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Malú G. Tansey, Ph.D. - Principal Investigator
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Dr. Tansey is a native-born Texan who attended Stanford University. She obtained her B.S./M.S. degrees in Biological Sciences from Stanford in 1985. She returned to Texas to attend The University of Texas Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences where she obtained her Ph.D. from the Cell Regulation graduate program in 1992 under the mentorship of James T. Stull in the Department of Physiology.
After a short post-doc with Kate Luby-Phelps in the same department, she moved to Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, Missouri to the laboratory of the late John P. Merlie where she elucidated the signaling mechanisms required for ARIA/Heregulin-induced acetylcholine receptor epsilon gene expression at the neuromuscular junction before settling in the laboratory of Eugene M. Johnson Jr. in 1996. She and her colleagues in the laboratory of Jeff Milbrandt identified new members of the GDNF Family of Ligands (GFLs: Neurturin, Persephin, and Artemin) and their paired GFR binding co-receptors (GFRalpha2 and 3) and demonstrated their potent bioactivities on multiple neuronal populations. Their work was the first demonstration that ligand-induced recruitment of a neurotrophic receptor (Ret) to lipid rafts for interaction with c-Src was functionally required for GFL-induced neuronal survival and differentiation.
Prior to her joining the Department of Physiology as an Assistant Professor in 2002, she was head of the Chemical Genetics group at Xencor, a private biotechnology company in Monrovia, California whose mission is to create superior biotherapeutics through protein engineering technology. She and her colleagues have engineered, developed and tested novel TNF inhibitors with a dominant negative mechanism of action which her lab is now using as powerful tools to investigate the role of TNF signaling in neurodegenerative diseases using in vitro and in vivo models of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Disease. One long-term goal is to develop targeted anti-inflammatory gene therapy for CNS applications. Successful development of such an approach for clinical use may halt or slow progression of neuronal loss in patients with Parkinson's Disease and other diseases where chronic neuroinflammation contributes to disease progression.
In her spare time, Malu enjoys cooking, running, sailing, scuba-diving and spending time at home with her family.
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Jae Kyung (Jamise) Lee, Ph.D. - Instructor
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| Jae Kyung (Jamise) Lee was born in South Korea. She obtained her B.S./M.S. degrees in Biology from Kyungpook National University. She moved to the United States in 2000 and attended University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth where she obtained her Ph.D. in the Biomedical Science program in 2005 under the mentorship of Porunelloor Mathew in the Department of Molecular Biology and Immunology. She moved to The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in late 2006 for a post-doctoral fellowship in the Tansey lab. Currently, she is investigating the role of TNF receptors in mechanisms that contribute to neurodegeneration using both in vitro and in vivo models. During her spare time, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her family. |
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Laura Alto, Ph.D. - Post-doctoral fellow
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| Laura Alto was born and raised in northern California. She earned a B.S. degree from Pacific Union College in Napa Valley, CA in 2000. After working for one year at Steamboat Springs ski resort in Colorado, she returned to California to pursue a doctorate in Biology at the University of California, San Diego. There, she joined the labs of Armin Blesch, Ph.D. and Mark Tuszynski, M.D., Ph.D. in the Department of Neuroscience. As a graduate student, she studied neurotrophin gene delivery as a mechanism for promoting and guiding axon growth after spinal cord injury in adult rats. After completing her graduate degree in October, 2007, Laura joined the Tansey lab where she is interested in understanding signaling pathways downstream of TNF that contribute to degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson’s disease. In her spare time Laura enjoys being outdoors. |
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Ashley S. Harms - Graduate Student, Integrative Biology
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| Ashley Harms was born and raised in Houston, Texas. In 2002 she moved to College Station, Texas to attend Texas A&M University. In May of 2006, Ashley earned a B.S. in Biology and graduated as part of the inaugural class of Texas A&M University Undergraduate Research Scholars. Ashley is currently a Graduate Student in the Tansey lab and is working on understanding the role of TNF in regulation of glial activities and its impact on dopaminergic neuron survival. In her spare time, Ashley enjoys cooking, watching movies, shopping, spending time with her husband Jimmy, and playing with her dachshunds Tucker and Sadie. |
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Terina Martinez - Graduate Student, Integrative Biology
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| Terina Martinez was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was raised near Austin, Texas. She moved to Dallas in 1999 to attend the University of Dallas and in 2002 earned a B.A. in Biology. Terina is currently a Graduate Student in Dr. Tansey's lab and is working on discerning the cellular mechanisms involved in TNF dependent neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration of dopaminergic neurons. In her spare time, Terina enjoys literature, music, running, beach volleyball, and playing with her dog, Absolut. |
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Thi Tran - Graduate Student, Neurosciences
