Dr. Matthew Dodson Promoted to Research Assistant Professor

Jan. 18, 2021

 

As of January 2021, Dr. Matthew Dodson has been promoted to Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the College of Pharmacy! He was a post-doctoral researcher working with UA SRC Associate Director, Dr. Donna D. Zhang from 2015-2020.

Dr. Dodson’s work as a post-doctoral researcher focuses on the link between the Nrf2-Keap1 antioxidant defense pathway and the autophagy lysosomal pathway during the progression of metabolic diseases linked to chronic exposure to the environmental toxicant arsenic, such as cancer and type II diabetes. His latest work in Dr. Zhang’s lab has shown that arsenic inhibits autophagic flux, resulting in the prolonged activation of the Nrf2-Keap1 pathway.

Dr. Dodson is interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate the interplay between metabolism, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, and autophagy during disease pathogenesis. His PhD dissertation focused on the regulation of autophagy in neurons in response to oxidative and metabolic stress.

In 2020, Dr. Dodson continued his work determining the mechanisms by which arsenic exposure increases the risk of developing type II diabetes. In May 2020, he gave a Qiagen sponsored webinar on his project investigating the transcription factor Nrf2 as a critical driver of arsenic-promoted diabetogenic effects in the liver. Dr. Dodson also contributed to five published manuscripts, including as co-first author on one.

He plans to continue investigating the link between the Nrf2-Keap1 pathway and autophagy regulation during increased metabolic and oxidative stress to gain a better understanding of how the antioxidant response, mitochondrial health and autophagy are linked, particularly in disease models like type II diabetes, where metabolic and oxidative dysfunction are prevalent. 

Our most sincere congratulations to Dr. Matthew Dodson for his recent promotion to Research Assistant Professor! 
 

Professor Dodson’s most recent publications:

  • Schmidlin CJ, Dodson M, Zhang DD (2020). Filtering through the role of Nrf2 in kidney disease. Archives of Pharmacal Research. 43(3):361-369.
     
  • Liu P, Dodson M, Fang D, Chapman E, Zhang DD (2020). NRF2 negatively regulates primary ciliogenesis and hedgehog signaling. PLoS Biology. 18(2):e3000620.
     
  • Anandhan A, *Dodson M, Schmidlin CJ, Liu P, Zhang DD (2020). Death by ferroptosis: Breakdown of an ironclad defense system. Cell Chemical Biology. 27(4):436-447.
     
  • Schmidlin CJ, Zeng T, Liu P, Wei Y, Dodson M, Chapman E, Zhang DD (2020). Chronic arsenic exposure enhances metastatic potential via NRF2-mediated upregulation of SOX9. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. 402: 115138.
     
  • Liu P, Luo G, Dodson M, Schmidlin CJ, Wei, Y, Kerimoglu B, Ooi A, Chapman E, Garcia JGNG, Zhang DD (2020). The NRF2-LOC344887 signaling axis suppresses pulmonary fibrosis. Redox Biology. 38: 101766.

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