Dr. Waneene Dorsey serves as the Ernest Everett Just Endowed Professor in the biology department. She earned her Ph.D. in environmental science from Jackson State University. She has published 15 peer-reviewed articles and has nearly two decades of experience in molecular biology research. Her research uses a toxicogenomic approach to identify molecular targets that cause the onset of cancer. This methodology combines toxicology and genomics to understand how molecular events lead to cancer through exposure to chemicals. Ras mutation through signal disruption is seen in roughly half of all colon cancers and 90% of pancreatic carcinomas. Dorsey is studying the Ras/MAPK pathway, a key signal transducing system that facilitates cancer in mammalian cells. She is identifying molecules that turn on cancer gene proteins in mouse liver cells when they are exposed to chlorinated organic compounds. Once the molecular targets have been identified, they can be blocked by various chemicals. These chemicals have the potential to provide a medicinal tool to help prevent the onset of cancer.

Molecular Biology Research