Resume

• 2016

  DeVry Education Group

  Shealy Environmental Services

  Inc.

  United States

  Visiting Professor

  DeVry Education Group

  Hagerstown

  MD

  Assistant Professor

  Hagerstown Community College

  My dissertation was focused on mechanical stimulation and its affect on mast cell activation. Published work shows that mast cell activation is increased during mechanical stretch. A response that is mediated by RGD-integrins. I have also investigated the role mechanical stimulation plays in mast cell mediated fibrosis and extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover/remodeling. In addition

  I assisted in characterizing molecular and cellular differences between cardiac fibroblast from healthy and diabetic rats when seeded on various ECM substrates.

  Graduate Student

  Columbia

  South Carolina Area

  University of South Carolina

  West Columbia

  SC

  Conducted whole effluent toxicity (WET) acute and chronic testing on freshwater samples and specimen for point and non-point source national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit. This helped local companies maintain compliance with SCDHEC

  EPA and NELAC regulations.\n

  Aquatic Toxicologist

  Shealy Environmental Services

  Inc.

  Characterized the remodeling of the valvular extracellular matrix (ECM) during development in various proteoglycan-specific transgenic knockout mouse models.\n

  Medical University of South Carolina

  Human Anatomy and Physiology Society

  Member

• 2014

  Hagerstown Community College

  Medical University of South Carolina

  OnAssignment Staffing/Leiner Health Products

  Addecco Technical/ BASF

  the chemical company

  Morgan State University

  Baltimore

  Maryland Area

  Adjunct Instructor

  Morgan State University

  Primary responsibility was to safely assist in new product development and applications and conduct experiments under the direction of the scientists in the team. In addition

  I safely synthesized new polymer products

  characterized the polymers

  and prepared final ink and coating formulations for applications tests.\n

  Polyadhesive and Paint Technician

  Charlotte

  North Carolina Area

  Addecco Technical/ BASF

  the chemical company

  Hagerstown

  MD

  Full-time faculty member in the Math and Science Division teaching anatomy and physiology to pre-nursing and allied health majors.

  Anatomy and Physiology Instructor

  Hagerstown Community College

  Fort Mill

  SC

  Assisted validation team members with the generation of FDA approved pharmaceutical validation Installation Qualification (IQ)

  Operational Qualification (OQ)

  and Performance Qualification (PQ) documents and agendas; also performed IQ

  OQ

  and PQ testing plans on various packaging and manufacturing equipment. \n

  Validation Technician

  OnAssignment Staffing/Leiner Health Products

  Participated in the execution of grant funded research

  while taking graduate level courses and preparing for GRE placement test. \n

  Post-Baccalaureate Research Scholar

  Columbia

  South Carolina Area

  University of South Carolina

• 2008

  English

  Ph.D

  Conducted dissertation topic on the mast cell’s response to mechanical stimulation\n

  Integrated Biomedical Sciences

  BGSA

  AAAS

  USC SOM Alumni Association Board Member

  USC SOM Wellness Committee Board

  United Way Midlands Tutor

  and Undergraduate Mentor.

  University of South Carolina-Columbia

• 2002

  BS

  Conducted undergraduate research in biochemistry.

  Chemistry

  Women's Basketball

  Winthrop University

• 2000

  General Studies

  Was an athlete and a Chemistry major

  Science

  Played Women's Basketball

  Hagerstown Community College

  Certificate for Online Adjunct Training (C.O.A.T)

  On-line (remote) Education

• Volunteered in United Way's literacy program where I assisted in teaching children in pre-K

  how to read

  write and understand phonics.

  United Way of Midland

  Christian Education and Community Life Development Leader

  Metropolitan Community Church of Baltimiore

  Science

  Research

  Staining

  Immunofluorescence

  Confocal Microscopy

  Cell

  PCR

  Molecular Biology

  Adhesives

  RNA isolation

  Gel Electrophoresis

  Cell Biology

  Fluorescence Microscopy

  Biomedical Engineering

  Immunohistochemistry

  HPLC

  Cell Culture

  Protein Chemistry

  Protein Purification

  Western Blotting

  Interaction of human tRNA-dihydrouridine synthase-2 with interferon-induced protein kinase PKR.

