Updated: September 26, 2014
Elizabeth Tarasewicz
CBC Scholar: Class of 2012
PhD Candidate, Department of Surgery, NU
Advisor: Jacqueline Jeruss
JERUSS WEBPAGE
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
TGF-β signaling has been shown to play a significant, yet paradoxical role in breast cancer progression; however, the mechanism(s) of this oncogenic switch have not been elucidated. My research is focused on how biological variants that correlate with aggressive breast cancer may mediate the switch from TGF-β directed tumor suppression to oncogenesis in breast cancer. I am also interested in patterning signaling network activity of aggressive breast cancer cell types using a novel transcription factor array and following changes in pathway activity upon treatment with targeted agents. Ultimately, I hope my work will provide insight into how such information can be used to define patients populations that would benefit from specific therapeutic strategies.
PUBLICATIONS:
Tarasewicz E, Hamdan R, Straehla J, Hardy A, Nunez Lopez O, Zelivianski S, Dokic D, Jeruss JS. CDK4 inhibition and doxorubicin mediate breast cancer cell apoptosis through Smad3 and survivin. Cancer Biol Ther. 2014 Oct 1;15(10):1301-11. (PubMed)
Tarasewicz E, Jeruss JS. Phospho-specific Smad3 signaling: Impact on breast oncogenesis. Cell Cycle. 2012 Jul 1;11(13):2443 – 2451. (PubMed)
Prasad K, Tarasewicz E, Strickland PA, O’Neill M, Mitchell SN, Merchant K, Tep S, Hilton K, Datwani A, Buttini M, Mueller-Steiner S, Richfield EK. Biochemical and morphological consequences of human α-synuclein expression in a mouse α-synuclein null background. Eur J Neurosci. 2011 Feb;33(4):642-56. (PubMed)
Prasad K, Tarasewicz E, Mathew J, Strickland PA, Buckley B, Richardson JR, Richfield EK. Toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics of paraquat accumulation in mouse brain. Exp Neurol. 2009 Feb;215(2):358-67. (PubMed)
AWARDS:
- NIH NRSA Fellowship 2012-2015
- Chicago Biomedical Consortium Scholar 2012-2013
- Carcinogenesis Training Grant 2011-2012
- Biotechnology Training Grant Cluster 2010-2011