Research Team
Alexei G. Basnakian, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc. (Principal Investigator)
I am mostly interested in apoptotic endonucleases, the key enzymes regulating irreversible cell death after cell injury and during diseases. The nine known endonucleases seem to act by fragmenting DNA independently from each other. Our latest studies show the crosstalk between the endonucleases through several mechanisms. When necessary, tissues can protect themselves by inactivating endonucleases, while in other cases, the endonucleases activate each other and cooperate. By learning the mechanisms of this regulation, we hope to find universal cures for many human diseases including organ failures and cancers.
Alena Savenka, M.S. (Research Assistant)
Alena Savenka, M.S., has worked in this laboratory and the DNA Damage and Toxicology Core since 2008. Her responsibilities include tissue processing and embedding, cryosectioning, immunostaining for light and fluorescent microscopy, and TUNEL assay. She also performs imaging using epifluorescence and confocal microscopes as well as quantitative image analyses.
Todd Fite (Research Assistant)
Todd Fite has worked in this lab since 2010. His responsibilities include breeding knockout mice colonies and performing all of the animal studies conducted in this lab. He also performs various surgeries to create different animal models.