Cluster focus

This cluster position was designed to strengthen the current interdisciplinary work on the structure and mechanism of action of bio-active small molecules, including vitamin D, of the Department of Biochemistry. The primary research focus is on the molecular mechanisms whereby vitamin D, the sex steroids and other systemic hormones regulate the production, as well as cellular activity, of bone-forming osteoblasts and bone-resorbing osteoclasts. These two cell types act in concert both to maintain skeletal integrity and to provide vertebrate organisms with minerals such as calcium and phosphorus, and their coordinated and balanced actions are essential to these processes. The research seeks a detailed understanding of the functional role of each of these hormones in normal skeletal biology, as well as their potentially therapeutic role in such diseases as arthritis, osteoporosis and osteolytic diseases associated with metastatic breast and prostate cancer. The department provides an excellent environment for the continuation of an outstanding research program in vitamin D in addition to supporting a vigorous independent research program. The cluster faculty member also participates in both biochemistry undergraduate and graduate teaching programs.

Cluster accomplishments

  • The cluster faculty member has brought new skills to campus to determine the cellular and molecular mechanisms and actions of the vitamin D compounds developed on campus and tested on animal and cell-based models for potential therapeutic use work. Understanding of the mechanisms of the vitamin D compounds (steroidal analogs) will allow other scientists to then modify and fine-tune the analog molecules to retain and enhance features of value for pharmaceutical applications. One potential negative side effect of vitamin D is the build-up of excessive calcium, and understanding how this mechanism works is extremely important to the development of new compounds.
  • The research has resulted in participation in the filing of a patent for how specific vitamin D analogs can enhance bone formation, and participation in a license and current testing of the compound by a pharmaceutical company interested in developing new drugs to improve bone implants and fracture healing.
  • The cluster research has also focused on identifying the mechanisms whereby three genes in the body regulate calcium homeostasis. So far, the mechanisms by which vitamin D regulates the production of these gene products have been uncovered. One patent has been filed that focuses on using these discoveries to develop therapeutic screens for drugs that might influence calcium uptake and mobilization.
  • Research with human embryonic stem cells shows that the addition of vitamin D at specific times to the cell culture medium enhances bone cell precursor development, which could influence the undifferentiated cells to take a developmental pathway and become bone cells, with great potential for medical applications and improved gene therapies.
  • The cluster is also developing a research agreement and partnership with a pharmaceutical company to develop new drug screens for various compounds being developed on campus.
  • The cluster faculty member has helped to redesign and team-teach a new “Approaches to Biochemistry” foundation course for graduate students and has added elements of his research into a number of other graduate and undergraduate biochemistry courses.

Cluster structure

There is no new formal structure that revolves around this cluster. Rather, the new cluster faculty member was brought in to complement the current Vitamin D research and analog testing, greatly strengthening the current research program. The cluster faculty member also participates in several regular seminar and discussion sections designed to share research efforts in the field. These include a weekly seminar on Vitamin D research in which students take the lead in presenting their research. Another campuswide research group meets twice a month to look at the broader class of steroid receptors and their mechanisms. Lastly, at a meeting held every other month, faculty from across the campus present their research on a wide range of regulatory factors that control transcription. These activities foster interaction with faculty across campus and continually lead to new research directions and collaborations.

Cluster coordinator, faculty and lead dean

Cluster Coordinator

Cluster Faculty

Lead Dean

  • Molly Jahn, Dean, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences