Elena Gonocharova, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor of Medicine

Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Division
Translational Research Building
125 S. 31st Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3403
tel.: (215) 746-3593
fax.: (215) 746-1224
email: goncharo@mail.med.upenn.edu

Education:

PhD: Cardiology Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences

Postdoctoral Fellowship: University of Pennsylvania 

Dr. Goncharova’s research interests are in the role of tumor suppressors tuberous Sclerosis Complex 1 (TSC1) and TSC2 in cell growth and motility as it relates to pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), and in the cellular and molecular mechanisms of vascular and airway smooth muscle cell remodeling in pulmonary arterial hypertension, asthma and COPD. The main focus of Dr. Goncharova’s current research is defining the role of small GTPases RhoA and Rac1 in abnormal cell and tumor growth due to loss of TSC2 function.

Representative Publications:

Krymskaya, VP and Goncharova, EA: PI3K/mTORC1 activation in hamartoma syndromes: therapeutic prospects. Cell Cycle. 8: 403-413, 2009.

Goncharova EA, Goncharov DA, Chisolm A, Spaits M, Lim P, Cesarone, G, Khavin I, Tliba O, Amrani Y, Panettieri, Jr. RA, Krymskaya VP: Interferon ß Augments TSC2-dependent Inhibition of TSC2-Null ELT3 and Human LAM-derived Cell Proliferation. Molecular Pharmacology 73: 778-788, 2008.

Goncharova, EA and Krymskaya VP: Pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM): Progress and current challenges. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry 103: 369-82, 2008. Goncharova EA, Goncharov DA, Lim PN, Noonan D, Krymskaya VP : Modulation of cell migration and invasiveness by tumor suppressor TSC2 in lymphangioleiomyomatosis. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology 34(4): 473-80, 2006.

Goncharova EA, Goncharov DA, Spaits M, Noonan DJ, Talovskaya E, Eszterhas A, Krymskaya VP.: Abnormal growth of smooth muscle-like cells in lymphangioleiomyomatosis: Role for tumor suppressor TSC2. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology 34(5): 561-72, 2006.

Goncharova, E.A., Lim, P., Goncharov, D.A., Eszterhas, A., Panettieri, R.A., Jr. and Krymskaya, V.P.: Assay for in vitro monitoring of proliferation of human airway smooth muscle (ASM) and human pulmonary arterial vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells. Nature Protocols 1(6): 2905-08, 2006.

Goncharova EA, Goncharov DA, Krymskaya VP.: Assays for in vitro monitoring of human airway smooth muscle (ASM) and human pulmonary arterial vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cell migration. Nature Protocols 1(6): 2933-9, 2006.

Goncharova E, Goncharov D, Noonan D, Krymskaya VP.: TSC2 modulates actin cytoskeleton and focal adhesion through TSC1-binding domain and the Rac1 GTPase. Journal of Cell Biology 167(6): 1171-82, 2004.

Goncharova EA, Billington CK, Irani C, Vorotnikov AV, Tkachuk VA, Penn RB, Krymskaya VP, Panettieri RA Jr.: Cyclic AMP-mobilizing agents and glucocorticoids modulate human smooth muscle cell migration. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology 29(1): 19-27, 2003.

Goncharova EA, Goncharov DA, Eszterhas A, Hunter DS, Glassberg MK, Yeung RS, Walker CL, Noonan D, Kwiatkowski DJ, Chou MM, Panettieri RA Jr, Krymskaya VP.: Tuberin regulates p70 S6 kinase activation and ribosomal protein S6 phosphorylation. A role for the TSC2 tumor suppressor gene in pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). Journal of Biological Chemistry 277(34): 30958-67, 2002.