I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN and graduated from Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI with a B.S. in Biology. I came back to Kansas (where I was born) and started graduate school here in the summer of 2005. I then joined Dr. John Robertson’s lab in May 2006. I became interested in cancer research during a couple of summer internships I participated in.
Research Interests
. Cancer arises from too much cellular proliferation and/or too little cell death. One mechanism by which the body can evade cancer is for the immune system to recognize an aberrant or precancerous cell and trigger it to undergo apoptosis. Also, many clinically important cancer drugs can cause irreversible damage to a cell’s DNA that initiates the apoptotic process.
The goal of my dissertation project is to focus on understanding the regulation of mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP) after treatment with DNA-damaging drugs. Specifically, of particular interest is to identify requirements for the release of established proapoptotic factors from the mitochondria. I will determine whether it is necessary to have active caspase-3, active caspase-9, alleviation of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs), or the presence of Apaf-1 for the release of Smac/Diablo, Omi/Htr2a and cytochrome c. The rationale is that understanding what is necessary for MOMP is expected to provide important new information that may help in drug development, including the possibility of discovering new drug targets.
Contact Information
Mary Shawgo
Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutics
The University of Kansas Medical Center
MS1018
3901 Rainbow Boulevard
Kansas City, KS 66160
Phone: (913) 588-0444
Fax: (913)588-7501
E-Mail: mshawgo@kumc.edu
Updated 6/24/09
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The University of Kansas Medical Center