Research News & Grants
Section compiled by Carole Walker

Investigating Alcohol’s
Effects on the Liver

Lawrence Gaspers, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology and physiology at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, was awarded a five-year, $1,734,000 grant from the NIH-National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for “The Role of Hormone-evoked Mitochondrial Calcium Increases in the Pathogenesis of Alcoholic Liver Disease.”

Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance in the U.S. with an estimated 14 % of the population meeting the
criteria for alcohol dependence sometime during their lifetime. Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption has deleterious effects on almost every tissue in the body and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide.

The liver is one of the first organs affected by alcohol intoxication because it is the primary site of alcohol metabolism and, thus, is frequently exposed to toxic metabolites. Chronic alcohol consumption can lead to a spectrum of liver pathologies including alcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic hepatitis, cirrhosis and in some cirrhotic patients, hepatocellular carcinomas.

Fortunately, only 10-20 % of individuals who habitually abuse alcohol succumb to end stage liver diseases. The factor(s) contributing to the progression between the early stages of alcoholic liver disease, which are fully reversible, to more advanced stages of irreversible liver injury are still poorly defined.

“Our studies will examine the hypothesis that alcohol intoxication triggers adaptive changes in hormone signaling pathways, which result in mitochondrial dysfunction and an increase in the vulnerability of the liver to injury by pro-inflammatory cytokines,” says Gaspers. “The preliminary data already obtained in this project indicate that chronic alcohol intake enhances the liver’s sensitivity to a group of hormones that control hepatic metabolism by increasing cytosolic calcium.”

Normally, calcium-mobilizing hormones stimulate mitochondrial metabolism to increase ATP production. Gasper’s group will test the idea that prolonged and inappropriate increases in cytosolic calcium lead to mitochondrial calcium overload, enhanced production of reactive oxygen species and a decreased capacity to synthesize ATP.

He notes that the production of tumor necrosis factor a (TNFa) is a common and early response to many types of liver injury, including alcoholic liver diseases. TNFa promotes cell proliferation in normal livers but, paradoxically, is cytotoxic to liver cells isolated from alcoholics.

Parallel studies will test the hypothesis that calcium-induced mitochondrial dysfunction exacerbates the cytotoxicity effects of TNFa and increases apoptotic cell death.

Providing HIV/AIDS Care in Guyana

Linda S. Podhurst, PhD, (center) executive
director of the François-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Center at UMDNJ-School of Nursing, and principal investigator, received funding for a three-year period from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide HIV/AIDS care and treatment in the republic of Guyana. Nicole Jordan, MPA, project director, and Thomas Minior, MD, chief of party, jointly lead the FXB-Guyana program with support from the Newark-based global program directors, Virginia Allread, MPH, (left) and Mary Jo Hoyt, RN, MSN.

Under the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the award amount for the first year is $2 million, which will build on the FXB Center’s successful development of a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS program that has been fully operational since 2005. Located in the capital city of Georgetown,
FXB-Guyana provides technical assistance, human resource support, clinical care, support services, and clinical mentoring and training.

More specifically, those activities include comprehensive family-centered HIV care and treatment; testing and counseling for the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV; follow-up care for all HIV-infected adults and children; HIV-tuberculosis management; the development and revision of the Guyana national HIV care, treatment and support guidelines, adherence and social support systems for people living with HIV/AIDS; and implementing a continuous quality improvement (CQI) program to document and monitor the delivery of quality HIV care and treatment services.

The FXB Center is facilitating sustainability of HIV care and treatment through the implementation of a clinical mentoring program to train and build local physician capacity for HIV care and treatment for Guyanese healthcare workers.

$3 Million for Substance Abuse Studies

Edwin D. Boudreaux, PhD,
associate professor of emergency medicine and psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Addiction Psychiatry at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has been awarded more than $3 million from the NIH for innovative research initiatives. He is also director of clinical research, emergency medicine and psychiatry at Cooper University Hospital.

