Ana-Marie Dragoi Lab - LSU Health Shreveport

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LSU Health Shreveport
Department of Molecular & Cellular Physiology
1501 Kings Hwy
Shreveport, LA 71103

Email:
anamaria.dragoi@lsuhs.edu
Office:
(318) 675-4216
Fax:
(318) 675-6005

Ana-Maria Dragoi, M.D., Ph.D

Assistant Professor

MD (2000) - University of Medicine, Iasi, Romania

Internship (2001) - Institute for Cardiovascular Diseases "G.I.M. Georgescu", Iasi, Romania
PhD, Pathology (2007) - Brown University

Post-Doctoral Fellow (2014) - Yale University

Research

MAJOR PROJECTS:

Cancer research

Metastasis and chemoresistance remain major challenges and the leading cause of cancer-associated deaths in most tumors despite significant advances in cancer biology. During metastasis cells undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process first occurring during normal development and characterized by loss of epithelial cell markers, increased invasive potential and chemoresistance. EMT is executed by the EMT-activating transcription factors (EMT-TFs), mainly ZEB, SNAIL and TWIST families. Although EMT roles in development and cancer progression are based on similar mechanisms, it is now clear that that additional signaling networks drive EMT during invasion and metastasis. My research interests are focused on understanding how metastasis is executed and how intrinsic and extrinsic cellular factors modulate EMT-TFs functions in the context of oncogenic reprogramming. The major projects in the cancer research focus on:
I) Investigation into the mechanisms by which FLASH contributes to EMT.
II) Study on how tumor microenvironment shapes the EMT-TFs functions.

Host-pathogen interaction research

Currently my lab is interested in identifying the relevant niche for Neisseria gonorrhoeae sustained replication and survival in humans. Our results suggest that macrophages are an unexplored cellular reservoir for N. g. during infection. Macrophages may serve as a significant replicative niche for N. g. that are able to resist phagocytic killing in vivo and may play an important role in facilitating N. g. replication and contributing to gonorrhea pathogenesis. Using approaches that either blocked N.g invasion or killed extracellular bacteria we showed that N.g has evolved to replicate intracellularly as well as extracellularly upon macrophage colonization. We observed that these distinct N.g life cycles were independent of one another. The major avenues of investigation for this project are:
I) Transcriptional reprogramming of macrophages and N.g during bacterial replication in macrophages.
II) The role of macrophages as a replicative niche for N.g during infection in vivo.

Team

Publications

Abshire CF, Carroll JL, Dragoi AM.* “FLASH protects ZEB1 from degradation and supports cancer cells epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.” Oncogenesis, 2016 Aug 15;5(8):e254. PMCID: PMC5007829
Mohyeldin MM, Akl MR, Ebrahim HY, Dragoi AM, Dykes S, Cardelli JA, El Sayed KA. “The oleocanthal-based homovanillyl sinapate as a novel c-Met inhibitor.” Oncotarget. 2016 May 31;7(22):32247-73.
Abu-Fayyad A, Kamal MM, Carroll JL, Dragoi AM, Cody R, Cardelli J, Nazzal S. Development and in-vitro characterization of nanoemulsions loaded with paclitaxel/γ-tocotrienol lipid conjugates. Int J Pharm. 2018 Jan 30;536(1):146-157. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2017.11.062.
Senchenkova EY, Ansari J, Becker F, Vital SA, Al-Yafeai Z, Sparkenbaugh EM, Pawlinski R, Stokes KY, Carroll JL, Dragoi AM, Qin CX, Ritchie RH, Sun H, Cuellar-Saenz HH, Rubinstein MR, Han YW, Orr AW, Perretti M, Granger DN, Gavins FNE. Novel Role for the AnxA1-Fpr2/ALX Signaling Axis as a Key Regulator of Platelet Function to Promote Resolution of Inflammation. Circulation. 2019 Jul 23;140(4):319-335.
Ivanov SS*, Youngblood R, Circu Magdalena, Dragoi AM*. “Neisseria gonorrhoeae subverts formin-dependent actin polymerization to colonize human macrophages”. bioRxiv. 2021 Jan 20:2021.01.20.427361. doi: 10.1101/2021.01.19.427361 (*, co-corresponding authors)

Positions

Post-doctoral Fellows

While we are not currently recruiting Post-doctoral Fellows, quality candidates will always be considered. To enquire about opportunities, contact Dr. Dragoi at anamaria.dragoi@lsuhs.edu.

Graduate Students

Graduate students interested in conducting research in the Dragoi lab should review the current laboratory research directions and contact Dr. Dragoi at anamaria.dragoi@lsuhs.edu.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

We are not currently hiring any additional undergraduates. However, positions can become available during the summer.

Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows

The Dragoi laboratory has a number of research projects available for any Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows. Those interested in learning more about research opportunities in the Dragoi lab should contact Dr. Dragoi directly at anamaria.dragoi@lsuhs.edu.

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