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| Thi Tran considers herself a Texan, although she was born in Illinois. She attended the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science before going to the University of Texas at Austin to earn a B.A. in Biology and Psychology in 2004. Thi worked at the American Cancer Society before beginning graduate studies. Her research is aimed on developing and characterizing "second-hit" mouse models of Parkinson's Disease and investigating the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties of a synthetic triterpenoid. The little things in life make Thi happy — good company, good weather, and ice cream. She also enjoys cooking and cleaning, but don't be fooled — she also loves sports and probably throws a ball farther than you can. |
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Kelly Ruhn - Lab Manager
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| Kelly Ruhn was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. Kelly earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Dallas in May of 2002. During her undergraduate studies she worked as a Laboratory Helper at UTSW and then went on to several other labs after graduation. Kelly is the Laboratory Manager in the Tansey lab. She maintains the animal colony and actively participates in several research projects. Kelly enjoys almost everything--especially taking care of her animals at the lab and at home. |
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John Hong - Research Assistant
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| John was born in the Dallas area and raised in Richardson, TX. He earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin where he worked as a research technician then in the biotech industry. John joined the Tansey lab in April 2007 as a research technician. He enjoys playing golf in his free time. |
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Isaac Treviño - Research Assistant
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| Isaac was born and raised in a small Texas town called Rio Vista. He graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a B.S. Degree in Biological Chemistry. He has a passion for biomedical research and hopes to continue his education in graduate or medical school within the near future. In his spare time he enjoys reading, outdoor sports and activities, and spending time with family and friends. |
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Linda Patterson - Administrative Associate
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| Linda was born and raised in North Little Rock, Arkansas and has lived in Dallas since 1995. Before coming to UT Southwestern in 2000, Linda worked for a couple of years for a major Dallas corporation. She began working in the Surgical Oncology Division of the Department of Surgery, where she managed the day-to-day operations in the academic offices of three surgeons. Linda has worked in the Physiology Department since 2002 where she supports not only the Tansey Labs, but two other labs, as well as manages the Department’s seminar and lecture series, and its works-in-progress. In her spare time, Linda enjoys reading, cooking, movies, and spending time with her “Wild Girls” group from church, monthly book club and card party gatherings, and a dining out supper club. Spending time with her family is also one of Linda’s favorite pastimes. |
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Philip C. Wrage, Ph.D. Cell Regulation, August 2007
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Dissertation Title: Adipose-Derived Adult Stromal (ADAS) Cells Contribute To Spinal Cord Repair But Are Not Neural-Crest Derived Stem Cells
Present position: Field Clinical Engineer for scientific and technical support of human and animal clinical studies for Bioness Inc., a leader in medical device technology designed to help people with stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injury.
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Tamy Frank-Cannon, D.V.M., Ph.D. - Post-doctoral fellow
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| Tamy way raised in Carrollton, TX. She earned B.S. degrees in Zoology (1992), Veterinary Science (1993) at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX. She received her D.V.M. from Texas A&M University in 1996 and entered private practice in companion medicine and surgery in McAllen, TX. After 4 years of private practice, Tamy returned to Texas A&M University in June 2000 and began working on a PhD under the mentorship of Louise Abbott, Ph.D., D.V.M. in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences. During that time, she taught Gross Anatomy and Neuroanatomy in the professional veterinary curriculum while studying mechanisms of neurodegeneration in the cerebellum. She completed her Ph.D. in 2005 and joined Malú Tansey's Lab in September 2005 where she is studying inflammatory mediated mechanisms of neurodegeneration in models of Parkinson's Disease. |
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Melissa K. McCoy, Ph.D. - Integrative Biology, May 2008
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Dissertation Title: Tumor Necrosis Factor Dependent Mechanisms And Neuroprotective Strategies In Models Of Parkinson’s Disease
Post-graduate training/employment: postdoctoral position to study the effect of mutations associated with Parkinson's disease on protein function in the Laboratory of Neurogenetics with Dr. Mark R. Cookson at the National Institute of Aging (NIA/NIH). |
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Fiona E. McAlpine, Ph.D. - Integrative Biology, May 2008
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Dissertation Title: The Role Of TNF Signaling In Regulating β-Amyloid Burden In The 3xTGAD Mouse Model Of Alzheimer’s Disease
Post-graduate training/employment: postdoctoral position to study the role of autophagy in models of motor neuron disease in the laboratories of Dr. Sharon Tooze and Dr. Gianpietro Schivo at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now known as Cancer Research UK in London, England). |
Page Maintained by: The Department of Physiology
Last reviewed: October 10, 2008 |
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