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Debra F. Skafar, Ph.D., earned her doctorate in Molecular Biology at Vanderbilt University and went on to do postdoctoral research in the Biophysics department of the University of Rochester in New York. Dr. Skafar's research interests are in the fundamental molecular mechanisms of action of the steroid hormone, estrogen, as well as the protein through which it carries out its biological activity, the estrogen receptor.
1982 -83 Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, Shrewsbury, MA
1983-87 University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, Department of Biophysics. Dr. Angelo C. Notides, Advisor
Dr. Skafar's work is focused on understanding how the binding of hormone and drugs alters the conformation of the estrogen receptor, and how this in turn alters the receptor's binding to DNA, formation of receptor dimers, interaction with coregulatory proteins, and ability to alter transcription (for example, see Zhao et al, 2003). Her laboratory uses molecular biological and biochemical techniques to study the changes steroids of different biological activity induce in the conformation of the receptor, as well as the influence of the protein's structure on the ability to undergo these changes in conformation and alter biological activity. Her laboratory complements the experimental data with molecular modeling. Her laboratory has identified regions in the receptor that are critical in determining the conformation of the receptor when bound to specific ligands, and which are necessary for the activity of specific ligands. In addition to the fundamental knowledge of receptor structure and function gained, a better understanding of the mechanism through which the steroid hormones regulate cellular functions should lead to innovative therapies for reproductive disorders and breast cancer, as well as the development of new compounds with highly selective activity.