I grew up in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas and graduated from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Microbiology. I relocated to Kansas and started graduate school here in the summer of 2004. I then joined the laboratory of John Robertson in October 2005. I became interested in cancer research and more specifically apoptosis through exposure to this biological process while working as a technician in Dallas, Texas.
Research Interests
Although different classes of anti-cancer chemotherapeutic drugs have distinct drug targets, the therapeutic end-point of many is to induce programmed cell death or apoptosis. Over the past decade, a better understanding of the molecular pathways leading to the activation and execution of apoptosis has evolved. However, the precise details of how these pathways are regulated in response to anti-cancer drugs remain elusive. Given the modest curative rate and considerable adverse effects of many anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents, a more detailed understanding of the mechanism(s) of action of these drugs is warranted. New information regarding the details of these pathways is expected to contribute to more specific drug design and therapeutic approaches.
My long-term goal is to determine how cytotoxic stress leads to the initiation and execution of cell death pathways. My primary objective is to determine the molecular mechanisms responsible for Bid (a pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member) activation during apoptosis in response to DNA damage and the extent to which this activation is necessary for mitochondria-mediated cell death. My central hypothesis is that truncated Bid is required to promote mitochondrial events during apoptosis in response to DNA damage and functions as an important component of an essential feed-forward signaling loop.
Contact Information
Shary Shelton
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: sshelton@kumc.edu
Updated 9/5/08
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The University of Kansas Medical Center