Kennesaw State Researcher Explores How Hormones Influence Cancer Development

Joanna Wardwell-Ozgo figures to activity backward erstwhile determining nan causes of cancer.

The Kennesaw State University adjunct professor of molecular and cellular biology recently earned a $720,000 assistance from nan National Institutes of Health that will fortify undergraduate investigation successful the College of Science and Mathematics while seeking clues astir nan hormonal power of cancer.

"This task involves getting astatine nan beginnings of various diseases pinch nan thief of groundbreaking investigation involving our students, and that elevates KSU's investigation profile," Wardwell-Ozgo said.

Wardwell-Ozgo seeks to find what happens to a compartment erstwhile hormones hindrance to proteins called receptors, which creates different effects successful different parts of nan body. In puberty for example, different tissues person nan aforesaid hormone and each insubstantial reacts differently.

With hormone pathways, you mightiness grow, you mightiness die, you mightiness change. It's variable. This assistance will analyse nan nuance and complexity of this pathway and effort to amended understand really that 1 connection is causing each these different tissue-specific occurrences to happen."

Joanna Wardwell-Ozgo, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology, Kennesaw State University

Her laboratory focuses connected hormone signaling during improvement and illness – what goes incorrect during those early phases, and really those malformations impact life afterward. After earning her doctorate from nan Baylor College of Medicine successful Houston, Wardwell-Ozgo served a postdoctoral fellowship successful nan compartment biology section astatine nan Emory University College of Medicine. There, she learned astir nan value of hormones for cellular maturation and realized location are ample gaps successful our knowing of this narration group her master course.

"I discovered much and much that we really don't cognize what hormones are doing successful development," she said. "Until we understand afloat what's going connected successful development, it's difficult to study a illness and afloat understand nan system and nan driving unit down that disease."

The assistance has a constituent for undergraduate investigation arsenic well, a fond taxable for Wardwell-Ozgo. As a erstwhile biology major, she thought nan only way to a profession successful subject was done medicine, until she conducted investigation arsenic an undergraduate. She recovered a spot wherever she could indulge her curiosity by asking questions and past seeing nan result.

"I greatly worth undergraduate investigation experience," she said. "I besides consciousness for illustration I'm paying it guardant by providing opportunities for students for illustration maine to get vulnerability and get introduced to this chaotic and awesome world of science."