Shakerley NL, Craft M, Smiraglia TA, Payal PS, Sosunuv S, Ten VS, LaRocca TJ. Hyperglycemia primes cells for programmed cell death shift in a glycolysis-dependent manner. 22nd Society for Radical Biology and Medicine Meeting, San Francisco, CA, November 16-19, 2016 (poster presentation).

Shakerley, NL, Smiraglia TA, Patel PS, Walker KM, Craft M, Sosunov SA, Ten VS, LaRocca TJ. Hyperglycemia potentiates a shift from apoptosis to necroptosis. Eastern New York Student Chapter of the American Society for Microbiology, Albany, NY, November 17, 2016 (poster presentation).

Meenakshi Malik
Oliva G, Shah R, Lu J, Catlett SV, Pai MP, Rose WE, Sakoulas G, Malik M. Characterization of gene expression in profile associated with daptomycin nonsusceptibility in Staphylococcus aureus. Poster presented in 116th General Meeting of American Society for Microbiology, Boston, MA, June 16-19, 2016.

Ma Z, Russo V, Rabadi SM, Catlett SV, Bakshi CS, Malik M. Elucidation of the mechanism of oxidative stress regulation in Francisella tularensis. Poster presented in 116th General Meeting of American Society for Microbiology, Boston, MA, June 16-19, 2016.

Marghani D, Ma Z, Malik M, Bakshi CS. Characterization of the role of Transcriptional Regulator AraC of Francisella tularensis. Poster presented in 116th General Meeting of American Society for Microbiology, Boston, MA, June 16-19, 2016.

Michael Racz
Gumustop S, Nair AA, Meek PD, Racz MJ, O'Grady TJ, Gumustop B. Regional patterns of pancreatectomy case volumes and in-hospital mortality in New York State between 1999-2014. Digestive Disease Week, May 2016, San Diego, CA (poster presentation).

Nair AA, Gumustop SB, Racz MJ, O'Grady TJ, Polimeni JM, Gumustop B, Meek PD. Temporal trends in utilization of pancreatectomy procedures in New York State: 1999-2014. International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research 21st Annual International Meeting, May 2016, Washington, DC (poster presentation).

Binshan Shi
Kinnetz M, Shi B. The Inhibition of Retrovirus Reverse Transcription by p53. Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, August 1-4, 2016, Philadelphia, PA (oral presentation).

Ebot Tabe
Tabe E. A Salicylate Derivative-Enhanced Antimicrobial Activity of a Synthetic Peptide against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in-vitro. Public Health and Emerging Microbial Threats 14th Annual International Conference, September 19, 2016, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Albany, NY.  

Grants

Timothy LaRocca
Project: Mechanisms and outcomes of erythrocyte necroptosis
Grantor: National Institutes of Health
Amount: $480,000
Term: December 1, 2016 – November 30, 2019

Meenakshi Malik
Project: Repression of inflammasome by Francisella tularensis
Grantor: National Institutes of Health (R15 renewal)
Amount: $480,000
Term: December 1, 2016 – November 30, 2019

Role: Co-Principal Investigator
Project: Modeling the emergence of antimicrobial resistance
Grantor: Wadsworth Center and ACPHS
Amount: $375,000
Term: February 16, 2016 – February 15, 2019

Honors & Appointments

Jenna LeBlanc
President Elect, American Society for Cytotechnology

Nicole Shakerley
Young Investigator Award from the Society for Radical Biology and Medicine

Peter R. Guzzo (Patents)
Kharenko O, Young PR, Brown SD, Duffy BC, Liu S, Guzzo PR. Inhibitors of bromodomains. WO 2016/097863, June 23, 2016.

Guzzo PR, Manning DD. Ligand-therapeutic agent conjugates, silicon-based linkers, and methods for making and using them. U.S. Patent No. 9,352,049: May 31, 2016.  

Guzzo PR, Surman MD, Henderson AJ, Jiang, MX, Hadden M, Grabowski J.  1-Azinone-substituted pyridoindoles. U.S. Patent No. 9,296,743: March 29, 2016.

Binshan Shi
Winning Research Paper at 2016 Education Scientific Assembly Student Awards competition (with Michaela Kinnetz)

Ebot Tabe
Young Scholar Award from Dova Press on the occasion of the 14th annual conference on Public Health and Emerging Microbial Threats.

2015 scholarly activity report

The activities listed below are by members of the Department of Life Sciences and span the period from January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015.

Publications

Charles Bergeron
Siedlik JA, Bergeron C, Cooper MA, Emmons R, Moreau W, Nabhan D, Gallagher P, Vardiman JP. Advanced treatment monitoring for athletes using unsupervised modeling techniques. Journal of Athletic Training, in press.

