Student Directory

Hometown: Tomball, TX

Undergraduate Education:  BS/09 Chemistry/Boston

Research Interest:  Focuses on studying epigenetic modifications in T-cell leukemias and the potential to overcome therapeutic resistance through the use of drugs that modify the epigenome.

Advisor: Thomas Loughran, MD/Elliot Epner, MD
Graduate Program: Molecular Medicine
Thesis: (title tba)

Description:  studying the effects of vorinostat and cladribine as histone deacetylase inhibitors and methyltransferase inhibitors, respectively, in T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) and large granular lymphocytic leukemia (T-LGL).  Specifically, I am focusing on their effect on and the role of the tribbles1 pseudokinase in the regulation of MAPK pathway activation in order to better understand the highly aggressive growth pattern of T-PLL and gain insight into the normal biology of tribbles1 and its role in cell growth and survival. Tribbles1 is a scaffod protein that has the ability to ubiquinate CEBP transcription factors and to bind downstream MAPK signalling proteins such as MEK and ERK, making it well suited to regulate mitogen signalling.  Its function is complex.  Indeed, both  over and under expression of tribbles1 has been shown to contribute to leukemogenesis.  In line with this, we have observed low levels of tribbles1 in T-PLL and high levels in T-LGL, providing support to the theory that scaffold protein concentrations must be maintained at defined levels to be effective.

Meeting Presentations

Zhao HZ, Zhou S, Hasanali Z, et al (2008) Influence of Pressure on Silicon Nanowire Growth Kinetics  J of Physical Chem C112 5695-5698

Yuan G, Zhao H, Liu X, Hasanali ZS, Zou Y, Levine A, Wang D (2009) Synthesis and photoelectrochemical study of vertically aligned silicon nanowire arrays Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 48(51):9680-4

Hasanali Z, Sharma K, Epner E (2012) Flipping the cyclin D1 switch in mantle cell lymphoma Best Pract Res Clin Haematol 25(2):143-152