Faculty & Staff Details

	Name:	Thomas J. Abbruscato
	Position:	Chair and Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences; Associate Dean, GSBS
	Email:	Thomas.Abbruscato@ttuhsc.edu
	Bio	Dr. Abbruscato joined the Pharmaceutical Sciences faculty in January of 2000. He received both a B.S. (Molecular and Cellular Biology) and Ph.D. (Pharmacology and Toxicology) from the University of Arizona. He continued his education as a NRSA research fellow in the University of Arizona, College of Medicine studying the effects of stroke on the cerebrovasculature. Currently he serves on the Editorial Boards for the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Experimental Stroke and Translational Medicine and Life Sciences. He also has been a chartered NIH study section member for Brain Injury and Neurovascular Pathology (BINP) (2005-2010) and recently the Drug Discovery for the Nervous System (DDNS). His research has been funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and American Heart Association since 1998 to study chronic conditions that worsen both stroke risk and outcome so new therapeutic targets can be identified and delivered to the ischemic brain.

Education:

B.S. Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, 1992

Ph.D. Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Arizona, 1997

NRSA Research Fellow University of Arizona, College of Medicine studying the effects of stroke on the cerebrovasculature, 1997-1999

Research Interests:

Understanding blood-brain barrier (BBB) pathophysiology after stroke is critical since stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the world. Our research investigates the effects of stroke (hypoxia/aglycemia) on nutrient and ion transport across the BBB and expression of tight juctional and cytoskeletal proteins in barrier cell types. Our lab also utilizes in vitro and in vivo models of stroke and predictive models of brain drug delivery. Neurovascular targets for brain protection include ion and nutrient transporters and neuronal opioid receptors. A major goal of our research is to make significant preclinical discoveries that will translate clinically to novel treatments for stroke patients, which unfortunately do not have many viable therapeutic options to improve brain recovery after stroke.

Publications:

Vemula, S, Roder, KR, Yang, T, Bhat, GJ, Thekkumkara, TJ, Abbruscato, TJ Functional role for sodium dependent glucose transport across the blood-brain barrier during oxygen glucose deprivation. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 328(2):487-95, 2009.
Paulson, JR, Yang, T, Selvaraj, PK, Mdzinarishvili, Van der Schyf, AC, Klein, J, Bickel, U, and Abbruscato, TJ Nicotine Exacerbates Brain Edema during in vitro and in vivo Focal Ischemic Conditions. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 332(2): 371-379, 2010.
Yang L, Wang H, Shah K, Karamyan VT, Abbruscato TJ. Opioid receptor agonists reduce brain edema in stroke. Brain Res. 1383:307-16, 2011.
Yang L, Shah K, Wang H, Karamyan VT, Abbruscato TJ. Characteriztion of the effects of biphalin, an opioid receptor agonist, in a model of focal brain ischemia. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 339(2):499-508, 2011.
Yesudas R, Snyder R, Abbruscato TJ Thekkumkara TJ. Functional Role of Sodium Glucose Transporter in High Glucose Mediated Angiotensin Type 1 Receptor Down-Regulation in Human Proximal Tubule Cells, Am J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. 303(5):F766-74, 2012.
Shah, K, Yang, L, Abbruscato, TJ. In vitro models of the blood-brain barrier. Methods in Molecular Biology™ Volume 814, Part 4, 431-449, 2012.
Yang, L, Shah, K, and Abbruscato, TJ. Astrocyte regulation of brain endothelial cell barrier properties. Methods in Molecular Biology™ Volume 814, Part 4, 451-466, 2012.
Yin S, Kaluz S, Devi NS, Jabbar AA, de Noronha RG, Mun J, Zhang Z, Boreddy PR, Wang W, Wang Z, Abbruscato T, Chen Z, Olson JJ, Zhang R, Goodman M, Nicolaou KC, Van Meir EG. Arylsulfonamide KCN1 inhibits in vivo glioma growth and interferes with HIF signaling by disrupting HIF-1a interaction with co-factors p300/CBP. Clin Cancer Res. (In Press) 2012
Shah, K and Abbruscato, TJ. The role of the blood-brain barrier in the pathophysiology and pharmacology of stroke. Current Pharmaceutical Design (In Review) 2012
Shah, K, DeSilva, S, Abbruscato TJ, The Role of Glucose Transporters in Brain Disease: Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease, Int. J. of Molecular Science (In Review) 2012.