I received my M.S. in Physiology and Biophysics at UVM and my Ph.D. in the Cell Biology Program at UVM and did a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratories of Dr. Edward Bresnick/Dr. John Craighead at UVM. Favorite non science activities are gardening and swimming!

Research Interests

My laboratory is interested in the cell signaling pathways leading to environmental diseases in the lung. We are studying currently: 1) Mitogen activated protein kinases and other signaling pathways (CREB/PKA, PKC) linked to asbestos and oxidant-induced epithelial cell damage; 2) How these relate to cell survival and lung remodeling after inhalation of various types of asbestos that are linked to the development of pulmonary fibrosis, lung cancers and mesothelioma; 3) How asbestos-induced mesothelial cell transformation is augmented by SV40 viral infection; and 4) Therapeutic approaches using amorphous silica-based nanoporous spheres (APMS) to deliver drugs and siRNA plasmids to inhibit the development of mesotheliomas in a nude mouse xenograft model.

Selected Publications

Barlow CA, Shukla A, Mossman BT, and Lounsbury KM: Oxidant-mediated CREB activation: calcium regulation and role in apoptosis of lung epithelial cells. Am J Resp Cell Mol Biol. 2006; 34:7-15.

Shukla A, Barrett TF, Nakayama KI, Nakayama K, Mossman BT, and Lounsbury KM: Transcriptional upregulation of MMPs 12 and 13 by asbestos occurs via a PKCd-dependent pathway in murine lung. FASEB J 2006; May;20(7):997-999.

Mossman BT, Lounsbury KM, and Reddy S: Oxidants and signaling by MAPK in lung epithelium. Resp Cell Molec Biol. 2006; 34:666-669.

CMB Lab Members