Dr. Chen's leadership roles include directing NIEHS training program at the University of Arizona for 12 years, coordinating and teaching a large undergraduate course in pharmacology, and interacting with physicians worldwide to develop translational research projects. Under her leadership, the training program has gained yearly trainee positions from 9 to 12, operated with transparency, established External Advisory Board, supported students through University wide selection, balanced the number of trainees per laboratory, fostered training of leadership skills, and supported 45 predoctoral students and 15 postdoctoral fellows.
Dr. Chen's laboratory has been focused on studying the molecular biology of oxidative stress, and she has 15 years of experience in utilizing genomic and proteomic technology to address basic science questions. She has trained 14 postdoctoral fellows, 11 Ph.D. and 4 M.S students. Ongoing research projects in her laboratory include 1) stress induced de novo protein synthesis for organ protection; 2) role of Nrf2 transcription factor in protection against cardiac injury; 3) function of Glucocorticoid Induced Leucine Zipper in the myocardium; 4) pharmacological agents that protect the heart from ischemic and chemotherapeutic injuries; and 5) biomarker discovery for predicting tissue injury due to oxidative stress.
Dr. Chen’s laboratory has well-established expertise in cell biology, molecular biology and animal models of oxidative stress. Her membership at the University of Arizona Cancer Center has brought new opportunities for collaboration in the area of cancer research.
Publications
- Attalah Nee Rezkallah C, Thongkum A, Zhu C, Chen QM. 2020. Resveratrol for protection against statin toxicity in C2C12 and H9c2 cells. J Biochem Mol Toxicol. 34:e22484. doi:10.1002/jbt.22484.
- Lee SC, Zhang J, Strom J, Yang D, Dinh TN, Kappeler K, Chen QM. 2017. G-Quadruplex in the NRF2 mRNA 5’ Untranslated Region Regulates De Novo NRF2 Protein Translation under Oxidative Stress. Mol Cell Biol. 37. doi:10.1128/MCB.00122-16.
- Strom J, Xu B, Tian X, Chen QM. 2016. Nrf2 protects mitochondrial decay by oxidative stress. FASEB J. 30:66–80. doi:10.1096/fj.14-268904.
- Xu B, Zhang J, Strom J, Lee S, Chen QM. 2014. Myocardial ischemic reperfusion induces de novo Nrf2 protein translation. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1842:1638–47. doi:10.1016/j.bbadis.2014.06.002.
- Zhang J, Chen QM. 2013. Far upstream element binding protein 1: a commander of transcription, translation and beyond. Oncogene. 32:2907–16. doi:10.1038/onc.2012.350.