Principal Investigator

Joanne E. Murphy-Ullrich, PhD is Professor of Pathology at UAB with secondary appointments in the Departments of Cell Developmental and Integrative Biology and in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. She received her BS in Medical Technology with Honors at Marquette University in 1976 and worked in the Blood Bank at the University of Wisconsin Hospital. She was awarded her PhD in Pathology at the University of Wisconsin in 1983 under the direction of Dr. Terry D. Oberley for her studies on the renal autoimmune responses to fibronectin and laminin immunization. She did post-doctoral training with Dr. Deane Mosher at the University of Wisconsin where she investigated the binding and metabolism of the matricellular protein thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) by endothelial cells and in blood clots. In 1986, she joined the lab of Dr. Magnus Hӧӧk in the Department of Biochemistry at UAB to study heparan sulfate proteoglycans in TSP-1 metabolism. During this time, inspired by Anne Woods and John Couchman at UAB, she identified TSP-1, tenascin-C, and SPARC as a type of matricellular protein that induces disassembly of focal adhesions but not cellular detachment, a state termed “intermediate cell adhesion.” She joined the Department of Pathology as an Assistant Professor in 1991 and was promoted to Professor in 2000. A major focus of her independent research program has been on elucidating the role of TSP-1 in activation of latent TGF-β through delineation of key interacting sequences in these two proteins, exploration of disease relevance of TSP-1/TGF-β activation, and development of therapeutics to antagonize this pathway for treatment of fibrotic diseases and in cancer.

Dr. Murphy-Ullrich has held several leadership positions in the area of extracellular matrix biology. She was Director of the UAB Cell Adhesion and Matrix Research Center and co-Director of the BioMatrix Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Center. She has been active in the American Society for Matrix Biology (ASMB) and was a Councilor, Secretary/Treasurer, President, and Past-President of ASMB. She chaired the 2016 ASMB Biennial Meeting. She chaired the 2013 FASEB Scientific Conference on Matricellular Proteins in Development, Health, and Disease, co-chaired the 2010 and 2019 meetings, and guest edited a special issue of Matrix Biology on Matricellular Proteins.

She has mentored many women and minority trainees and was a co-mentor on K08, and K25 awards. During her career, she has trained 9 PhD students, 11 post-doctoral fellows, and 3 Master’s students, including 4 minority and 12 women trainees. These trainees include 2 MD/PhD students. Her past-trainees have had success in research, clinical medicine, and in academic leadership. She is active in graduate teaching, developed 2 courses, and has served on curricula committees and on T32 steering committees.

She is a native of Wisconsin who has learned to appreciate spring daffodils in February since moving to Alabama in 1986. She is married (her husband is a Professor of English) and they have two grown children (a daughter and son, both employed with benefits and in great relationships) and the family dog, who is enjoying his more frequent walks during the pandemic.

Current Lab Member

Weiqi Lei, MS (Researcher) Mr. Lei is a native of China. He received his MS in Organic Chemistry at Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry. He has worked in research at UAB and at Johns Hopkins University. He has been a member of the Murphy-Ullrich team since 2014. He is skilled in cell culture, TGF-β and ECM- focused assays, rodent cancer models, and cell strain assays.

Lab Alumni

Graduate Student PhD Thesis Mentor:

1. Stacey Schultz-Cherry, PhD Molecular and Cellular Pathology (defense 4/18/95) Member, St. Jude Faculty, Deputy Director, World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds

2. Maria Poczatek, PhD, DMD Molecular and Cellular Pathology (defense 4/6/2001), private practice dentistry

3. Anthony Wayne Orr, PhD Molecular and Cellular Pathology (defense 10/2/2002) Director, Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and Sciences, Professor and Director, Division of Research, Department of Pathology and Translational Pathobiology, LSU Health, Shreveport, LA

4. Geoffrey Young, MD, PhD Molecular and Cellular Pathology, MSTP (defense 5/17/ 2004) Vice Chair and Asst Professor of Surgery, FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

5. Kimberly Bailey DuBose, PhD Biomedical Engineering (defense 03/30/2006); Principal R-D Engineer, Medtronic, Inc, Ireland

6. Carrie Ann Elzie, PhD Molecular and Cellular Pathology (defense 05/26/2006) Associate Professor of Pathology and Anatomy, Eastern Virginia Medical School

7. Lauren Van Duyn Graham, MD, PhD Molecular and Cellular Pathology, MSTP (defense 09/09/2009), Assistant Professor of Dermatology, UAB Health System

8. Mariya Sweetwyne, PhD Cell and Molecular Biology (defense 07/06/2009), Acting Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Washington Medicine

9. Kurt Zimmerman, PhDMolecular and Cellular Pathology (defense September 2014) Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

10. Melissa Talbert Roden, DMD, 2014 private practice dentistry

11. Chase Vaughan, BS, 2010, biotech industry

MS Trainees:

1. Lyndon Goodly, DVM, MS, Molecular and Cellular Pathology (M.S. 2/96), Director DAR and Associate Vice Chancellor for Research at University of Illiniois Urbana Champaign

2. Rachel McMillan Blair, MS, Molecular and Cellular Pathology (M.S., 2/98) Unknown

3. Dale Fowler, MD, MS, Molecular and Cellular Pathology (MS, 7/2003) Cardiologist in private practice

Post-doctoral Trainees:

1. Solange Ribeiro, PhD 1992-1998 Research Associate –Research Instructor, funded by AHA Grant in Aid, Director of Academic Affairs and Quality Assurance, Adler Graduate School

2. Jeffrey (Juliet) Greenwood, PhD, 1995-200, Post-doctoral fellow- funded by T32 and American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellowship; currently Vice Dean for Educational Initiatives, Arizona State University

3. Silvia Goicoechea, PhD, 1998-2002, Post-doctoral fellow- funded by AHA post-doctoral fellowship, now Research Assistant Professor and Diversity and Inclusion Officer, University of Toledo

4. Claudio Pedraza, PhD, 1999-2002, Post-doctoral fellow, funded by AHA post-doctoral fellowship, now Research Staff, McGill University Health Centre

5. Jiping Chen, PhD, 2002-2004, Post-doctoral fellow, now Assistant Director, Office of Clinical Evidence and Analysis, FDA

6. Bing Sun, PhD 2004-2005, Post-doctoral fellow, Physicians Assistant, Shriners Hospital for Children- Portland, OR

7. Shuxia Wang, 2000-2005, PhD, Post-doctoral fellow- Research Instructor, funded by JDRF post-doctoral fellowship and American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant, now Professor at University of Kentucky

8. Yong Zhou, PhD, 2002-2009, post-doctoral fellow, funded by AHA SDG grant, now Associate Professor with tenure, Department of Medicine, UAB.

9. Mi Miao, MD 2007-2010, post-doctoral fellow, left for residency.

10. Anton Borovjagin, PhD, 2014-2016, Senior Research Scientist/Manager, Dept of Biomedical Engineering, UAB

11. Benjamin Y. Owusu, PhD 2017-2018, Post-doctoral fellow, Lab Corp, Technical Director, Clinical Chemistry, Burlington, NC

Researchers:

Manuel Antonio Pallero (Laboratory Supervisor, teacher, and lab memory) 1992-2016

Jan Johnson

Giang Tong

Yun Su 1998-2005

Kiran Gupta 2001-2003

Ailing Lu 2006-2020

Hasibur Rehman, PhD 2018-2019