PHARMACOLOGY FACULTY
Selected Publications
  • Rohena, CC., Peng, J., Johnson, TA., Crews, P. and Mooberry, SL. (2013) Chemically Diverse Microtubule Stabilizing Agents Initiate Distinct Mitotic Defects and Dysregulated Expression of Key Mitotic Kinases. Biochem Pharmacol., Feb. 8, 2013 Epub ahead of print.
  • Gangjee, A., Zaware, N., Devambatla, RK., Raghavan, S., Westbrook, CD., Dybdal-Hargreaves, NF., Hamel, E. and Mooberry, SL. (2013) Synthesis of N(4)-(substituted phenyl)-N(4)-alkyl/desalkyl-9H-pyrimido[4,5-b]indole-2,4-diamines and identification of new microtubule disrupting compounds that are effective against multidrug resistant cells. Bioorg Med Chem., 21:891-902.
  • Peng, J., Hartley, RM., Fest, GA. and Mooberry, SL. (2012) Amyrisins A-C,O -prenylated flavonoids from Amyris madresis. J. Nat. Prod., 75: 494-496.
  • Hartley, RM., Peng, J., Fest, GA., Dakshanamurthy, S., Frantz, DE., Brown, ML., and Mooberry, SL. (2012) Polygamain, a New Microtubule Depolymerizing Agent that Occupies a Unique Pharmacophore in the Colchicine Site. Mol Pharmacol., 81:431-439.
  • Da, C., Telang, N., Barelli, P., Jia, X., Gupton, JT., Mooberry, SL. and Kellog, GE. (2012) Pyrrole-Based Antitubulin Agents: Two Distinct Binding Modalities Are Predicted for C-2 Analogues in the Colchicine Site. ACS Med. Chem. Lett., 3:53–57.
  • Li, J., Risinger, AL., Peng, J., Chen, Z., Hu, L. and Mooberry, SL. (2011) Potent Taccalonolides, AF and AJ, Inform Significant Structure Activity Relationships and Tubulin as the Binding Site of These Microtubule Stabilizers. J Am Chem Soc., 133: 19064-19067.
  • Peng, J., Risinger, AL., Fest, GA., Jackson, EM., Helms, G., Polin, LA. and Mooberry, SL. (2011) Identification and biological activities of new taccalonolides microtubule stabilizers. J Med Chem., 54: 6117-24.
  • Risinger, AL. and Mooberry, SL. (2011) Cellular studies reveal mechanistic differences between taccalonolide A and paclitaxel. Cell Cycle, 10, 2162-2171.
NAME
 

Susan Mooberry

Professor of Pharmacology

Co-leader of Experimental  and Developmental Therapeutics, CTRC at UTHSCSA

Ph.D., Medical University of South Carolina

Office: 210-567-4788
Email: mooberry@uthscsa.edu

 

View video introduction to Dr. Mooberry's lab

 

Cancer Therapy and Research Center - Research and Education

 

Keywords

drug discovery, breast cancer, anti-mitotic agents, natural products

 

Research Summary

Our research is dedicated to the discovery of more effective therapies for the treatment of cancer, primarily breast cancer. There are several aspects to our work including drug discovery, identification of the mechanisms of drug action, the nature of drug resistance, identifying rational drug combinations and elucidation of the signaling pathways by which anti-mitotic agents initiate mitotic arrest and apoptosis.


We conduct a drug discovery program to identify new anticancer agents from natural products and from small molecule chemical libraries. With collaborators all over the world we evaluate extracts and compounds from marine organisms and plants to identify new drug leads. We have an extensive library of plant extracts that have been evaluated for a variety of biological activities including cytotoxic actions against breast and prostate cancer cell lines. The active compounds are being isolated using bioassay-guided fractionation.


After discovering new agents we identify their molecular mechanisms of action. This includes identifying the cellular binding site and how they work to impact cancer cell survival. We are currently investigating new microtubule stabilizers, anti-angiogenics and vascular disrupting agents.


Antimitotic drugs are some of the most effective used in cancer therapy, but the signaling pathways that lead from inhibition of mitotic spindle dynamics to initiation of apoptosis is not yet known. We are elucidating these pathways to identify new drug targets that can yield the efficacy of microtubule disrupting drugs without tubulin-related limiting toxicities.


• Lab Personnel •

Dr. Jiangnan Peng - Assistant Professor/Research

Dr. April Risinger - Instructor/Research

Dr. Jing Li - Postdoctoral Fellow

Cynthia Zammiello - Research Associate

Wentao Dai - Graduate Student

Nicholas Dybdal-Hargreaves - Graduate Student

Rachel Hartley - Graduate Student

Peter LoCoco - Graduate Student (Co-mentored by William Clarke, Ph.D.)

Andrew Robles - Graduate Student

Christina Rohena-Cardona - Graduate Student