Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases

Joyce Solheim, Ph.D.

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ACADEMIC DEGREES:

B.S., 1982, Medical Technology, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, MO
M.S., 1989, Microbiology and Immunology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL
Ph.D., 1992, Microbiology and Immunology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

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Phone Number: 402-559-4539
e-mail address: jsolheim@unmc.edu

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• GRANT SUPPORT (last 3 years):

Source:  National Institutes of Health (R01 GM57428)
Title:  ER Protein Effect on Class I MHC Assembly
Principal Investigator:  Joyce Solheim, Ph.D.
Dates of project:  5/1/98-3/31/09

Source:  NIH/NIAID (R21 AI054645)
Title:  Regulation of Antigen Presentation by APLP-2
Principal Investigator:  Joyce Solheim, Ph.D.
Dates of project:  1/1/04-12/31/06                         

Source:   Nebraska Research Initiative
Title:  Program in Molecular Therapeutics
(Title of Project 3:  Molecular Therapy for Immune Augmentation in Pancreatic Cancer)
Principal Investigator:  James Talmadge, Ph.D.
Leader on Project 3:  Joyce Solheim, Ph.D.
Dates of project:  7/1/02-6/30/06

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• PUBLICATIONS (last 3-5 years):

Turnquist, H. R., A. E. Ashour, M. A. Hollingsworth, R. K. Singh, J. E. Talmadge, and J. C. Solheim.  CCL21 induces specific cellular immunity against a pancreatic tumor.  Clin. Immunol. Immunother., accepted contingent on minor revision. 

Chen, Z., M. L. Varney, M. M. Backora, K. Cowan, J. C. Solheim, J. E. Talmadge, and R. K. Singh.  Down-regulation of VEGF-C expression using small interfering RNA vectors in mammary tumors inhibits tumor lymphangiogenesis and spontaneous metastasis and enhances survival.  Cancer Res. 65:9004-9011, 2005. 

Talmadge, J. E., R. K. Singh, and J. Solheim.  Activity of cytokine mediators of dendritic cell chemotaxis and expansion.  In:  Recent Research Developments in Cancer.  Transworld Research Network, 2005. 

Ambagala, A., J. C. Solheim, and S. Srikumaran. Viral evasion of the MHC class I antigen presentation pathway: the battle continues. Vet. Immunol. Immunopath. 107:1-15, 2005. 

Sang, H., V. M. Pisarev, J. Chavez, S. Robinson, Y. Guo, L. Hatcher, C. Munger, J. C. Solheim, R. K. Singh, and J. E. Talmadge.  Murine mammary adenocarcinoma cells transduced with p53 and/or Flt3L induce anti-tumor immune responses.  Cancer Gene Ther., 12:427-437, 2005. 

Petersen, J. L., H. D. Hickman-Miller, M. M. McIlhaney, S. E. Vargas, A. W. Purcell, W. H. Hildebrand, and J. C. Solheim. A charged amino acid residue in the transmembrane/cytoplasmic region of tapasin influences MHC class I assembly and maturation.  J. Immunol. 174:962-969, 2005. 

Turnquist, H. R., K. G. Kohlgraf, M. M. McIlhaney, R. L. Mosley, M. A. Hollingsworth, and J. C. Solheim.  Tapasin decreases immune responsiveness to a model tumor antigen.  J. Clin. Immunol. 24:462-470, 2004. 

Morris, C. R., A. J. Reber, J. L. Petersen, and J. C. Solheim.  Association of intracellular proteins with folded major histocompatibility complex class I molecules.  Immunol. Res. 30:171-180, 2004. 

Ma, W., H. Yu, Q. Wang, H. Jin, J. Solheim, and V. Labhasetwar.  A novel approach for cancer immunotherapy:  tumor cells with anchored superantigen SEA generate effective antitumor immunity.  J. Clin. Immunol. 24:294-301, 2004. 

Reber, A. J., A. E. Ashour, S. N. Robinson, J. E. Talmadge, and J. C. Solheim.  Flt3-ligand bioactivity and pharmacology in neoplasia.  Curr. Drug Targets – Immune, Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders 4:149-157, 2004. 

Turnquist, H. R., J. L. Petersen, S. E. Vargas, M. M. McIlhaney, E. Bedows, W. E. Mayer, A. G. Grandea III, L. Van Kaer, and J. C. Solheim.  The immunoglobulin-like domain of tapasin influences intermolecular interactions.  J. Immunol. 172:2976-2984, 2004. 

Petersen, J. L., C. R. Morris, and J. C. Solheim.  Virus evasion of MHC class I.  J. Immunol. 171:4473-4478, 2003.  

Morris, C. R., J. L. Petersen, S. E. Vargas, H. R. Turnquist, M. M. McIlhaney, S. D. Sanderson, J. T. Bruder, Y. Y. L. Yu, H.-G. Burgert, and J. C. Solheim.  The amyloid precursor-like protein 2 and the adenoviral E3/19K protein both bind to a conformational site on H-2K^d and regulate H-2K^d expression.  J. Biol. Chem. 278:12618-12623, 2003.

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• PREVIOUS GRADUATE STUDENTS/POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS (present location):

Graduate students
Shanna Vargas (graduated 2001), Pathology and Microbiology
Heth Turnquist (current student), Pathology and Microbiology
Abdel-kader Ashour (current student), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Xuede Lin (current student), Cancer Research Graduate Program
Nicole Burns (current student), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Program
Amit Tuli (current student), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Graduate Program

Postdoctoral fellows
Adrian Reber, Ph.D.
Jason Petersen, Ph.D.
 Chantey Morris, Ph.D. (current post-doctoral fellow)
Xiao—jian Wang, M.D. (current post-doctoral fellow)

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• CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS:

A significant advance in the area of immunology has been the characterization of antigens recognized by T lymphocytes. These antigens have been found to be peptides that are derived from tumor- or pathogen-specific proteins and bound to cell surface receptors called major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Once a T lymphocyte has recognized an MHC molecule that bears a tumor- or pathogen-specific peptide, it lyses the cell to prevent further spread of the malignancy or infection. To transport a peptide to the cell surface, the class I MHC heavy chain must first bind to it inside the cell, assisted by a group of proteins called the assembly complex. Our laboratory is studying the assembly of the class I MHC molecule with peptides, with the goal of identifying ways in which that process influences the presentation of antigens to T lymphocytes.  We are also using the knowledge gained from our studies on antigen presentation to develop better immunotherapies for many different types of cancer and infectious disease.

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Excellent facilities and resources for molecular biology, biochemical, and immunology procedures are available.