Bergeron C, Lebl J, and other open-source creators. Differential equations: Including linear algebra topics and computer-aided problem-solving. Self-published online at www.differentialequations.net, CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license, Aug 29, 2015.

Allison M. Burton-Chase
Hovick SR, Yamasaki J, Burton-Chase AM, Peterson SK. Patterns of family health history communication among African American older adults. Journal of Health Communication, 2015, 20 (1); 80-87.

Yusuf RA, Rogith D, Hovick SR, Peterson SK, Burton-Chase AM, Fellman BM, Li Y, McKinney C, Bernstam EV, Meric-Bernstam F. Attitudes toward molecular testing for personalized cancer therapy. Cancer, 2015, 121 (2); 248-250.

Burton-Chase AM, Swartz MC, Silvera SAN, Basen-Engquist K, Fletcher FE, Shields PG. Know your value: Negotiation skills development for junior investigators in the academic environment – A report from the American Society of Preventive Oncology’s Junior Members Interest Group. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 2015, 24 (7); 1144-1148.

Katz LH, Burton-Chase AM, Advani S, Fellman F, Polivka K. Ying Y, Lynch PM, Pande M, Peterson SK. Screening adherence and cancer risk perceptions in colorectal cancer survivors with Lynch-like syndrome. Clinical Genetics, 2015, Epub ahead of print.

Burton-Chase AM, Kwak J, Hennig K, Haley WE. Elder Caregiving. In Reference Module of Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology. New York: Elsevier, in press.

Timothy LaRocca
LaRocca TJ, Stivison EA, Mal-Sarkar T, Hooven TA, Hod EA, Spitalnik SL, Ratner AJ. CD59 signaling and membrane pores drive Syk-dependent erythrocyte necroptosis. Cell Death and Disease, May 2015, 6: e1773.

Meenakshi Malik
Suresh RV, Ma Z, Sunagar R, Bhatty V, Banik S, Catlett SV, Gosselin EJ, Malik M*, Bakshi CS*. Preclinical testing of a vaccine candidate against tularemia. PLoS One, April 2015, 10(4): e0124326 (* denotes co-senior authors).

Banik S, Mansour AA, Suresh RV, Wykoff-Clary S, Malik M, McCormick AA, Bakshi CS. Development of a multivalent subunit vaccine against tularemia using Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) based delivery system. PLoS One, June 2015, 10(6): e0130858.

Rabadi SM, Sanchez BC, Varanat M, Ma Z, Catlett SV, Melendez JA, Malik M*, Bakshi CS*. Antioxidant defenses of Francisella tularensis modulate macrophage function and production of proinflammatory cytokines. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2015 Dec 7. pii: jbc.M115.681478. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 26644475 (* denotes co-senior authors).

Thomas O’Grady
O’Grady TJ, Gates MA, Boscoe FP. Thyroid cancer incidence attributable to over-diagnosis in the United States 1981-2011. International Journal of Cancer, Dec 1, 2015, 137(11):2664-73.

Wendy Parker
Campo-Engelstein L, Santacrose LB, Master Z, Parker WM. Bad moms and blameless dads: The portrayal of maternal and paternal age and preconception harm in U.S. newspapers. American Journal of Bioethics: Empirical Bioethics, 2016, 7(1): 56-63. DOI:10.1080/23294515.2015.1053007.

Parker WM, Cho S, Muzzy JD, Cardone KE. Multidisciplinary views toward pharmacist-delivered MTM services in dialysis facilities. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 2015, 55 (4): 390-397, doi: 10.1331/JAPhA.2015.14168.

Campo-Engelstein L, Howland L, Parker WM, Burcher P. Scheduling the stork: Media portrayals of women’s and physicians’ reasons for cesarean delivery on maternal request. Birth, 2015, 42:2:181-188.

Michael Racz
Racz MJ, Sedransk J. Inference for identifying outlying health care providers. Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference, 2015, 160, 51-59.

Alyahya R, Sudha T, Racz MJ, Stain SC, Mousa SA. Anti-metastasis efficacy and safety of non-anticoagulant heparin derivative versus low molecular weight heparin in surgical pancreatic cancer models. International Journal of Oncology, 2015, 46, 1225-1231.

Al-Sofiani ME, Jammah A, Racz MJ, Khawaja RA, Hasanto R, El-Fawal HAN, Mousa SA, Mason DL. Effect of vitamin D supplementation on glucose control and inflammatory response in type II diabetes: A double blind, randomized clinical trial. International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2015, 13(1), e22604.

Alzahri M, Almomen A, Hasanato R, Racz MJ, Polimeni J, Mousa SA. Lactate dehydrogenase as a biomarker for early renal damage in patients with sickle cell disease. Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation, 2015, 26(6):1161-1168.

