Professor Emeritus

Research Areas
Drug metabolism, phase 2 conjugation, sulfation, bile acid amidation, sulfotransferase

Biography

I graduated from the University of South Florida in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and earned a master’s degree in zoology in 1978. In 1980, I began the Ph.D. program in pharmacology at the University of Iowa under the mentorship of Thomas Tephly, M.D., Ph.D. My dissertation research focused on the purification and characterization of three UDP-glucuronosyltransferases from rat liver. After completing my Ph.D. in 1984, I did an ACS postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Charles Kasper at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, investigating the structure and regulation of the epoxide hydrolase gene.

In 1986, I accepted an assistant professor position in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Rochester, where I started a research program on human cytosolic sulfotransferases. This research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ever since. Over the past 30 years, our laboratory has published more than 125 research articles on the molecular and biochemical characterization of sulfotransferases in humans and laboratory species. In 1991, I joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) as an associate professor of pharmacology and was later promoted to professor with tenure.

Our laboratory has also studied the molecular biology and biochemistry of enzymes involved in bile acid amidation and the role of dimethylcyclosiloxanes in the induction of cytochrome P450 enzymes in breast implants. Currently, we are investigating the neuronal function of SULT4A1, a highly conserved orphan sulfotransferase-like enzyme specifically localized in neurons in vertebrate brains. We first cloned this gene in 2000 and are now studying its function in zebrafish, mice, and human brains.

Research Interests

My research interests focus on the characterization of human cytosolic sulfotransferases and their role in endogenous and xenobiotic metabolism. Our lab has made many contributions to understanding the biochemistry and molecular biology of all members of the human SULT family and has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in this area since 1986. We have published more than 125 articles involving the SULTs.

Currently, we are investigating the regulation and function of a novel orphan member of the SULT gene family that my laboratory initially cloned and expressed in 2000. This isoform, termed SULT4A1, is structurally related to the SULTs, although no enzymatic activity has been identified. SULT4A1 is highly conserved throughout vertebrates and is selectively expressed in neurons in the brain. As shown, SULT4A1 is partially associated with the endoplasmic reticulum in cultured mouse neurons, a localization not seen with any other "cytosolic" SULTs.

Deletion of the SULT4A1 gene in mice results in visible tremors around post-natal days 7-8, developing rigor, absence seizures, and failure to thrive, with pups dying around weaning. This indicates a vital neural function for the SULT4A1 gene in vertebrates and suggests an association with 22q13 terminal deletion autistic syndromes.

Education

Graduate School
Ph.D., University of Iowa

Postdoctoral Fellowship
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Contact

Office Location
Volker Hall 151

Phone
205-934-9848

Email
cfalany@uab.edu