Urvashi Surti, Associate Professor
Director, Cytogenetics Laboratory, Meggee-Womaens Hospital
PhD, University of Pittsburgh, 1977
Email: usurti@mail.magee.edu
Dr. Surti's research interests include the molecular cytogenetics of pregnancy loss and cancer. Surti is investigating the role of genomic imprinting in human trophoblastic disease and germ cell tumors. Her laboratory was the first to document dispmeric androgenetic conceptions in humans. Her long-term interest has been the elucidation of the genetic events leading to the development of placental abnormalities including complete and partial hydatidiform moles as well as choriocarcinoma. Multiple genetic origins of ovarian teratomas have been documented using cytogenetic and DNA markers. Surti also investigates the cytogenetics, morphology, and growth character-istics of uterine leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas. Uterine leiomyomas occur in 25 to 30 percent of women in reproductive age. These common benign tumors have been recently reported to have specific chromosomal rearrangements. Understanding the biology of these common tumors is important as they are frequent causes of uterine bleeding, abnormal pain, and infertility. Finally, she is applying molecular cytogenetic techniques for the detection of chromosomal abnormalities. FISH using probes consisting of whole chromosome paints, chromosome specific centromeric and telomeric sequences, yeast artificial chromosomes, and single gene copy cosmids are being used to delineate microdeletions and chromosomal rearrangements.
Recent Publication
Pegoraro E., Whitaker J., Mowery-Rushton P.*, Surti U., Lanasa M., Hoffman E.P. Familial skewed X-inactivation: a molecular trait associated with high spontaneous abortion rate maps to Xq28. Am J Hum Genet 61:160-170, 1997.
Sell S.M., Altungoz O., Prowse A.A., Meloni A.M., Surti U., Sandberg A.A. Molecular analysis of chromosome 7q21.3 in uterine leiomyomas: Analysis using markers with linkage to insulin resistance. Cancer Genet Cytogenet 97:1-4, 1997.
Lynch R.A., Piper M., Bankier A., Bhugra B., Surti U., Liu J., Buckler A., Dear P.H., Menon A.G. Genomic and functional map of the chromosome 14 t(12; 14) breakpoint cluster region in uterine leiomyoma. Genomics 52:17-26, 1998.
