Faculty
Marcus S. Cooke
Professor and Chair
CONTACT
Office: ISA 6206
Email
BIO
EDUCATION
B.Sc. (Hons). The Biomedical Sciences, Liverpool Polytechnic (England).
M.Sc. Molecular Pathology and Toxicology, University of Leicester (England).
Ph.D. Genomic Instability, University of Leicester/Medical Research Council Centre for Mechanisms for Human
Toxicity (England).
Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists (F.R.C.Path), London, England.
RESEARCH
The Oxidative Stress Group studies oxidative stress, and genomic instability: from basic mechanisms to translational application of validated biomarkers to study human health and disease. Specifically, the formation and repair of damage to nuclear/mitochondrial DNA and the nucleotide precursor pools; and the development and application of DNA adductomics i.e. (i) the totality of DNA adducts in cellular DNA, and urine; (ii) the genome-wide mapping of DNA damage.
This approach is currently being applied such areas as: the study of chemoresistance in ovarian cancer; modulation of host DNA damage responses by bacteria; urinary adductomics for the identification of cancer risk factors; the relative contribution of DNA repair pathways to maintaining genomic stability; and influence of skin type of the DNA damage response.
Translating such laboratory findings to the marketplace, is a priority, and actively pursued. This has resulted in three US and one UK patents, license agreements, industry collaborations and a STTR award from NIEHS.
Available Technologies