TTUHSC School of Medicine
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Brandt Schneider, Ph.D.

Associate Professor brandt.schneider@ttuhsc.edu

Biography

2006 - Current Associate Professor of Cell Biology & Biochemistry
Texas Tech University Health Science Center
1999 - 2006 Assistant Professor of Cell Biology & Biochemistry
Texas Tech University Health Science Center
1993 - 1998 Postdoctoral Fellow
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
1987 - 1993 University of Arizona
Ph. D. in Microbiology and Immunology
Minor in Biochemistry
1981 - 1986 University of Washington
B. S. in Microbiology

Research Interests

Our laboratory uses genetic, biochemical, and molecular tools to investigate the intricate connection between cellular proliferation, cell size, and aging. In cancer, for example, cells are hyper-proliferative but are thought not to age. In contrast, heart disease is brought on in part by the inability of old cells to regenerate damaged tissue. My lab has recently made the interesting finding that proliferative capacity and the rate at which cells age appears to be linked to cell size. Because enzymes known as G1-phase cyclin dependent kinases (Cdks) modulate cell size, we hypothesize that the failure of dividing cancer cells to age/die, and the inability of old cells to proliferate is mechanistically linked to G1-phase Cdk activity. Thus, the major objectives of our lab are to dissect the molecular mechanisms that link G1-phase Cdk activity to cell size and to dissect the genetic pathways that that connect cell size regulation to proliferative capacity and lifespan determination in both yeast and mammalian cells.


Publications