Presentations

Charles Bergeron
Bergeron C, Kiehl TR. Extracting connectivity patterns from neural spikes. Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Antonio, TX, January 10-13, 2015 (oral presentation).

Bergeron C. A flipped differential equations with no videos. Joint Mathematics Meetings, San Antonio, TX, January 10-13, 2015 (oral presentation).

Stone T, Kiehl TR, Bergeron C. The role of spatial scale in neural tissue interconnectivity. Next Generation Stem Cell Conference, Saratoga Springs, NY, May 6-7, 2015 (poster presentation).

Stone T, Kiehl TR, Bergeron C. The role of spatial scale in neural tissue interconnectivity. Hitting the Accelerator: Health Research Innovation through Data Science Scientific Session, Rochester, NY, May 28, 2015 (poster presentation).

Stone T, Kiehl TR, Bergeron C. The role of spatial scale in neural tissue interconnectivity. New York Academy of Sciences Quantitative Biology: From Molecules to Man, New York, NY, June 18, 2015 (poster presentation).

Stone T, Kiehl TR, Bergeron C. Learning biological function at various spatial scales in electrophysiological big data. New York Academy of Sciences Leveraging Big Data and Predictive Knowledge to Fight Disease, New York, NY, July 28, 2015 (poster presentation).

Allison Burton-Chase
Advani S, Polivka K, Katz LH, Burton-Chase AM, Fellman F, Ying Y, Lynch PM, Pande M, Peterson SK. Screening adherence and cancer risk perceptions in colorectal cancer survivors with Lynch-like syndrome. MD Anderson Cancer Survivorship Research Retreat, Houston, TX, February 2015 (poster presentation).

Advani S, Polivka K, Katz LH, Burton-Chase AM, Fellman F, Ying Y, Lynch PM, Pande M, Peterson SK. Cancer risk perceptions and screening behaviors in family members of colorectal cancer survivors with Lynch-like syndrome. MD Anderson Cancer Survivorship Research Retreat, Houston, TX, February 2015 (poster presentation).

Burton-Chase, AM. Creating and managing a work-life balance in the academic environment: Strategies for Junior Investigators. Annual Meeting of the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO), Birmingham, AL, March 2015 (session chair and organizer).

Katz LH, Burton-Chase AM, Advani S, Fellman F, Polivka K, Ying Y, Lynch PM, Pande M, Peterson SK. Screening adherence and cancer risk perceptions in colorectal cancer survivors with Lynch-like syndrome. Digestive Disease Week (DDW), Washington, DC, May 2015 (oral presentation).

Burton-Chase, AM. Transitions in care and provider satisfaction in Lynch syndrome survivors and previvors. 19th Annual Meeting of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer, Baltimore, MD, October 2015 (invited oral presentation and panelist).

Martha Hass
Mathur S, Thomas S, Hass MA. Synthesis and evaluation of co-drugs derived from methotrexate and ibuprofen. American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, October 25-29, 2015 (poster presentation).

Jock M, Mackey S, Thomas S, Hass MA. Stability and penetration of co-drugs derived from tocopherol (TOC)/tocopherylamine (TOCA) and lipoic acid/lipol in porcine skin. American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, October 25-29, 2015 (poster presentation).
Mathur S, Thomas S, Hass MA. Synthesis of co-drugs derived from methotrexate and ibuprofen. 15th Annual AAPS Northeast Regional Discussion Group, Farmington, CT, April 16, 2015 (poster presentation).

Timothy LaRocca
LaRocca, TJ. Mechanisms and significance of necroptosis. ACPHS-Wadsworth Center Mini-Research Symposium, Albany, NY, June 1, 2015 (oral presentation).

LaRocca TJ, Flaherty NF, Ratner AJ. Hyperglycemic conditions prime cells for RIP1-dependent programmed necrosis in a glycolysis-dependent manner. Eastern New York Student Chapter of the American Society for Microbiology (ENYSCASM), Albany, NY, November 4, 2015 (poster presentation).

Meenakshi Malik
Malik M. Immunopathogenesis of Francisella tularensis. ACPHS-Wadsworth Center Mini-Research Symposium, Albany, NY, June 1, 2015 (oral presentation).

Russo V, Ma Z, Deragon M, Dotson R, Catlett SV, Malik M. Characterization of oxidative stress regulator OxyR of Francisella tularensis. Eastern New York Student Chapter of the American Society for Microbiology (ENYSCASM), Albany, NY, November 4, 2015 (poster presentation).

Silver E, Szaro J, Dotson R, Catlett SV, Malik M. Characterization of a Francisella factor required for suppression of innate immunity. Eastern New York Student Chapter of the American Society for Microbiology (ENYSCASM), Albany, NY, November 4, 2015 (poster presentation).