  Rekha C. Patel

  Chandrashekhar V. Patel

  Indhira Handy

  TuAnh Khuu

  Andrea Frump

  Megan Mittelstadt

  PKR is an interferon (IFN)-induced protein kinase

  which is involved in regulation of antiviral innate immunity

  stress signaling

  cell proliferation and programmed cell death. Although a low amount of PKR is expressed ubiquitously in all cell types in the absence of IFNs

  PKR expression is induced at transcriptional level by IFN. PKR's enzymatic activity is activated by its binding to one of its activators. Double-stranded (ds) RNA

  protein activator PACT and heparin are the three known activators of PKR. Activation of PKR in cells leads to a general block in protein synthesis due to phosphorylation of eIF2α on serine 51 by PKR. PKR activation is regulated very tightly in mammalian cells and a prolonged activation of PKR leads to apoptosis. Thus

  positive and negative regulation of PKR activation is important for cell viability and function. The studies presented here describe human dihydrouridine synthase-2 (hDUS2) as a novel regulator of PKR. We originally identified hDUS2 as a protein interacting with PACT in a yeast two-hybrid screen. Further characterization revealed that hDUS2 also interacts with PKR through its dsRNA binding/dimerization domain and inhibits its kinase activity. Our results suggest that hDUS2 may act as a novel inhibitor of PKR in cells

  Interaction of human tRNA-dihydrouridine synthase-2 with interferon-induced protein kinase PKR.

  Edie C. Goldsmith

  Sarah C. Baxter

  Catherine J. Murphy

  Mary O. Morales

  John W. Stone

  Little is known about how age influences the ways in which cardiac fibroblasts interact with the extracellular matrix. We investigated the deformation of collagen substrates by neonatal and adult rat cardiac fibroblasts in monolayer and three-dimensional (3D) cultures

  and quantified the expression of three collagen receptors [discoidin domain receptor (DDR)1

  DDR2

  and β1 integrin] and the contractile protein alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in these cells. We report that adult fibroblasts contracted 3D collagen substrates significantly less than their neonate counterparts

  whereas no differences were observed in monolayer cultures. Adult cells had lower expression of β1 integrin and α-SMA than neonate cultures

  and we detected significant correlations between the expression of α-SMA and each of the collagen receptors in neonate cells but not in adult cells. Consistent with recent work demonstrating age-dependent interactions with myocytes

  our results indicate that interactions between cardiac fibroblasts and the extracellular matrix change with age.

  Age-dependent expression of collagen receptors and deformation of type I collagen substrates by rat cardiac fibroblasts.

  Rekha C. Patel

  Chandrashekhar V. Patel

  Indhira Handy

  Madhurima Singh

  Cellular stresses such as disruption of calcium homeostasis

  inhibition of protein glycosylation

  and reduction of disulfide bonds result in accumulation of misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and lead to cell death by apoptosis. Tunicamycin

  which is an inhibitor of protein glycosylation

  induces ER stress and apoptosis. In this study

  we examined the involvement of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-activated protein kinase (PKR) and its protein activator PACT in tunicamycin-induced apoptosis. We demonstrate for the first time that PACT is phosphorylated in response to tunicamycin and is responsible for PKR activation by direct interaction. Furthermore

  PACT-induced PKR activation is essential for tunicamycin-induced apoptosis

  since PACT as well as PKR null cells are markedly resistant to tunicamycin and show defective eIF2α phosphorylation and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP

  also known as GADD153) induction especially at low concentrations of tunicamycin. Reconstitution of PKR and PACT expression in the null cells renders them sensitive to tunicamycin

  thus demonstrating that PACT-induced PKR activation plays an essential function in induction of apoptosis.\r\n\r\n

  Essential role of PACT-mediated PKR activation in tunicamycin-induced apoptosis.

  Wayne Carver

  Mechanical loading promotes mast cell degranulation via RGD-integrin dependent pathways

  Edie C. Goldsmith

  Jack G. Goldsmith

  Wayne Carver

  Brittany Law

  Diabetes is an increasing public health problem that is expected to escalate in the future due to the growing incidence of obesity in the western world. While this disease is well known for its devastating effects on the kidneys and vascular system

  diabetic individuals can develop cardiac dysfunction

  termed diabetic cardiomyopathy

  in the absence of other cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension or atherosclerosis. While much effort has gone into understanding the effects of elevated glucose or altered insulin sensitivity on cellular components within the heart

  significant changes in the cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM) have also been noted. In this review article we highlight what is currently known regarding the effects diabetes has on both the expression and chemical modification of proteins within the ECM and how the fibrotic response often observed as a consequence of this disease can contribute to reduced cardiac function.\r\n

  Diabetes-induced alterations in the extracellular matrix and their impact on myocardial function.

  Vennece

  Fowlkes

  University of South Carolina