Dottie Hutter, Ph.D.

Dr. Dorothy Hutter

Assistant Professor, Biology Department

Edison Science Hall 147B

(732)263-5546

dhutter@monmouth.edu

Current Office Hours:

Wednesday/Thursday 11:30 – 1:30 pm

FYE (Freshmen only): Monday 1 – 3 pm

Friday 11:30 – 1:30 pm

Background:

B.A., Biology, Immaculata College (1993)

Ph.D., The Catholic University of America (1998)

Post-doctoral research fellowship: The National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging (NIA), Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology (1998 – 2000)

Teaching fellowship: Villanova University (2000 – 2002)

Research Project Summary:

Cellular proliferation is a stringently controlled process, regulated through the activity of extracellular signaling molecules which control the expression of genes that respond to promote or repress growth. Despite the growing understanding of the cell surface molecules involved in negative growth control, the mechanism for transducing these signals to the nucleus is still not clear. The overall hypothesis of this proposed work is that during the transition from an actively proliferating to a contact inhibited state, there are changes in the activation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases and/or the MAP kinase phosphatases (MKPs) which negatively regulate them. Further, these changes may promote the ability of normal fibroblasts to undergo the transition to a quiescent state, and/or influence the apoptosis of epithelial cells seen under contact inhibited culture conditions.

Previous results in our laboratory have shown that the level of active ERK is decreased upon contact inhibition in normal fibroblasts, and this decrease is correlated with an increase in the level of MAP kinase phosphatases (Wayne et al, 2006). Currently, we are extending this work to other MAP kinase families. Despite the understanding of the importance of MAP kinase activation in the stimulation of growth, little is known about the role of negative regulation by MKPs in growth control or apoptosis. The experiments proposed here will lead to new insights on the role of MAP kinase pathways in regulation of growth control and the response to cellular stress under conditions of low culture density versus a contact inhibited state.

Link to Publications

Link to Presentations

Professional Memberships:

The American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP)

The Metropolitan Association of College and University Biologists (MACUB)

Courses Taught:

BY 101: Issues and Methods - Biology

BY 110: Principles of Biology

BY 323L: Microbiology Laboratory

BY 375L: Laboratory in Cellular and Molecular Biology