Researchers

Tracy Vargo-Gogola, Ph.D.

Tracy Vargo-Gogola, Ph.D.

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend

Contact Information

Biography

Professor Vargo-Gogola received her doctoral degree in Cancer Biology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, in 2002.  She was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey Rosen in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX (2002-2007).  In January of 2008, Professor Vargo-Gogola joined the faculty of the Indiana University School of Medicine in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and she has an adjunct appointment in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame.  She has been the recipient of several awards during her career including a Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research predoctoral fellowship and a Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program postdoctoral fellowship.  Most recently, she was awarded a Howard Temin K99/R00 Pathway to Independence award in Cancer Research from the National Cancer Institute.

Research Interests

Professor Vargo-Gogola's laboratory is investigating the role of the Rho signaling network in mammary gland development and breast cancer.  Her research group utilizes transgenic mice and cell culture models to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which the Rho signaling network regulates normal mammary gland development, with the ultimate goal of determining how disruption of Rho signaling contributes to breast cancer growth and progression.

Publications

Vargo-Gogola T, Rosen JM. Modeling breast cancer: one size does not fit all. Nature Rev Cancer 2007; 7: 659-672. link

Heckman BH, Chakravarty G, Vargo-Gogola T, Gonzales-Rimbau M, Hadsell D, Wysolmerski J, Rosen JM. Cross-talk between the p190-B RhoGAP and IGF signaling pathways is required for embryonic mammary bud development. Develop Biol 2007; 309: 137-149. link

Lynch CC, Vargo-Gogola T, Martin MD, Linggi B, Fingleton B, Crawford HC, Carpenter G, Matrisian LM. MMP-7 mediates mammary epithelial cell tumorigenesis through the ErbB4 receptor. Cancer Res 2007; 67: 6760-6767. link

Vargo-Gogola T, Heckman BH, Chodosh LA, Rosen JM. P190-B RhoGAP overexpression disrupts ductal morphogenesis and induces hyperplastic lesions in the developing mammary gland. Mol Endocrinol 2006; 20: 1391-1405. link

Xian W, Schwertfeger KL, Vargo-Gogola T, Rosen JM. Pleiotropic effects of FGFR1 on cell proliferation, survival and migration in a 3D mammary epithelial cell model. J. Cell Biol 2005; 171: 663-673. link

Lynch CC, Hikosaka A, Acuff HB, Martin MD, Kawai N, Singh RK, Vargo-Gogola T, Betrup JL, Peterson TE, Fingleton B, Shirai T, Matrisan LM, Futakuchi M. MMP-7 promotes prostate cancer-induced osteolysis via the solubilization of RANKL. Cancer Cell 2005; 7: 485-496. link

Vargo-Gogola T, Crawford HC, Fingleton B, Matrisian LM. Identification of matrix metalloproteinase-7 (matrisilyn) cleavage sites in murine and human Fas ligand. Arch Biochem Biophys 2002; 408: 155-161. link

Vargo-Gogola T, Fingleton B, Crawford HC, Matrisian LM. Matrilysin (MMP-7) selects for apoptosis-resistant mammary cells in vivo. Cancer Res 2002; 62: 5559-5563. link

Fingleton B, Vargo-Gogola T, Crawford HC, Matrisian LM. Matrilysin (MMP-7) expression selects for cells with reduced sensitivity to apoptosis. Neoplasia 2001; 3: 459-468. link

De Rocher EJ, Vargo-Gogola T, Diehn SH, Green PJ. Direct evidence for rapid degradation of Bacillus thuringiensis toxin mRNA as a cause of poor expression in plants. Plant Physiol 1998; 117: 1445-1461.

Cells