Recently, he and his colleagues received a five-year, $1,973,156 grant from the
NIH-National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) to develop and test a new health behavior theory called the Sentinel Events Model: A Dynamic Model of Substance Use Cessation. This theory was founded on the observation that an attempt to quit using an addictive substance is often preceded by the experience of a negative consequence of use, such as a health problem.

"For some people, the behavior change brought about by these negative events can be enduring while for others it is only temporary,” Boudreaux explains. “We seek to better understand the cognitive, emotional, and situational factors that mediate between experiencing a sentinel event and behavior change milestones.”

Smokers experiencing medical symptoms prompting a cardiac evaluation will be enrolled and followed for six months. The goal is to develop new interventions designed to help patients initiate changes in their health behaviors and to maintain the changes over time.

The second grant from NIDA is a three-year, $1,149,282 award for Dynamic Assessment and Referral for Substance Abuse (DARSSA) — Phase 2. This phase builds upon Phase 1, which designed and field tested innovative software with the potential to improve public health by identifying and linking patients who abuse tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs with treatment. The majority of healthcare providers do not routinely screen, counsel or refer patients who use or abuse tobacco, alcohol, or illicit drugs. This has far-reaching consequences, including excess morbidity, premature mortality, and inflated healthcare costs arising from unidentified and untreated substance abuse.

To address this problem, Polaris Health Directions, a small business concern, and the RWJMS Research Institute partnered for the development of DARSSA. The intervention is being studied in the emergency department setting to demonstrate its feasibility. Boudreaux says their study challenges existing paradigms that rely exclusively upon human-based screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment interventions for substance use.

In addition, he and his colleagues have developed innovative software products that help to screen for psychosocial issues, such as smoking, substance abuse, depression, and domestic violence. The products have the ability to increase identification of such problems, which often go undetected by medical personnel.

The Beijing Olympics HEART (Health Effects of Air Pollution Reduction Trial) Study

Junfeng (Jim) Zhang, PhD, associate dean for Global Public Health, and professor and acting chair, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at UMDNJ-School of Public Health, and member of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute (EOHSI), a joint project of UMDNJ and Rutgers University, received two multi-year grants.

The first is $1,178,867 from the NIH-National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for “Response to Drastic Changes in Air Pollution: Reversibility and Susceptibility.” The second is a $590,670 grant for “Molecular and Physiological Responses to Drastic Changes in PM Concentration and Composition” from the Health Effects Institute.

Unprecedented actions were taken during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, which ensured that ambient air quality in one of the world’s most polluted cities was comparable to air quality in Western cities. The reduction in air pollution levels was estimated to be greater than 50%. A multi-disciplinary study team led by Zhang, consisting of UMDNJ and Peking University scientists, took advantage of this unique opportunity to assess cardiovascular and respiratory responses to drastic changes in air quality associated with the Olympics and Beijing residents.

Epidemiological evidence strongly suggests that acute and chronic
cardio-respiratory diseases and events are related to exposure to air pollution. Specific biological mechanisms for those outcomes remained ill-defined and mechanistic studies have been very limited and largely confined to laboratory-based exposures that may not reflect real-life conditions.

By measuring a large suite of air pollution constituents (gases and particles),
measuring multiple cardiopulmonary endpoints and pathway-related genes
simultaneously, and examining a wide range of time frames (from hours to days to a few weeks) for physiological and molecular responses, this real-world study was a
comprehensive investigation of several prominently hypothesized mechanisms of air pollution health effects. It also provided invaluable data to improve the assessment of public health impacts of air pollution reduction policies.

Oral Health Services
for HIV-Positive Clients

Jill York, DDS, MAS, associate
professor of community health at UMDNJ-New Jersey Dental School (NJDS), and director for extramural clinics in the Statewide Network, has received a five-year, $1, 949,740 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration’s HIV/AIDS Bureau, for NJDS, one of 12 community-based dental
partnership programs, to expand access to oral health services for clients with HIV infection.

The grant will increase the number of healthcare providers capable of managing the oral health needs of HIV-positive clients through community-based service learning/training experiences. NJDS is currently the main provider of oral health services to persons with HIV in the seven-county region served by this proposal. The program will be funded for the next five years.

