Appointments:

Associate Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Faculty, Chemistry and Biochemistry PhD Programs, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York

Degrees:

D. Physical Chemistry

Research Focus:    

Osteocalcin  (5850 MW), is one of the most abundant noncollagenous proteins in bone. Several studies have provided a role for osteocalcin in bone remodeling, enhancing mineral deposition, regulating crystal morphology. Some studies have shown undercarboxylated osteocalcin can activate important membrane receptors, some of which are involved in glucose homeostasis, brain development and function as well as some forms of cancer. My lab investigates protein structure using NMR and x-ray crystallography and investigates the interaction of proteins with membrane receptors. Structural studies of osteocalcin and its interaction with important membrane receptors may shed light on the etiology of some forms of cancer.

Selected Publications 

Yildirim G, Budell WC, Berezovska O, Yagerman S, Maliath SS, Mastrokostas P, Tommasini S, Dowd TL. Lead induced differences in bone properties in osteocalcin +/+ and -/- female mice. Bone Rep. 2023 Jun;18:101672. doi: 10.1016/j.bonr.2023.101672. eCollection 2023 Jun. PubMed PMID: 37064000; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10090701.

Diegel CR, Hann S, Ayturk UM, Hu JCW, Lim KE, Droscha CJ, Madaj ZB, Foxa GE, Izaguirre I, Transgenics Core VVA, Paracha N, Pidhaynyy B, Dowd TL, Robling AG, Warman ML, Williams BO. An osteocalcin-deficient mouse strain without endocrine abnormalities. PLoS Genet. 2020 May;16(5):e1008361. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008361. eCollection 2020 May. PubMed PMID: 32463812; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7255615.

Berezovska O, Yildirim G, Budell WC, Yagerman S, Pidhaynyy B, Bastien C, van der Meulen MCH, Dowd TL. Osteocalcin affects bone mineral and mechanical properties in female mice. Bone. 2019 Nov;128:115031. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2019.08.004. Epub 2019 Aug 8. PubMed PMID: 31401301; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8243730.

Bargiello TA, Oh S, Tang Q, Bargiello NK, Dowd TL, Kwon T. Gating of Connexin Channels by transjunctional-voltage: Conformations and models of open and closed states. Biochim Biophys Acta Biomembr. 2018 Jan;1860(1):22-39. doi: 10.1016/j.bbamem.2017.04.028. Epub 2017 May 2. Review. PubMed PMID: 28476631; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5668201.

Batir Y, Bargiello TA, Dowd TL. Structural studies of N-terminal mutants of Connexin 26 and Connexin 32 using (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2016 Oct 15;608:8-19. doi: 10.1016/j.abb.2016.06.019. Epub 2016 Jul 1. PubMed PMID: 27378082; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5051353.

Grants over the last 5 years

Agency: National Institutes of Health (R01)
Grant Number: GM098584
Period:   9/1/2012 – 2/29/2017
Role: Co-Principal Investigator with Bargiello
Title: Structure-Function Relation of Connexin Disease Mutations