Biograpy
I graduated from Alma College with a degree in Biology in 2005. I joined the pharmacology /toxicology program in the summer of 2006. My first research rotation was in Dr. Jay Goodman’s laboratory where I studied the effects of the environmental contaminant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin (TCDD) on DNA methylation status, an epigenetic mechanism controlling gene expression. 

I did my second research rotation in the lab of Dr. Robert Roth. The lab studies the role of inflammation in the increased susceptibility of individuals to the toxic effects of certain drugs or chemical agents. I worked specifically to help characterize the modulation of the coagulation system during the onset of hepatic injury as a result of treatment with the bacterial inflammatory agent lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the antibacterial drug Trovafloxacin.

I then joined Dr. Roth’s lab in the spring of 2007. My research currently involves the investigation of how exposure to aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligands can lead to hepatic toxicity, specifically, the mechanism through which a sub-toxic dose of TCDD can interact in a synergistic manner with a subsequent inflammatory response initiated by administration of LPS to result in liver injury. 

I have been working to determine the mechanisms through which TCDD is able to interact with the signal transduction pathways utilized by LPS to modulate the production and release of inflammatory cytokines, alter immune cell activity, and affect other biological responses commonly associated with inflammation.

Selected Achievements and Awards:
Member of Society of Toxicology

Selected Publications/Abstracts:
Since entering program:
Shaw PJ, Fullerton AM, Ganey PE, and Roth RA. Co-exposure to trovafloxacin and lipopolysaccharide causes tumor necrosis factor alpha-dependent liver injury: a murine model of idiosyncratic liver injury. The FASEB Journal 21, 6: 867.14; 2007.

Prior to entering program:
Chodavarapu S, Hertema H, Huynh T, Odette J, Miller R, Fullerton A, Alkirwi J, Hartsfield D, Padmanabhan K, Woods C, Beckmann JD.  Reversible covalent inhibition of a phenol sulfotransferase by coenzyme A. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2007 Jan 15;457(2):197-204.