Last year, NJDS and Access One were able to make significant improvements in access to oral healthcare for HIV-positive individuals living in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties. In addition, 11 dental students participated in the service learning experience; three dental students completed the summer Externship Program, involving direct care or scientific inquiry; and four community healthcare professionals participated in the HIV/AIDS Clinical Training Preceptorship. One hundred and twenty medical students from UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine completed an oral/dental healthcare rotation at the sites, and 70 NJDS faculty and staff participated in the continuing education program.

The special strengths of the partnership between NJDS and Access One include: a strong commitment to provide HIV oral healthcare; convenient sites of three dental centers; established programs with a strong client base; providing faculty and staff at the facilities; the school’s support for required clinical and didactic training rotation of students; a continuing education program for NJDS faculty and staff; and well-established relationships with regional Early Intervention Centers and AIDS Service Organizations.

A contract with Auracom International, a translation service, also makes it possible to communicate with patients in almost any language. Other strengths of the program include bilingual faculty, staff and students; and collaborative initiatives with the UMDNJ-Center for Continuing and Outreach Education, New Jersey Access Initiative’s Division of Addiction Service, the UMDNJ-School of Public Health’s Tobacco Dependence Program, and MANNA, which provides a dietician at the dental centers to provide nutrition education and counseling.

$2 Million for Parkinson’s Disease Studies

M. Maral Mouradian, MD, William Dow Lovett Professor of Neurology and director of the Center for Neurodegenerative and Neuroimmunologic Diseases at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, received two grants from the NIH-National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, totaling more than $2 million.

She was awarded a five-year, $1,720,455 grant for “Neuroprotective Activity of DJ-1 in Parkinson’s Disease (PD).” DJ-1 is one of the genes linked to inherited PD. The recessive transmission of mutations identified in the DJ-1 locus in affected pedigrees suggests that DJ-1 normally functions as a neuroprotective molecule in dopaminergic neurons, and that this property is lost with disease causing mutations.

The project aims to elucidate these neuroprotective
mechanisms and to address how perturbations in these processes lead to Parkinson’s disease. Since DJ-1 had been known to have the ability to quench highly toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS), and since dopamine neurons generate these reactive molecules as a byproduct of dopamine metabolism, it had been assumed that this mechanism was sufficient explanation for the protective activity of DJ-1.

"We discovered that the ROS quenching ability of DJ-1 is inadequate to account for its robust neuroprotective potential,” Mouradian explains. “And, we also discovered a new function for DJ-1, whereby it potently blocks a specific cell death signaling cascade that involves activation of a kinase called Apoptosis Signal Regulating Kinase 1 (ASK1).”

Her team’s studies indicated that DJ-1 binds to the death promoting protein Daxx in the nucleus of cells, prevents its translocation to the cytoplasm and therefore prevents the interaction of Daxx with its effector kinase ASK1 that normally takes place in the cytoplasm. This molecular interaction between DJ-1 and Daxx inhibits ASK1 from becoming activated and from proceeding to cause cell death.

“Our efforts are focused on investigating how various mutations in DJ-1 influence this apoptotic mechanism using cellular models and on elucidating this pathway in the brains of Parkinson’s disease patients and DJ-1 deficient mice,” she says, adding that the project investigates the ability of DJ-1 to modulate the transcription of genes that are key to the survival of dopaminergic neurons.

Their ultimate objective is to identify potential targets for therapeutic interventions by either blocking ASK1 mediated death signaling pathway or boosting the neuroprotective activity of DJ-1 in order to slow down or block the neurodegenerative process.

The second project is funded by a three-year, $399,003 grant for “Anti-apoptotic Function of DJ-1 in Parkinson's Disease.”

“It aims to test the in vivo validity of our hypotheses generated from cellular model studies that point to the ability of DJ-1 to protect neurons by blocking the Daxx/ASK1 cell death pathway,” she explains. “As expected from human DJ-1 linked Parkinson’s disease, mice that lack DJ-1 are more susceptible to a toxin that specifically kills dopaminergic neurons and causes severe Parkinsonism in humans.”

