The Raman laboratory is within the Division of Cancer Imaging Research in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Science. The focus of the laboratory is bench-to-bed side cancer research. We integrate molecular and cellular biology, developmental biology, cancer biology, molecular imaging techniques to study cancer formation and progression. Many of the projects in the lab investigate dysregulated genes in cancer and the translatability of this information to a clinical setting. One such project is to functionally decipher the role of a RNA helicase gene, DDX3, in the biogenesis of multiple cancer types such as breast, lung, brain, sarcoma, colorectal and prostate. Additionally, using a rational drug design approach, a small molecule inhibitor of DDX3 (RK-33) was synthesized and its potential for clinical translation is being investigated.

Our research focuses on the biology of the peptidoglycan of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the organism that causes tuberculosis, and Mycobacteroides abscessus, a related bacterium that causes opportunistic infections. We study basic mechanisms associated with peptidoglycan physiology but with an intent to leverage our findings to develop tools that will be useful in the clinic to treat mycobacterial infections. Peptidoglycan is the exoskeleton of bacteria that not only provides structural rigidity and cell shape but also several vital physiological functions. Breaching this structure is often lethal to bacteria. We are exploring fundamental mechanisms by which bacteria synthesize and preserve their peptidoglycan. Although our lab uses genetic, biochemical and biophysical approaches to study the peptidoglycan, we pursue questions irrespective of the expertise required to answer those questions. It is through these studies that we identified synergy between two beta-lactam antibiotics against select mycobacteria.

Research in the Liliana Florea Lab applies computational techniques toward modeling and problem solving in biology and genetic medicine. We work to develop computational methods for analyzing large-scale sequencing data to help characterize molecular mechanisms of diseases. The specific application areas of our research include genome analysis and comparison, cDNA-to-genome alignment, gene and alternative splicing annotation, RNA editing, microbial comparative genomics, miRNA genomics and computational vaccine design. Our most recent studies seek to achieve accurate and efficient RNA-seq correction and explore the role of HCV viral miRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma.

The mission and interest of the neuroengineering and Biomedical Instrumentation Lab is to develop novel instrumentation and technologies to study the brain at several levels--from single cell to the whole brain--with the goal of translating the work into practical research and clinical applications. Our personnel include diverse, independent-minded and entrepreneurial students, post docs, and research faculty who base their research on modern microfabrication, stem cell biology, electrophysiology, signal processing, image processing, and integrated circuit design technologies.

Lauren Jantzie, professor of pediatrics and vice chair of research for the Department of Pediatrics, received her Ph.D. in neurochemistry from the University of Alberta in 2008. In 2013 she completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Neurology at Boston Children's Hospital & Harvard Medical School and became faculty at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Jantzie then joined the faculty Departments of Pediatrics (Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine) and Neurology at Johns Hopkins University and the Kennedy Krieger Institute in January 2019.

The Jantzie lab investigates the pathophysiology of encephalopathy of prematurity, and pediatric brain injury common to infants and toddlers. Dr. Jantzie is dedicated to understanding disease processes in the developing brain as a means to identifying new therapeutic strategies and treatment targets for perinatal brain injury. Her lab studies neural substrates of cognition and executive function, inhibitory circuit formation, the role of an abnormal intrauterine environment on brain development, mechanisms of neurorepair and microglial activation and polarization.

Using a diverse array of clinically relevant techniques such as MRI, cognitive assessment, and biomarker discovery, combined with traditional molecular and cellular biology, the Jantzie lab is on the front lines of translational pediatric neuroscience.

The Leucker Laboratory is a translational cardiovascular research program dedicated to understanding the mechanisms underlying residual atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk and developing innovative strategies for cardiovascular prevention. Our work integrates human vascular biology, advanced cardiovascular imaging, epidemiology, and clinical trials to uncover the pathways linking inflammation, lipoproteins, endothelial dysfunction, and cardiometabolic disease to cardiovascular outcomes.

Basic science investigations in the Umapathi Lab focus on understanding how metabolic dysregulation drives heart failure and cardiomyopathy. The laboratory employs patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models, transgenic mouse systems, and advanced proteomics to define the molecular mechanisms underlying metabolic heart failure (MetHF), with particular emphasis on O-GlcNAcylation and cardiac energetics in heart failure. Additional research explores the mechanistic basis of contractile dysfunction/arrhythmias in inherited cardiomyopathies, particularly LMNA-related disease, integrating calcium signaling, mechanobiology, and electrophysiology to identify novel therapeutic targets for conduction abnormalities and ventricular arrhythmias.