Cells from a colon tumor, the hope of a more effective way to treat
cancer and the dedication of a number of gifted students - these are
the
things that have driven Michael Edelbrock’s research into why some
cells
are able to repair themselves, while others turn into cancer.
Edelbrock, an associate professor
of environmental, safety and health
management and assistant director of
the Environmental Safety and Health
Management Program, has been
researching why specific DNA proteins
that are supposed to repair a cell when
something goes wrong, sometimes
don’t
work. He has been doing this
research for the past six years as part of
his work toward a Ph.D. in medical
science from the Medical University of
Ohio (MUO).
“Cell mutations happen all the
time in every cell, and most of the time
the cell’s DNA repair proteins fix the
mutations. The problem arises when
those proteins don’t work,” Edelbrock
explained. “If we can improve our ability
to identify and repair mutations
within cells, this may lead to better
therapies or even prevent cancer.”
Edelbrock presented his research
at the International Environmental
Mutagen Society meeting in San
Francisco in September 2005 and has
plans to
submit this work for
publication. Some of his work has
been published in the BioMed Central
Molecular Biology Journal.
Throughout his research,
Edelbrock has worked with more than
10 undergraduate and graduate
students at UF, giving them the opportunity
to apply what they have learned
in the classroom to a real research environment.
“It is extremely important
that our students have as much handson
experience as possible,” Edelbrock
explained. “It’s this experience that
helps them develop the critical
thinking and analytical skills needed to
really understand how to take what
they have learned in class and apply it to
a real situation.”
For example, Jessica
VanHook, a senior pre-veterinary medicine
and biology major, completed an
honors project last year that investigated
the growth dynamics of cancer cells
when given different nutrients.
In the lab, Edelbrock and a
graduate student, Tim Richards, and
colleagues from MUO grow cancer
cells derived from colon and cervical
cancer tumors. They study a DNA
repair protein that has a known defect
in colon cancer cells and compare it to
the same protein in the cervical
tumor, which does not have a defect.
This comparison is used to study
mutations linked to the repair protein.
Back on UF campus, Edelbrock is
mentoring a graduate student, Vijay
Bindingnavile, who is studying
environmental pollutants related to
cellular absorbtion. This project is
geared to generating preliminary data
that may be used to apply for a grant.
“We are at the beginning of a
frontier in molecular biology,”
Edelbrock noted. “There are predicted
to be more than 25,000 different
proteins in a cell. Mutations in many
of these proteins can cause the cell to
behave abnormally and lead to disease.
We only have a fraction of these
proteins identified. Getting students
involved with research is crucial. Any
one of our students, if provided the
right support and spark, may be the
one to identify a new protein. They
will be the ones in the next 20 years
who will develop better treatments and
maybe even a cure, for cancer.”
