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Research Interests:
My laboratory is interested in the study of the interaction between oxidative neurotoxins and intracellular signal transduction cascades in the context of neurologic diseases. In particular, a major focus of the lab is understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in 6-hydroxydopamine-mediated neurotoxicity as a model for Parkinson's disease by studying the influence of this Parkinsonian neurotoxin on mitogen activated protein kinase signaling cascades both in cell culture and animal model systems.
A second area of interest is in the neuropathology of autism spectrum disorders. Specifically, we are interested in a) exploring the role of inflammation and oxidative mediators in these disorders through the study of post-mortem tissue from diseased brains and b) investigating the effect of potential developmental neurotoxins that have been epidemiologically linked to these disorders on human microglia and human neuronal cell lines.
Selected Publications:
Chu CT, Levinthal DJ, Kulich SM, Chalovich EM, DeFranco DB. Oxidative neuronal injury. The dark side of ERK1/2. Eur J Biochem. 2004 Jun;271(11):2060-6. Review.
Kwak EJ, Strollo DC, Kulich SM, Kusne S. Cavitary pneumonia due to Rhodococcus equi in a heart transplant recipient. Transpl Infect Dis. 2003 Mar;5(1):43-6.
SM Kulich & CT Chu (2003) Role of reactive oxygen species in ERK phosphorylation and 6-hydroxydopamine cytotoxicity. J. Biosci 28:83-89.
JH Zhu, SM Kulich, TD Oury & CT Chu (2002) Cytoplasmic aggregates of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases in Lewy body diseases. Am. J. Pathol. 161: 2087-2098.
SM Kulich and CT Chu (2001) Sustained extracellular signal-regulated kinase activation by 6-hydroxydopamine: Implications for Parkinson’s disease. J. Neurochem. 77: 1058-1066.
AM Scarrow, EI Levy, SM Kulich, CT Chu, and PC Gerszten (2001) Epidermoid cyst of the thoracic spine: case history. Clin. Neurol. & Neurosurg. 103:220-222.
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