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Comparative Pathobiology Group

Pathogenesis/Carcinogenesis of Tumors

Darlene Dixon, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Darlene Dixon, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Group Leader



Tel (919) 541-3814
Fax (919) 541-0637
dixon@niehs.nih.gov

P.O. Box 12233
Mail Drop C2-09
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
Delivery Instructions

Research Summary

The Comparative Pathobiology Group has focused on defining the pathogenesis/carcinogenesis of tumors affecting the reproductive tract of rodents and humans, and assessing the role of environmental and endogenous hormonal factors in the growth of these tumors.

Comparative Pathobiology Group Logo. Circle with microscope graphic and lab text in center with four areas surrounding: humans with rodent, slide with tissue sample, cell with nucleus, and a group of muscle cells.

The group has used cell lines, archival mouse tissue and human clinical samples to investigate the influence of growth factors/receptors and their signaling pathways on uterine leiomyoma (fibroid) growth. The clinical tissues used are leiomyoma and patient-matched myometrial samples taken from cycle-staged, premenopausal women that are part of the NIEHS/George Washington University Fibroid Study. The rodent tissue samples are from either in-house studies or the archives of the NTP.

By understanding the basic mechanisms of disease, therapeutic interventions can be developed that will help spawn alternative non-invasive treatments for clinical fibroids and other diseases.

Major areas of research:

  • Determination of the role of growth factors/receptors and their signaling pathways in regulating uterine fibroid growth
  • Investigation of the effects of endogenous and environmental hormones on uterine fibroid growth
  • Characterization of in vitro and animal models for studying the pathogenesis of uterine fibroids

Current projects:

Darlene Dixon, D.V.M., Ph.D., leads the Comparative Pathobiology Group within the Cellular and Molecular Pathology Branch. She earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) degree in 1982 at Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine and her Ph.D. in 1985 at Michigan State University. She served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at The Rockefeller University before joining NIEHS in 1987. She is a Diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP board certified in 1987).

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Last Reviewed: September 05, 2008