Dr. Jie Xu & Dr. Dongmei Sun's paper entitled "The Role of Prolactin Receptor in GH Signaling in Breast Cancer Cells", published in Molecular Endocrinology, has been selected as the Department of Medicine's paper of the month for January 2013.

Jie Xu obtained her MD degree and a Master's in Clinical Oncology from Wuhan University School of Medicine, China. She obtained a Ph.D. in Pathology from UAB, followed by postdoctoral fellowship and residency in Pathology also at UAB where she is currently a PGY-3 resident in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology. Dr. Jie Xu is the recipient of several awards and training grants and the first author or co-author of many publications.  She has presented her research findings in several national meetings. Her major research interests are in the area of molecular endocrinology.

Dongmei Sun received her bachelor degree from the East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai China, and her PhD in Cell Biology from the University of University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2010. She is currently a Research Associate in the Division of Endocrinology of Department of Medicine.

The focus of Dr. Stuart Frank's research is understanding mechanisms of action of growth hormone (GH), an important metabolic and growth promoting hormone. In particular, we are interested in various aspects of GH receptor (GHR) structure and signal transduction. Our studies have examined the interaction of the GHR with a critical non-receptor cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase, JAK2, which is required for initiation of GHR signaling. We have explored the downstream signaling pathways (STAT, MAP kinase, and PI-3 kinase) activated by GH and their effects on GH-induced gene expression. Further, we are interested in the cellular determinants of sensitivity to GH and modulation of GHR availability and function.

Dr. Yan Sanders' paper entitled "Altered DNA methylation profile in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis", published in the American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine, has been selected as the Department of Medicine's paper of the month for December 2012.

Dr. Yan Sanders received her M.D. from Hunan Medical University, China, and M.S. in Pathology from University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the National Center for Toxicological Research before she joined UAB.  She is currently an assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Medicine. 

Dr. Sanders' main research interests are on the epigenetics aspects of pulmonary fibrosis, mainly the roles of histone modifications and DNA methylation in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Her research projects include examining the effects of histone modifiers on fibrotic lung fibroblasts and determining the epigenetic alterations in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) fibrotic foci. Current work has been focused on exploring the epigenetic mechanisms of aging in the pathogenesis of IPF.

Dr. Xiaoli Li & Dr. Julie Baskin's paper entitled "The Unique Cytoplasmic Domain of Human FcγRIIIA Regulates Receptor-Mediated Function", published in the Journal of Immunology has been selected as the Department's paper of the month for November 2012.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it paper entitled “Pulmonary Arterial Enlargement and Acute Exacerbations of COPD”, published in the New England Journal of Medicine has been selected as the Department of Medicine’s October 2012 Paper of the Month.

Dr. Wells received a B.S. in genetics from Texas A&M University in 2000 and his M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston in 2005. He completed his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine in 2008, served as Chief Medical Resident from 2008-2009 and completed his fellowship in Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care in 2012, all at UAB. He was the first UAB pulmonary fellow selected for the NIH sponsored T32 training grant in Lung Biology and Translational Medicine for 2010-2012 and he is the 2012 recipient of the Walter B. Frommeyer, Jr. Fellowship in Investigational Medicine. Dr. Wells joined the laboratory of Dr. Edwin Blalock in 2010, where he has been investigating the role of neutrophilic inflammation in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using proteomics, synthetic chemistry, and murine models. In July 2012 he joined the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care as an Assitant Professor. His research interest is in COPD, particularly in the areas of pathogenesis, biomarker discovery, disease progression, and treatment.