A primary interest of our laboratory is the role of hepatic progenitor cells (oval cells in rodents) in liver carcinogenesis. These progenitor cells are located within the ductules of the hepatic biliary tree and have been implicated in liver repair, regeneration and carcinogenesis. A second area of interest examines cell adhesion molecule interactions with hepatic immune cells in response to liver injury.

Institutions

RIH

Awards

University of Rhode Island Undergraduate Laboratory Research Award, 1993.
Scholarship support to attend "Positional Cloning: Contig to Candidate Gene" Course, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, 1997.
National Institute of Environmental Health Science Predoctoral Training Fellowship, Brown University, 1997 - 1999.
Pathobiology Retreat Poster Competition First Prize, Brown University Pathology Symposium and Pathobiology Retreat, 1999.
Sigma Xi Scientific Honorary, Brown University, Providence, RI, 1999.
Brown University Ph.D. Dissertation Fellowship, 2000.
National Institute of Health Pathology of Newborn and Developmental Diseases Postdoctoral Training Grant, Harvard Medical School, 2001 - 2004.
Travel Fellowship for The 3rd International Symposium on Serpin Biology, Structure and Function, 2002.

Affiliations

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP)
Sigma Xi

Funded Research

NIH RR-P20 RR17695-01 (COBRE grant), Douglas C. Hixson, PI.
03/06-03/07 Pilot project, D. Mills, PI. Nectin-like 5 (Necl-5) interactions with hepatic natural killer (NK) cells during liver regeneration and carcinogenesis, $43,750.

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