Kathleen Rundell, PhD

Professor of Microbiology-Immunology
Feinberg School of Medicine

Research Interests:
The research of Dr. Rundell involves the DNA tumor virus, SV40, which enhances the growth and transformation of many cell types. In her laboratory’s studies of the individual viral proteins, the large-T and small-t antigens, they have employed many genetic approaches including microarray analyses. Using adenovirus vectors that individually express the proteins, her lab examined genes expressed by density-arrested primary human fibroblasts only in response to one of the viral proteins. They presently focus on three genes that are only induced by small-t and not by large-T antigen or serum-stimulation. Using sequence information available from the human genome project, they have identified likely promoter regions of these genes and isolated them by PCR amplification. Dr. Rundell has confirmed that these regions drive reporter gene expression and that this is enhanced by small-t antigen. Her laboratory’s current studies will explore the role of these cellular genes in SV40 infection. One ongoing approach is to regulate expression of small-t-induced genes and key cell cycle regulators by RNAi methodologies. This will allow them to determine whether expression of a given cellular protein is necessary for transformation of appropriate target cells.