Education:
B.S. in Environmental Chemistry, UCSD
Ph.D in Chemistry from UCI hopefully in 2005Research:
Chelation therapy is based on the ability of ligands to remove toxic metals from your body. Our project focus is just the opposite. We are developing chelators that induce metal uptake into melanoma cells. Dithiocarbamates (DTCs) are strong metal chelators that have shown anti-melanoma activity, believed to be directly related to metal up-take and the oxidative processes within melanoma cells. It is proposed that upon oxygenation of the metal bound ligand and sulfur extrusion, the metal is released within the cell inducing apoptosis. Several DTC derivatives have been synthesized and tested for anti-melanoma activity to determine the structure/activity relationships. Various oxygenated DTC zinc complexes show increased activity, which suggests that S-oxygenation is a pathway for metal-release in the cell. Sulfur-based analogues of known metal chelators as well as new analogues have been targeted for synthesis and testing against melanoma testing.
Other Interests / Hobbies:
Surfing, Snowboarding, playing poker, watching sportcenter, and drinking Coors Light.
