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The University of Tennessee

The College of Veterinary Medicine

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Faculty

Hildegard M. Schuller, DVM, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor, Chief Experimental Oncology Laboratory
Department of Pathobiology
College of Veterinary Medicine
The University of Tennessee
2407 River Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996
Phone: (865) 974-8217
FAX: (865) 974-

Education

  • 1971 - DVM Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany.
  • 1972 - PhD, Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover, Germany.
  • 1977 - Habilitation, Experimental Oncology, Medical School, Hannover, Germany.

Training

  • Veterinary Medicine, Pathology, Experimental Oncology.

Teaching

  • Mechanisms of Disease/Chemical Carcinogenesis for Graduate Students.

Research Interests

Dr. Schuller's research has been dedicated to the study of lung cancer and perinatal carcinogenesis for over 20 years. She has retained uninterrupted fundings for this research by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Foundations, and pharmaceutical industry since she joined the University of Tennessee in 1985. The Lung Cancer Program currently focuses on the role of nicotinic receptor and serotonin pathways for the regulation of small cell lung carcinoma, adrenergic receptors for the regulation of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, and the interaction of tobacco-specific toxicants with such pathways. The perinatal carcinogenesis program currently focuses on the role of beta-adrenergic receptors and ethanol for the regulation of pancreatic cancer.

Selected Publications (from a total of 181)

  • Merryman, J.I., Park, P.G., Schuller H. M. Carbon Dioxide, an important messenger molecule for small cell lung cancer. Chest 112: 779-784, 1997.
  • Schuller, H.M. and Orloff M. Tobacco-specific carcinogenic nitrosamines: ligands for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in human lung cancer cells. Biochem. Pharmaco l55:1377-1384, 1998.
  • Miller, M.S., Baxter, J.L., Moore, J.D., Schuller, H.M. Molecular characterization of neuroendocrine lung tumors induced in hamsters by treatment with nitrosamine and hyperoxia. Int J Oncol 4:5-12, 1994.
  • Plummer III., H.K., Sheppard, B.J., and Schuller, H. M. Interaction of tobacco-specific toxicants with nicotinic cholinergic regulation of fetal pulmonary neuroendocrine cells: Implications for pediatric lung disease. Exp. Lung Res. 26:121-135, 2000.
  • Sheppard B.J., Williams M., Plummer III, H. K., and Schuller H. M. Activation of voltage-operated Ca2+ channels in human small cell lung carcinoma by the tobacco-specific nitrosamine 4 -(methylnitrosamino) -1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone. Int. J. Oncol. 16:513-518, 2000.
  • Schuller H.P., Jull B.A., Sheppard B.J., and Plummer,III H.K. Interaction of tobacco-specific toxicants with the neuronal alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor and its associated mitogenic signal transduction pathways potential role in lung carcinogenesis and pediatric lung disorders. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 393:265-277, 2000.
  • Schuller, H. M., Tithof, P.K., Williams, M. and Plummer III, H. K. The tobacco-specific carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone is a $-adrenergic agonist and stimulates DNA synthesis in lung adenocarcinoma via ?-adrenergic receptor-mediated release of arachidonic acid. Cancer Research 59:4510-4515, 1999.
  • Schuller H. M., Porter B., and Riechert A. Beta-adrenergic modulation of NNK-induced lung carcinogenesis in hamsters. J. Cancer Res. Clin Oncol. 126:624-630, 2000.
  • Schuller, H.M., Jorquera, R., Reichert, A., Castonguay, A. Transplacental induction of pancreas tumors in hamsters by ethanol and the tobacco-specific 4(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK). Cancer Res. 53:2498-2501, 1993.
  • Zhang, L., Weddle, D. L., Thomas, P.E., Zheng, B., Castonguay, A., Schuller, H.M., and Miller, M.S. Low levels of expression of cytochrome P-450 in normal and cancerous fetal pancreatic tissues of hamsters treated with NNK and/or ethanol. Toxicol. Sci. 56:313-323, 2000.
  • Weddle, D.L., Tithof, P.K., Williams, M., and Schuller, H.M. Beta-adrenergic growth regulation of human cancer cell lines derived from pancreatic ductal carcinomas. Carcinongenesis 22:473-479, 2001.