Since the team’s findings indicate that DJ-1 protects neurons by preventing ASK1 activation, mice that lack DJ-1 would be expected to have their ASK1 unchecked. The researchers would also expect that if they delete both ASK1 and DJ-1 genes, mice would be relatively protected against the dopaminergic toxin compared to mice that lack only DJ-1. The team has engineered these double “knock-out” mice and is analyzing how they fare after exposure to this toxin.

$3.1 Million for HIV Studies

Abraham Pinter, PhD, professor, Microbiology and Medical Genetics, and head of the Laboratory of Retroviral Biology at the Public Health Research Institute within UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, has been awarded a five-year, $3.1 million grant from the NIH-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for “Novel Epitopes That Mediate Broad Neutralization of Clade B and C HIV-1 Isolates.” This grant was part of a five-year, $15.6 million program from NIAID to advance different approaches to designing a preventive HIV vaccine.

Progress toward an HIV-1 vaccine has been stymied by the inability to induce a protective humoral response. Well-characterized neutralization epitopes are either poorly immunogenic or effectively masked on the majority of primary isolates. However, evidence suggests that even highly masked isolates possess sensitive neutralization targets that are frequently recognized by autologous patient sera and occasionally by heterologous sera.

Pinter says this suggests that mapping the epitopes involved may identify novel targets that are capable of inducing broadly neutralizing activities. He and his group have identified patient sera that possess broadly neutralizing activities for primary isolates, and are applying methods for localizing the target epitopes. They are also isolating monoclonal antibodies from B cells obtained from these patients, as another means of identifying sensitive sites and characterizing their properties. Information derived from these studies will be used to generate candidate vaccines, which will then be tested in rabbits for immunogenicity and ability to induce neutralizing antibodies.

Their laboratory’s work is also supported by a second five-year award from NIH for $2.4 million for “Characterization of the Antigenic Properties of the V1V2 Domain of HIV-1 gp120.” The group has found that the V1V2 domain can mask sensitive neutralization targets in HIV Env, and is a major determinant of the sensitivity of a virus strain to neutralization. They have also shown that the V1V2 region of certain isolates contains sites that are recognized by antibodies, and that these antibodies possess very strong neutralizing activities for those viruses. Unfortunately, those sites are not highly conserved.

He says, “The goals of this project are to learn more about the mechanism of masking by the V1V2 domain, to better understand the structure and function of this region, and to identify conserved targets in the V1V2 region that could be incorporated into vaccines. A better understanding of the factors that make most HIV isolates difficult to neutralize would help us design a vaccine that works.”

University Behavioral HealthCare Publications:

Differentiating Between Generally and Partner Only Violent Sub-Groups: Lifetime Anti-social Behavior, Family of Origin Violence, and Impulsivity” by co-author Douglas Boyle, PhD, JD, senior research administrator, in Journal of Family Violence, 23(1), 47 55, 2008.

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Appointments:

David Mwangi, PhD candidate, Molecular Pathology and Immunology, and high school teacher, appointed to the American Association of Immunologists / J.H. Wallace High School Teachers Program.

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Special Recognition:

Evan Jacobs, PhD candidate, Molecular Pathology and Immunology, won the Alexander Nakeff Young Investigators Award at the Great Lakes International Imaging and Flow Cytometry Association’s 17th annual meeting.

New Jersey Medical School Grants:

Junichi Sadoshima, MD, PhD, professor, Cell Biology & Molecular Medicine, and director, Center for Molecular Biology, awarded a five-year, $2,750,128 grant from NIH/National Heart Lung and Blood Institute for “Cardioprotection Effects of Thioredoxin 1.”

Hreday Sapru, PhD, professor, Neurological Surgery, awarded a five-year, $1,947,200 grant from NIH-National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for “Central Cardiovascular Regulation: Role of Urocortin III.”

Walter Duran, PhD, professor, Pharmacology & Physiology, awarded a five-year $1,937,680 grant from the NIH-National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for “Inactivation of Hyperpermeability After Ischemia-Reperfusion Induced Inflammation.”

