Dr. Park’s lab is currently investigating mechanisms of neuronal death signaling that occur during cerebral ischemia (stroke) and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease). Her team is particularly interested in the dynamics of the mitochondrial protein Bcl-xL. Bcl-xL is known as a pro-survival protein, but a cleaved form of Bcl-xL, ΔN-Bcl-xL, accumulates during neurotoxic stimulation, triggering neuronal death. Therefore, regulation of Bcl-xL and ΔN-Bcl-xL is critical to maintain normal neurophysiology. In addition, Dr. Park’s team is developing strategies to enhance brain development and to protect the brain against neurotoxic injury using nutritional, genetic, and pharmacological approaches.
On-Going Projects |
Cellular Mechanisms of Neuronal Loss in the brain
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Neuroprotective Functions of Dietary Antioxidants
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Lifestyle Factors Influencing Covid-19 Severity
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Mitochondrial Dysfunction during Breast Cancer Metastasis
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Key Words
Neurodegeneration; Mitochondria; Apoptosis; Oxidative stress; Nutrients
Selected Publications
Pawel Licznerski, Han-A Park, Harshvardhan Rolyan, Rongmin Chen, Nelli Mnatsakanyan, Paige Miranda, Morven Graham, Jing Wu, Nicole Cruz-Reyes, Nikita Mehta, Sana Sohail, Jorge Salcedo, Erin Song, Charles Effman, Samuel Effman, Lucas Brandao, Nancy Xu, Amber Braker, Valentin K. Gribkoff, Richard J. Levy and Elizabeth Ann Jonas. ATP synthase c-subunit leak causes aberrant cellular metabolism in Fragile X syndrome. Cell, (2020)
Han-A Park, Spenser R. Brown*, and Yonghyun Kim. Cellular Mechanisms of Circulating Tumor Cells during Breast Cancer Metastasis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 17;21(14):E5040. doi: 10.3390/ijms21145040 (2020)
Han-A Park and Amy C. Ellis, Dietary Antioxidants and Parkinson's Disease. Antioxidants, 9(7):E570. doi:10.3390/antiox9070570 (2020)
Han-A Park, Nelli Mnatsakanyan, Katheryn Broman*, Abigail U. Davis*, Jordan May*, Pawel Licznerski, Kristi M. Crowe-White, Kimberly H. Lackey, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. Alpha-Tocotrienol Prevents Oxidative Stress-Mediated Post-Translational Cleavage of Bcl-xL in Primary Hippocampal Neurons. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(1), 220. doi.org/10.3390/ijms21010220 (2019)
Rongmin Chen, Han-A Park, Nelli Mnatsakanyan, Yulong Niu, Pawel Licznerski, Jing Wu, Paige Miranda, Morven Graham, Jack Tang, Anita Boon, Giovanni Cossu, Wim Mandemakers, Vincenzo Bonifati, Peter Smith, Kambiz Alavian, Vincenzo Bonifati, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. Parkinson’s Disease protein DJ-1 regulates ATP synthase protein components to increase neuronal process outgrowth. Cell Death & Disease, 13;10(6):469. doi: 10.1038/s41419-019-1679-x (2019)
Han-A Park, Katheryn Broman*, Allison Stumpf*, Sara Kazyak*, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. Nutritional Regulators of Bcl-xL in the Brain. Molecules, 19;23(11). pii: E3019. doi: 10.3390/molecules23113019 (2018)
Han-A Park, Pawel Licznerski, Nelli Mnatsakanyan, Yulong Niu, Silvio Sacchetti, Jing Wu, Brian M. Polster, Kambiz N. Alavian, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. Inhibition of Bcl-xL prevents pro-death actions ΔN-Bcl-xL at the mitochondrial inner membrane during glutamate excitotoxicity. Cell Death & Differentiation, 24(11):1963-1974. doi: 10.1038/cdd.2017.123 (2017)
Han-A Park, Pawel Licznerski, Kambiz N. Alavian, Marya Shanabrough, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. Bcl-xL is necessary for neurite outgrowth in hippocampal neurons. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, 10;22(2):93-108. doi: 10.1089/ars.2013.5570 (2015)
Kambiz N. Alavian, Gisela Beutner, Emma Lazrove, Silvio Sacchetti, Han-A Park, Pawel Licznerski, Hongmei Li, Panah Nabili, Kathryn Hockensmith, Morven Graham, George A. Porter, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. An uncoupling channel within the c-subunit ring of the F1FO ATP synthase is the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. PNAS, 22;111(29):10580-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1401591111 (2014)
Han-A Park, Spenser R. Brown*, and Yonghyun Kim. Cellular Mechanisms of Circulating Tumor Cells during Breast Cancer Metastasis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 17;21(14):E5040. doi: 10.3390/ijms21145040 (2020)
Han-A Park and Amy C. Ellis, Dietary Antioxidants and Parkinson's Disease. Antioxidants, 9(7):E570. doi:10.3390/antiox9070570 (2020)
Han-A Park, Nelli Mnatsakanyan, Katheryn Broman*, Abigail U. Davis*, Jordan May*, Pawel Licznerski, Kristi M. Crowe-White, Kimberly H. Lackey, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. Alpha-Tocotrienol Prevents Oxidative Stress-Mediated Post-Translational Cleavage of Bcl-xL in Primary Hippocampal Neurons. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(1), 220. doi.org/10.3390/ijms21010220 (2019)
Rongmin Chen, Han-A Park, Nelli Mnatsakanyan, Yulong Niu, Pawel Licznerski, Jing Wu, Paige Miranda, Morven Graham, Jack Tang, Anita Boon, Giovanni Cossu, Wim Mandemakers, Vincenzo Bonifati, Peter Smith, Kambiz Alavian, Vincenzo Bonifati, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. Parkinson’s Disease protein DJ-1 regulates ATP synthase protein components to increase neuronal process outgrowth. Cell Death & Disease, 13;10(6):469. doi: 10.1038/s41419-019-1679-x (2019)
Han-A Park, Katheryn Broman*, Allison Stumpf*, Sara Kazyak*, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. Nutritional Regulators of Bcl-xL in the Brain. Molecules, 19;23(11). pii: E3019. doi: 10.3390/molecules23113019 (2018)
Han-A Park, Pawel Licznerski, Nelli Mnatsakanyan, Yulong Niu, Silvio Sacchetti, Jing Wu, Brian M. Polster, Kambiz N. Alavian, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. Inhibition of Bcl-xL prevents pro-death actions ΔN-Bcl-xL at the mitochondrial inner membrane during glutamate excitotoxicity. Cell Death & Differentiation, 24(11):1963-1974. doi: 10.1038/cdd.2017.123 (2017)
Han-A Park, Pawel Licznerski, Kambiz N. Alavian, Marya Shanabrough, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. Bcl-xL is necessary for neurite outgrowth in hippocampal neurons. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, 10;22(2):93-108. doi: 10.1089/ars.2013.5570 (2015)
Kambiz N. Alavian, Gisela Beutner, Emma Lazrove, Silvio Sacchetti, Han-A Park, Pawel Licznerski, Hongmei Li, Panah Nabili, Kathryn Hockensmith, Morven Graham, George A. Porter, and Elizabeth A. Jonas. An uncoupling channel within the c-subunit ring of the F1FO ATP synthase is the mitochondrial permeability transition pore. PNAS, 22;111(29):10580-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1401591111 (2014)
