Annual Report 2001 - the University of Massachusetts Medical School

Tariq Rana, PhD
Professor, Department of Biochemistry
& Molecular Pharmacology
Director, Program in Chemical Biology
Dr. Rana came to UMMS from the University of
Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, Robert Wood
Johnson Medical School. His lab is focused on learning
more about the molecular mechanism of Tat function
(one of the novel proteins expressed by HIV-1) and
developing small molecules to control this replication.
He and his colleagues have also pioneered a new field
to regulate biological functions through small molecule
RNA interactions, research that has broad implications
for the design of new therapeutic agents and antibiotics.
Heidi A. Tissenbaum, PhD
Assistant Professor, Program in Molecular Medicine/
Program in Gene Function & Expression
Recruited from MIT, Dr.Tissenbaum is ultimately
concerned with discovering the underlying causes of
aging, using the model organism nematode worm,
C. elegans, to investigate molecular mechanisms of aging.
Scott Waddell, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Neurobiology
Also from MIT, Dr.Waddell researches learning behaviors
in the fruit fly and their subsequent relevance to learning
behaviors in humans.
Nancy Feldman, Jack and Shelley Blais and
Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Robert
Haynes are flanked by Chancellor and Dean
Aaron Lazare and UMass President William
Bulger as they dedicate the new research building.
Thomas Jessell, PhD, lectures at the
October 2001 Scientific Symposium.
Nancy Feldman joins hosts Peter Mehegan and
Lisa Ling at the Gala kicking off the Campaign
for Research.
Nicholas R. Rhind, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
& Molecular Pharmacology
Recruited from the Scripps Research Institute, Dr. Rhind
focuses his research on the checkpoints during the
regulation of the cell cycle. Checkpoints are mechanisms
that cells use to deal with problems such as DNA damage
or replication errors—problems that can lead to the
development of cancer.
Siu Ing The, PhD
Assistant Professor, Program in Molecular Medicine/
Program in Gene Function & Expression
Dr.The, a Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research
Scholar, came to UMMS from Harvard Medical School.
Using Drosophila (the common fruit fly) as her model
organism, she is studying the signaling and distribution
mechanisms of specific molecules called “Hedgehog” or
Hh proteins, and their impact on normal development
and tumorigenesis.
Timothy C. Wang, MD
Professor, Department of Medicine
Chief, Gastroenterology Division,
UMass Memorial Health Care
Gladys Smith Martin Chair in Gastrointestinal Cancer
Recruited from Harvard Medical School, Dr.Wang’s
research focuses on the hormone gastrin and its role in
the development of stomach and colon cancer. His laboratory
has shown that longer, less processed forms of
gastrin are important growth factors that contribute to
the progression of colon cancer in animal studies.
Scot Wolfe, PhD
Assistant Professor, Program in Molecular Medicine/
Program in Gene Function & Expression
Dr.Wolfe came to UMMS from MIT. His lab is attempting
to create proteins that can regulate a single gene of
interest inside a cell, ultimately establishing a highly
adaptable gene-targeting system. Such proteins are critical
as they could be used as tools to study the function
of any desired gene.
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