Debkumar Pain, PhD, associate professor, Pharmacology & Physiology, awarded a five-year, $1,597,689 grant from the NIH-National Institute of Aging for "Mitochondrial Aconitase: FeS Cluster Biogenesis and Interaction with mtDNA."

Roman Shirokov, PhD, assistant professor, Pharmacology & Physiology, awarded a five-year, $1,557,000 grant from the NIH-National Institute of Mental Health for "Gating/permeation Coupling in Calcium Channels."

Bin Tian, PhD, assistant professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, awarded a five-year, $1,521,000 grant from the NIH-National Institute of General Medical Sciences for "Analysis of mRNA Polyadenylation Across Species
and Tissues."

Jiang H. Ye, MD, associate professor, Anesthesiology, awarded a four-year, $1,410,874 grant from the NIH-National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for "Alcohol and Mesolimbic Glutamatergic Transmissions."

Ian Whitehead, PhD, associate professor, Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, awarded a five-year, $1,396,440 grant from the NIH-National Cancer Institute for "Novel Pathways for Bcr-Abl Transformation."

Arkady Mustaev, PhD, assistant professor, Public Health Research Institute, awarded a four-year, $1,368,900 grant from the NIH-National Institute of General Medical Sciences for “Structure and Function of RNA Polymerases in E. coli.”

New Jersey Medical School Publications:

“A Redox-Dependent Pathway for Regulating Class II HDACs and Cardiac Hypertrophy” by Tetsuro Ago, Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine; Tong Liu, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Peiyong Zhai, Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine; Wei Chen and Hong Li, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Jeffery Molkentin; Stephen Vatner, MD, professor and chair, and Junichi Sadoshima, MD, professor, Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine, in Cell.

New Jersey Dental School Grants:

Mel Kantor, DDS, professor, Diagnostic Sciences, awarded a $369,000 grant from Health Resources and Services Administration for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act-Part A. He also received a $537,617 Department of Health and Human Services Care and Treatment Grant.

Jeanette DeCastro, director, Academic Advisement and Student Support; Cecile Feldman, DMD, dean and professor, Community Health; Kim Fenesy, DMD,
associate dean, Student Affairs; and Jill York, DDS, associate professor, Community Health, received a $200,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, plus $120,000 from AmeriChoice for Community Oriented Dental Education II.

New Jersey Dental School Publications:

“Women’s Health Issues and the Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon” by Meredith Blitz-Goldstein, DDS, assistant clinical professor and director, Anesthesia, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, and HD Ephros, in Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 65 2007: No. 9, Pg. 97.

“Microsurgery Repair of Trigeminal Nerve Injuries” by Vince Ziccardi, DDS, MD, chair, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, in Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 65 2007: No.9, Pg 101, Suppl 2.

“A Screen for Leukotoxin Mutants in Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans: Genes of the Phosphotransferase System are Required for Leukotoxin Biosynthesis” by Jeffrey Kaplan, PhD, associate professor, and Scott Kachlany, PhD, assistant professor, both in Oral Biology, in Infection and Immunity, 76: 3561-3568.

“Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and its Relationship to Initiation of Localized Aggressive Periodontitis: A Longitudinal Cohort Study of Initially Healthy Adolescents” by Daniel Fine, DDS, chair, and Kenneth Markowitz, DDS, assistant professor, both in Oral Biology; D. Furgang; K. Fairlie; J. Ferrandiz; C. Nasri; M. McKiernan; and J. Gunsolley; in Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 47: 3959-3869.

School of Public Health Grants:

Junfeng Zhang, PhD, MS, professor and acting chair, Environmental & Occupational Health; Scott Diehl, PhD, professor, Oral Biology at NJDS; Howard Kipen, MD, MPH, professor, Clinical Research & Occupational Medicine at RWJMS; Shou-En Lu, PhD, and Pamela Ohman Strickland, PhD, associate professors, Biostatistics; and David Rich, ScD, MPH, assistant professor, Epidemiology, awarded a three-year, $1,178,867 grant from NIH-National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences for “Response to Drastic Changes in Air Pollution: Reversibility and Susceptibility.”

