Thyroid hormone is essential for normal brain development. The main focus of research in the laboratory is to understand the molecular mechanism(s) by which thyroid hormone affects brain development and brain function. We pursue this goal within the context of two large projects. First, we are cloning genes expressed in the fetal brain that are regulated by maternal thyroid hormone. These genes have led us to examine the effect of thyroid hormone on cortical cell proliferation, differentiation and fate specification. Second, we are examining the mechanisms by which thyroid hormone action can be disrupted by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These chemicals are structurally similar to thyroid hormone. PCBs are known to affect neural development and they can alter circulating levels of thyroid hormone.
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Flawed Experimental Design Reveals the Need for Guidelines Requiring Appropriate Positive Controls in Endocrine Disruption Research (with F.S. vom Saal, B. T. Akingbemi, S. M. Belcher, D. A. Crain, D. Crews, L. C. Guidice, P. A. Hunt, C. Leranth, J. P. Myers, A. Nadal, N. Olea, V. Padmanabhan, C. S. Rosenfield, A. Schneyer, G. Schoenfelder, C. Sonnenenschein, A. M. Soto, R. W. Stahlhut, S. H. Swan, L. N. Vandenberg, H. S. Wang, C. S. Watson, and W. V. Welshons), Toxicological Sciences (2010)
A study published in Toxicological Sciences (Ryan et al., 2009) illustrates the importance of examining...
Thyroid Hormone May Regulate mRNA Abundance in Liver by Acting on MicroRNAs (with H. Doug, M. Paquette, A. Williams, M. Wade, and C. Yauk), PLoS ONE (2010)
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are extensively involved in diverse biological processes. However, very little is known about...
A Clash of Old and New Scientific Concepts in Toxicity, with Important Implications for Public Health (with J. P. Myers and F. S. vom Saal), Environmental Health Perspective (2009)
Background A core assumption of current toxicologic procedures used to establish health standards for chemical...
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: An Endocrine Society Scientific Statement (with E. Diamanti-Kandarakis, J. P. Bourguignon, L. C. Giudice, R. Hauser, G. S. Prins, A. M. Soto, and A. C. Gore), Endocrine Reviews (2009)
There is growing interest in the possible health threat posed by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which...
Identification of Thyroid Hormone Receptor Binding Sites and Target Genes Using ChIP-on-Chip in Developing Mouse Cerebellum (with H. Dong, C. L. Yauk, A. Rowan-Carroll, S. H. You, I Lambert, and M. G. Wade), PLoS ONE (2009)
Thyroid hormone (TH) is critical to normal brain development, but the mechanisms operating in this...