Feik School of Pharmacy

Marcos Oliveira
Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
oliveira@uiwtx.edu

moliveira08

Dr. Marcos A. Oliveira is originally from Brazil where he received his undergraduate in Physics and a Masters degree in Applied Physics.  He received his Ph.D. in Structural Biology from Purdue University (1993; Advisor: Dr. Michael G. Rossmann) and was a Post-doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin (1993-1999; Advisor: Dr. Marvin L. Hackert).  In 1999 he joined the faculty of at the College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky. Dr. Oliveira is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, the American Chemical Society, the American Association of Pharmaceutical Sciences, American Association for Cancer Research, American Microbiology Society and the American Crystallographic Association.  He is an author/co-author of over thirty scientific manuscripts in peer reviewed scientific journals and serves as a reviewer for Biochemistry, Biochemical Journal, Biotechniques and Pharmaceutical Technology journal.  He has received funding from the American Cancer Society, Kentucky Lung Cancer Research Program and is funded in the area of Biodefense from the NIH, Western Regional Center of Excellence in Biodefense (WRCE) as well as the Southeastern Regional Center for Excellence in Biodefense (SERCEB). http://myprofile.cos.com/mao

 

 

 

Text Box: Figigure Confocal laser scanning microscopy images of Y. pestis cells expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) in order to visualize the extent of biofilm formation. The zxy plane shows the extent of attachment to the cover slip while the xzy plane shows a cross section visualizing the thickness of the biofilm. There was a progressive decrease in biofilm formation, speA+ speC+ (KIM6+) > ΔspeC mutant > ΔspeA mutant > ΔspeA ΔspeC mutant Patel, CN et al. & Oliveira, M. A.(2006) Journal of Bacteriology, 188 (7), 2355-63

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research projects focus on:  Education:  Developing novel educational methods that focus on translational research (From bench to bedside).  Drug Discovery:  Our overall goal is the investigation of a novel mechanism of biofilm regulation involving polyamines and the identification of novel targets for drug discovery.In collaboration with Dr. Robert Perry and Jackeline Fetherston we are investigating the function of polyamines in Yersinia pestis (Plague) to develop novel biodefense agents. In collaboration with Dr. Patrick Woster we are working to identify small molecular weight compounds that interfere with polyamine metabolism in bacteria  In collaboration with Dr. John Hart UTHSC-San Antonio we are working on the structural Biology of polyamine metabolism using structure-based-drug design approach to identify novel antibiotics. In collaboration with Dr. Peter Dube at UTHSC-San Antonio (Microbiology Dept.) we are testing the efficacy of polyamine anologues in an animal model of plague. In collaboration with Dr. Mary Pat Moyer we are translating our discoveries into novel therapeutics.