School of Public Health Publications:

“Neighborhoods and Disability in Later Life” by Vicki Freedman, PhD, professor, and Irina Grafova, PhD, assistant professor, both in Health Systems and Policy;
RF Schoeni, and Jeannette Rogowski, PhD, University Professor, Health Systems and Policy, in Soc Sci Med 2008;66(11):2253-67.

School of Osteopathic Medicine Grants:

Ronald Ellis, PhD, associate professor, Molecular Biology, awarded a five-year, $1.4 million NIH grant for "Evolution of Developmental Regulatory Pathways.”

Elyse Perweiler, RN, MPP, associate professor, Medicine, awarded a three-year, $901,705 grant from HRSA for “Model State-Supported Area Health Education Centers.”

School of Osteopathic Medicine Publications:

“What’s Your Diagnosis? Sharpen Your Physical Diagnostic Skills,” by Carman Ciervo, DO, associate professor and chair, Joshua Coren, DO, MBA, assistant professor, Family Medicine, and David Mason, DO, acting chair, Osteopathic Medicine and associate professor, Primary Care, in Consultant for Pediatricians, Vol. 7, 2008.

“Patient Education Using Relaxation and Guided Imagery to Lower Anxiety Associated with Multiple Sclerosis and Injections,” by Donald Barone, DO, Internal Medicine, and Kathleen Barone, RN, MSCN, Medicine, and M. Franco, in International Journal of MS Care, Vol. 10, 2008.

“Association of Elevated Free Fatty Acids During Late Pregnancy with Pre-Term Delivery," by Xinhua Chen, MD, assistant professor, Ob/Gyn, and Theresa Scholl, PhD, MPH, professor, Ob/Gyn, in Obstetrics & Gynecology , Vol. 112, 2008.

“Girls Who Disclose Sexual Abuse: Urogenital Symptoms and Signs After Genital Contact” by Esther Deblinger, PhD, clinical director, The Center for Children's Support, and Martin Finkel, DO, director, CARES Institute; C. DeLago and C. Schroeder, in Pediatrics, Vol. 122, 2008.

“Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male: The Beginning, the Middle and the Ongoing” by Terrie Ginsberg, DO, assistant professor, New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, and Thomas Cavalieri, DO, dean, in Clinical Geriatrics, Vol. 16:2008.

“Stability and Change in Patient Preferences and Spouse Substituted Judgments Regarding Dialysis Continuation” by Rachel Pruchno, PhD, professor, Medicine, Francine Cartwright, New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, M.J. Rovine, and M. Wilson-Genderson, in Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences,
Vol 63:2008.

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Grants:

Raymond Habas, PhD, assistant professor, Biochemistry, awarded a five-year, $1,355,465 grant from the NIH for “Non-canonical Wnt Signaling and Cell Motility.”

Michael Reiss, MD, professor, Medicine, awarded a five-year, $1,496,306 grant from the NIH for “Targeting Transforming Growth Factor in Metastatic Breast Cancer.”

Loren Runnels, PhD, assistant professor, Pharmacology, awarded a five-year, $1,481,842 grant for “Functional Analysis of the Bi-functional Ion Channel and Kinase TRPM7.”

Kathleen Scotto, PhD, professor, Pharmacology, senior associate dean, Research, and UMDNJ vice president for research, awarded a five-year, $1,333,658 grant for “Caffeine Regulates Splicing of Cancer-Related Genes: Dissecting the Mechanism.”

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Publications:

“Surfing on Calcium Waves” by Janet Alder, PhD, assistant professor, and James Zheng, PhD, professor, both in Neuroscience & Cell Biology, in Neuron, 2007:54(4):502-505.

“Locoregional Relapse and Distant Metastasis in Conservatively Managed Triple Negative Early-Stage Breast Cancer” by co-author Bruce Haffty, MD, professor and chair, Radiation Oncology, in Journal of Clinical Oncology 2006:24(36):5652–5657.