Gene Technology

Tayebeh Pourmotabbed

Tayebeh Pourmotabbed
Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Biochemistry
University of Tennessee, USA

Biography

Tayebeh Pourmotabbed have done her Post Graduation from University of Maryland Baltimore County,(1981-June 1986) and received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry in the year of 1986.She have done the Postgraduate Training from University of Maryland College Park in (1986-1988). She worked as a Associate Professor for Department of Molecular Sciences, University of Tennessee Health Science Center and currently working as a Professor for same  department since July 2006.

Research Interest

Our laboratory is interested in (1) Cancer Gene therapy, (2) understanding the role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) in pathogenesis of cancer, atherosclerosis, arthritis, and Alzheimer disease and (3) identifying risk factors in Alzheimer, arthritis, and coronary artery disease. Our approach involves a combination of post-transcriptional gene-silencing drug design, cell biology, molecular biology, and whole animal techniques. It is known that growth factors and cancer-causing oncogenes induce the expression of genes for extracellular matrix-degrading metalloproteinases (MMPs). These enzymes are capable of degrading basement membrane and connective tissue proteins, and are associated with wound healing, tumor cell invasion and metastasis, cartilage degradation in rheumatoid arthritis, dislodging atherosclerotic plaques and stroke. More recently, it has become clear that MMPs’ substrates are much broader than matrix components alone, and include growth factors and their receptors, chemokines, pro-angiogenic factors, and adhesion molecules. We are using in vitro and in vivo model systems, including site directed mutagenesis techniques and DNAzyme post-transcriptional gene-silencing technology to alter the expression of MMP in tumor and stroma cells in rat and examine the role of these enzymes in specific diseases.