Ma Z, Russo V, Rabadi SM, Bakshi CS, Malik M. Regulation of Francisella tularensis genes involved in oxidative stress resistance. 115th General Meeting of American Society for Microbiology, New Orleans, LA, May 30 - June 2, 2015 (poster presentation).

Rabadi SM, Ma Z, Suresh RV, Catlett SV, Banik S, Malik M, Bakshi CS. Antioxidant defenses of Francisella tularensis SchuS4 strain. 115th General Meeting of American Society for Microbiology, New Orleans, LA, May 30 - June 2, 2015 (poster presentation).

Ketkar H, Ma Z, Rabadi SM, Malik M, Bakshi CS. Characterization of the outer membrane component of the Emr-multidrug efflux pump. 115th General Meeting of American Society for Microbiology, New Orleans, LA, May 30 - June 2, 2015 (poster presentation).

Banik S, Mansour AM, Suresh RV, Malik M, Lee G, McCormick AA, Bakshi CS. Development of a multivalent subunit vaccine against tularemia using Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) based delivery system. 115th General Meeting of American Society for Microbiology, New Orleans, LA, May 30 - June 2, 2015 (poster presentation).

Wendy Parker
Kaufman S, Parker WM, Campo-Engelstein L. Why are there so few male contraceptive options? A content analysis of contemporary U.S. newspaper articles.  Capital District Feminist Studies Conference, Albany, NY, January 2015 (poster presentation).

Parker WM. Paradoxes to offer: The women’s health movement as a feminist project. Capital District Feminist Studies Conference, Albany, NY, January 2015 (oral presentation).

Parker WM, Burton-Chase AM. Provider satisfaction in colorectal cancer patients: A
comparison between Lynch syndrome and sporadic survivors. Academy Health Annual Research Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, June 2015 (poster presentation).

Kaufman S, Parker WM, Campo-Engelstein L. Why are there so few male contraceptive options? A content analysis of contemporary U.S. newspaper articles. Academy Health Annual Research Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, June 2015 (poster presentation).

Parker WM, Ferreira K, Vernon L, Cardone KE. Medication management services in a dialysis center: Patient and staff perspectives. Academy Health Annual Research Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, June 2015 (poster presentation).

Parker WM, Donato KM, Burton-Chase AM. Preventive screenings and risks for women with Lynch syndrome: Initial results from a case-control study. Concordium Fall Research Conference, Washington, DC, September 2015 (poster presentation).

Parker WM, Jang SM, Pai AB, Cardone KE. Health literacy and quality in dialysis patients. Concordium Fall Research Conference, Washington, DC, September 2015 (poster presentation).

Parker WM, Donato KM, Burton-Chase AM. Preventive screening and risk for women with Lynch syndrome: Initial results of a case-control study. 19th Annual Meeting of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer (CGA-ICC), Baltimore, MD, October 2015 (poster presentation).

Wright D, Polimeni J, Meek P, Chandrasekara R, Parker WM. The impact of high deductible health plans on preventive care use. New York State Economics Association, Siena College, Albany, NY, October 2015 (oral presentation).

Parker WM, Smith RA. Peer social networks influence on health. New York State Economics Association, Siena College, Albany, NY, October 2015 (oral presentation).

Meek PD, Parker WM, Racz MJ, Cosler LE, Teynor ME. Differentiating oral mesalamine adherence patterns in ulcerative colitis patients: A group-based trajectory model approach. Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Clinical and Research Conference, Orlando, FL, December 2015 (poster presentation).

Michael Racz
Racz MJ, Sedransk J. Inference for identifying outlying health care providers. 11th International Conference on Health Policy Statistics, Providence, RI, October 2015 (oral presentation).

Racz MJ.  Inference for identifying outlying health care providers. UpStat 2015, Fourth Joint
Conference of the Upstate ASA Chapters, Geneseo, NY, April 2015 (oral presentation).
Eric Yager
Reid B, Visconti R, Harton JA, Yager EJ. Molecular regulation of host inflammation during influenza A virus. Immunology 2015, Annual Meeting of the American Association of Immunologists Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, May 8-12, 2015 (oral presentation).

Grants

Wendy Parker
Investigators: Grabe D (PI), Parker WM (Co-PI), Daoui R (Co-PI)
Project: Disparities in hypertension among women with chronic kidney disease
Grantor: John Faunce and Alicia Tracy Roach Fund
Amount: $18,252
Term: July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2016

Parker WM (PI), Cardone KE (Co-PI), Daoui R (Co-PI).
Project: Coping skills and self-management strategies used to increase medication adherence in the CKD population
Grantor: John Faunce and Alicia Tracy Roach Fund
Amount: $7,955
Term: Sept 1, 2015 – August 31, 2016