Heitman Lab Members

Marianna Feretzaki Graduate Student 315 CARL Building Box 3546 DUMC Durham, N.C. 27710 Phone: 919.684.2809 Fax: 919.684.5458 Email:marianna.feretzaki@duke.edu

Hi everyone! My name is Marianna Feretzaki, and I am a graduate student in UPGG. I am originally from Crete, Greece, where I obtained my BS in Biology from the University of Crete. My undergraduate research focused on the fragile site FRA10AC1 and particularly in the interaction of the FRA10AC1p with proteins involved in the DiGeorge syndrome. During my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to visit the United States and work as a summer student in Dr. Jeffrey Medeiros' lab at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. While at MD Anderson, I visited Baylor College of Medicine where I met Dr. Susan Rosenberg who studies the hierarchy of DNA polymerases on the beta-clamp.

In 2007, I joined the UPGG program, which caught my attention for its wide variety of research areas and for the wonderful people. In addition, Duke University is an excellent place for science and, combined with the great campus environment, makes graduate school a memorable experience.

In 2008, my passion for the exciting world of mycology led me to join Dr. Heitman's lab. I am studying the conserved pathway of mating and the hyphae development in the human fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans. Currently, I am performing a genetic screen to identify novel genes or pathways that govern mating and hyphae development in Cryptococcus.

Outside of the lab, I spend my time reading, watching movies, and, my favorite thing, traveling.

Publications:

Lin X, Jackson JC, Feretzaki M, Xue C, Heitman J. Transcription factors Mat2 and Znf2 operate cellular circuits orchestrating opposite- and same-sex mating in Cryptococcus neoformans. PLoS Genetics 6:e1000953, 2010.

Oyarzo MP, Medeiros LJ, Atwell C, Feretzaki M, Leventaki V, Drakos E, Amin HM, Rassidakis GZ. c-FLIP confers resistance to FAS-mediated apoptosis in anaplastic large-cell lymphoma. Blood 107:2544-7, 2006.

Rassidakis GZ, Feretzaki M, Atwell C, Grammatikakis I, Lin Q, Lai R, Claret FX, Medeiros LJ, Amin HM. Inhibition of Akt increases p27Kip1 levels and induces cell cycle arrest in anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Blood 105:827-9, 2005.

Amin HM, Medeiros LJ, Ma Y, Feretzaki M, Das P, Leventaki V, Rassidakis GZ, O'Connor SL, McDonnell TJ, Lai R. Inhibition of JAK3 induces apoptosis and decreases anaplastic lymphoma kinase activity in anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Oncogene 22:5399-407, 2003.

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