Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences

Profile

Director of Research, School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences

Head: Molecular Medicine Group

http://www.port.ac.uk/molecularmedicine/

Qualifications

PhD, MD

Current University post held

Professor of Molecular Medicine

Internal memberships / posts

Chair - Research and Knowledge Transfer Committee

Chair - Science Faculty Research Degrees Committee

Member - School Executive Committee

Member - University Research Degree Committee

Member - Faculty Research Ethical Review Committee

Key teaching responsibilities

Level M: Molecular basis of diseases, application of molecular biology methods, gene therapy and gene medicines, project supervision.

Postgraduate Level: Scientific research methods for MPhil and PhD students.

PhD supervision.

Key research interests

Pathogenesis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, role of the dystrophin complex in brain, gene therapy using non-viral vectors.

Recent Publications

More recent publications

Publications Before 2008

1. Lavigne MD, Yates LL, Coxhead P, Górecki DC. Nuclear-targeted chimeric vector enhancing non-viral gene transfer into skeletal muscle of Fabry mice in vivo. FASEB J. 22(6):2097-2107, 2008.
2. Wilczynski GM, Konopacki FA, Wilczek E, Lasiecka Z, Gorlewicz A, Michaluk P, Wawrzyniak M, Malinowska M, Okulski P, Kolodziej LR, Konopka W, Duniec K, Mioduszewska B, Nikolaev E, Walczak A, Owczarek D, Górecki DC, Zuschratter W, Ottersen OP, Kaczmarek L. Important role of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) in epileptogenesis. J. Cell Biol. 180 (5):1021-35, 2008
3. Hazai D, Lien C-F, Hajos,F, Halasy K, Górecki DC, Jancsik V. Synaptic expression of α-dystrobrevin: localisation of a short α-dystrobrevin isoform in melanin-concentrating hormone neurons of the hypothalamus. Brain Res., 1201: 52-9, 2008.
4. Michaluk P, Kolodziej L, Mioduszewska B., Wilczynski G M, Dzwonek J., Jaworski J., Górecki DC Ottersen OP, Kaczmarek L, α-dystroglycan as a target for MMP-9 in response to enhanced neuronal activity. J. Biol. Chem, 282: 16036 - 16041, 2007.
5. Lien C.F, Hazai D, Yeung D, Tan J, Fuchtbauer E-M, Jancsik V, Górecki D.C. Expression of α-dystrobrevin in blood-tissue barriers: sub-cellular localisation and molecular characterisation in normal and dystrophic mice. Cell Tissue Res., 327(1):67-82, 2007.
6. Lavigne MD, Pennadam SS, Ellis J, Yates LL, Alexander C, Górecki DC. Enhanced gene expression through temperature profile-induced variations in molecular architecture of thermoresponsive polymer vectors. J Gene Med., 9(1):44-54, 2006.
7. Yeung D, Zablocki K, Lien C-F, Jiang T, Arkle S, Brutkowski W, Brown J, Lochmuller H, Simon J, Barnard E.A, Górecki D.C. Increased susceptibility to ATP via alteration of P2X receptor function in dystrophic mdx mouse muscle cells. FASEB J. 20(6): 610-20, 2006.

Reviews:

1. Falluel-Morel A, Vaudry H, Komuro H, Górecki DC., Galas L, Vaudry D. Neurotrophic Effects of PACAP in the Cerebellar Cortex In: Hormones in Neurodegeneration, Neuroprotection, and Neurogenesis. Edited by Achille G. Gravanis and Synthia H. Mellon (2011) WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. Weinheim; ISBN: 978-3-527-32627-3.
2. Barbu E, Molnàr E, Tsibouklis J, Górecki DC. The potential for nanoparticle-based drug delivery to the brain: overcoming the blood-brain barrier. Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2009; 6(6):553-65.
3. Górecki DC, Beresewicz M and Zablocka B. Neuroprotective effects of short peptides derived from the Insulin-like Growth Factor. Neurochem Int. 2007; 51(8):451-8.
4. Rees MLJ, LienC-F and Górecki DC. Dystrobrevins in muscle and non-muscle tissues. Neuromuscular Disorders. 17(2):123-34, 2007.
5. Górecki DC. Dressing-up naked plasmids: Emerging non-viral gene therapy vectors. Discovery Medicine, 6(35): 191-197, 2006.

Last updated: Aug 2011