School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Research Centers

The department’s associated research centers include:

Center for Research in Cardiovascular Medicine

Director: John M. Canty, MD/Medicine

Conducts translational research in preclinical models of ischemic heart disease and pursues parallel patient-oriented investigation in humans with chronic coronary artery disease.

UB Clinical and Translational Research Center

Director: Timothy F. Murphy, MD/Medicine

Serves as an integrated academic home for UB’s outstanding clinical research and translational science, and the hub of the Buffalo Translational Consortium, providing innovative research tools, support, training, resources and coordination.

Diabetes-Endocrinology Center of Western New York

Director: Paresh Dandona, MD/Medicine

Offers care for approximately 16,000 patients a year who have diabetes and other endocrine pathologies, making it the largest academic diabetic unit in New York.

Ira G. Ross Eye Institute Research Center

Director: Steven J. Fliesler, PhD/Ophthalmology

Nationally innovative collaboration among the UB Department of Ophthalmology, the Elizabeth Pierce Olmsted, MD, Center for the Visually Impaired and University Ophthalmology Services.

Toxicology Research Center (TRC)

Director: Paul J. Kostyniak, PhD/Pharmacology and Toxicology

Facilitates research; provides occupational and environmental health and safety training and educational programs; and houses the Atlantic OSHA Training Center.

UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences

Acting Director: Alexander N. Cartwright, PhD/Vice President for Research

The Center of Excellence is home to more than 250 scientists and research staff with physical, biological and computational expertise who are engaged in interdisciplinary translational research collaborations.

Western New York Stem Cell Culture and Analysis Center

Director: Richard M. Gronostajski, PhD/Biochemistry

This NYSTEM-funded Center is dedicated to promoting and supporting stem cell research within UB, Western New York and the world.

Core Facilities

Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting

4/24/12

Hosts analytical fluorescence-activated flow cytometers/cell sorters (FACS) and a state-of-the art high-speed cell sorter.
Protein Production and Crystallization

4/24/12

Supports automated crystallization trials in a 1,536-well format, providing a key step in determining atomic scale molecular structures.
Health Sciences Instrument Shops

4/24/12

Fabricates custom equipment and repairs and modifies instruments to researchers’ needs.
Gene Targeting and Transgenics

4/24/12

Provides transgenic approaches for the systematic dissection of the genetic, molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms underlying complex biological processes.
Stem Cell Sequencing/Epigenomics Analysis

4/24/12

Characterizes and identifies epigenetic and transcription signatures of stem cells and their derived progeny using Next-Gen sequencing.
Positron Emission Tomography

4/24/12

Utilizes advanced PET radiopharmaceuticals/tracers and the latest PET/CT imaging technology to explore a wide variety of clinical and research questions.
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Generation

4/24/12

Helps investigators generate induced pluripotent stem cells from human skin fibroblasts using lentiviral vectors.
Standard DNA Sequencing

4/24/12

Carries out Sanger sequencing on a fee-for-service basis on instrumentation that typically provides reads of >600bp.
Clinical Flow Cytometry

4/24/12

Provides multiparameter flow cytometry services for clinical diagnosis and follow-up, and to basic and clinical researchers.
Confocal Microscopy/Cellular Imaging

4/24/12

Contains a Zeiss LSM-510 Meta NLO laser scanning confocal microscope attached to a Zeiss-inverted microscope upgraded to multiphoton capability.
X-Ray Photoelectron Emission Microscopy

4/24/12

Houses a transmission electron microscope as well as light microscopes; consults with investigators and assists with equipment operation.
Biochemistry Stockroom

4/24/12

Supplies the school and affiliated research programs with biochemical reagents.
Stem Cell Engraftment and In Vivo Analysis

4/24/12

Engrafts stem cells into mice and other model systems; quantifies cell engraftment, migration and differentiation, and analyzes the behavior consequences of neural engraftment.
Proteomics/Mass Spectrometry

4/24/12

Identifies proteins in cell or tissue extracts using several different liquid chromotography/mass spectrometry based approaches.
Stem Cell Culture, Banking and Training

4/24/12

Maintains and banks stem cells, and provides stem cells and training to interested researchers.
Scanning Transmission X-Ray Microscopy

4/24/12

Provides facilities and technical assistance for processing and analyzing samples using electron microscopy.
Toxicology Research Center

4/24/12

Analyzes xenobiotics and other metabolites, and supports OSHA-sponsored educational activities.
Next Generation Sequencing and Expression

4/24/12

Offers high-throughput, next-generation sequencing and gene-expression analysis services, including 3’-expression, miRNA, exon and gene arrays.
Molecular Interactions

4/24/12

Allows investigators to analyze the kinetics of protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions.
Histology Core

4/24/12

Performs all procedures related to tissue preservation and histological analysis, including training on cryostat use and other protocols.
Proteomics/Maldi-Tof

4/24/12

Allows identification of differentially expressed proteins via peptide mass fingerprinting.

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Researcher Spotlight

The Neuropharmacology of Melatonin

4/13/12

Margarita L. Dubocovich, PhD, works to elucidate melatonin’s mechanism of action and role in modulating circadian rhythms. Her lab develops novel molecules targeting melatonin receptors to treat depression, sleep disorders and cardiovascular disease.
Addiction: Rewiring the Brain

12/6/11

David Dietz, PhD, investigates cellular changes by which drugs “hijack” the central nervous system’s reward circuitry, causing addiction. He studies how differences in individuals’ molecular and behavioral plasticity mediate susceptibility to drug abuse and relapse.
Diabetes

4/13/12

Suzanne Laychock, PhD, is investigating the cellular mechanisms regulating insulin secretion in pancreatic cells. Her group has used pancreatic cells in primary culture to develop in vitro systems that mimic aspects of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
Improving Breast Cancer Treatments

4/13/12

Rajendram Rajnarayanan, PhD, studies interactomes of the human estrogen receptor, which is expressed in 70 percent of breast cancers. His lab seeks to design molecules to improve the effects of tamoxifen, a drug commonly prescribed to treat breast cancer.
Pesticide Biomarkers

4/13/12

James R. Olson, PhD, has traveled to Egypt to work with cotton laborers exposed to pesticides. His research links genetics, an individual’s degree of exposure to pesticides and effects on health, seeking to improve workplace and environmental health worldwide.
The Genomics of Myelination

4/12/12

Fraser J. Sim, PhD, studies the molecular mechanisms controlling stem and progenitor cell fate in the human brain. His lab seeks to develop novel drug- and cell-based therapies for repair and regeneration in demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis.
Healing Aging Hearts

4/12/12

Ji Li, PhD, studies the molecular mechanisms of coronary artery disease, the most common cause of age-related cardiovascular disease. He seeks novel strategies to boost patients’ tolerance of cardiac stressor events and prevent their loss of cardiac resilience.

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