About Me

I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of South Florida, with a concentration in cellular and molecular biology. I am deeply committed to learning, teaching, and advancing biological research, and I strive to integrate current scientific discoveries into my instructional practice.

My research experience spans multiple areas of biomedical science, including cancer biology and drug resistance, mitochondrial dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease, and dioxin receptor signaling and toxicology. I have also developed and directed a cellular and molecular research core facility, supporting advanced methodologies such as confocal microscopy, fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), microarray analysis, and microinjection.

In addition, I have extensive hands-on experience working with Caenorhabditis elegans and murine model systems in both mechanistic and translational research contexts.

Outside of the laboratory and classroom, I am a proud father of three young boys and an enthusiastic baseball fan. Go Titans!

Peer-Reviewed Publications

• PKC-ι/ζ signaling is crucial for invasiveness and apoptosis/pyroptosis inhibition of glioblastoma cells through upregulation of β-catenin, PDK1/Akt1, and Smad cascades via 14-3-3. Cell Adhesion & Migration (in review Jan 2025).
• Breedy, S., Ratnayake, W. S., Lajmi, L., Hill, R., & Acevedo-Duncan, M. (2023). 14-3-3 and Smad2/3 are crucial mediators of atypical PKCs: Implications for neuroblastoma progression. Frontiers in Oncology, 13, 1051516. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2023.1051516
  PMID: 36776326 | PMCID: PMC9910080
• Ratnayake, W. S., Apostolatos, C. A., Breedy, S., Dennison, C. L., Hill, R., & Acevedo-Duncan, M. (2021). Atypical PKCs activate vimentin to facilitate prostate cancer cell motility and invasion. Cell Adhesion & Migration, 15(1), 37–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/19336918.2021.1882782
  PMID: 33525953 | PMCID: PMC7889213
• Chhabra, R., Rockfield, S., Guergues, J., Nadeau, O. W., Hill, R., Stevens, S. M. Jr., & Nanjundan, M. (2021). Global miRNA/proteomic analyses identify miRNAs at 14q32 and 3p21 contributing to features of chronic iron-exposed fallopian tube epithelial cells. Scientific Reports, 11, 6270. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85342-y
  PMID: 33737539 | PMCID: PMC7973504
• Apostolatos, A. H., Ratnayake, W. S., Win-Piazza, H., Apostolatos, C. A., Smalley, T., Kang, L., Salup, R., Hill, R., & Acevedo-Duncan, M. (2018). Inhibition of atypical protein kinase C-ι effectively reduces the malignancy of prostate cancer cells by downregulating the NF-κB signaling cascade. International Journal of Oncology, 53(5), 1836–1846. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2018.4542
  PMID: 30226591 | PMCID: PMC6192717
• Paullin, T., Powell, C., Menzie, C., Hill, R., Cheng, F., Martyniuk, C. J., & Westerheide, S. D. (2017). Spheroid growth in ovarian cancer alters transcriptome responses for stress pathways and epigenetic responses. PLOS ONE, 12(8), e0182930. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182930
  PMID: 28793334 | PMCID: PMC5549971
• Falahat, R., Wiranowska, M., Gallant, N. D., Toomey, R., Hill, R., & Alcantar, N. (2015). A cell ELISA for the quantification of MUC1 mucin (CD227) expressed by cancer cells of epithelial and neuroectodermal origin. Cellular Immunology, 298(1–2), 96–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cellimm.2015.09.009
  PMID: 26435344
• Niu, Y., Bai, G., Wu, H., Wang, R. E., Qiao, Q., Padhee, S., Buzzeo, R., Cao, C., & Cai, J. (2012). Cellular translocation of a γ-AApeptide mimetic of Tat peptide. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 9(5), 1529–1534. https://doi.org/10.1021/mp300070w
  PMID: 22413929
• Bai, G., Padhee, S., Niu, Y., Wang, R. E., Qiao, Q., Buzzeo, R., Cao, C., & Cai, J. (2012). Cellular uptake of an α-AApeptide. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 10(6), 1149–1153. https://doi.org/10.1039/c2ob06679c
  PMID: 22193209
• Yanamandra, N., Buzzeo, R. W., Gabriel, M., Hazlehurst, L. A., Mari, Y., Beaupre, D. M., & Cuevas, J. (2011). Tipifarnib-induced apoptosis in acute myeloid leukemia and multiple myeloma cells depends on Ca²⁺ influx through plasma membrane Ca²⁺ channels. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 337(3), 636–643. https://doi.org/10.1124/jpet.110.172809
  PMID: 21378206 | PMCID: PMC3101005
• Dragicevic, N., Copes, N., O'Neal-Moffitt, G., Jin, J., Buzzeo, R., Mamcarz, M., Tan, J., Cao, C., Olcese, J. M., Arendash, G. W., & Bradshaw, P. C. (2011). Melatonin treatment restores mitochondrial function in Alzheimer’s mice. Journal of Pineal Research, 51(1), 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-079X.2011.00864.x
  PMID: 21355879
• Dragicevic, N., Mamcarz, M., Zhu, Y., Buzzeo, R., Tan, J., Arendash, G. W., & Bradshaw, P. C. (2010). Mitochondrial amyloid-β levels are associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and cognitive impairment. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 20(Suppl 2), S535–S550. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-2010-100342
  PMID: 20463404
• Yanamandra, N., Colaco, N. M., Parquet, N. A., Buzzeo, R. W., Boulware, D., Wright, G., Perez, L. E., Dalton, W. S., & Beaupre, D. M. (2006). Tipifarnib and bortezomib are synergistic and overcome cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance. Clinical Cancer Research, 12(2), 591–599. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-05-1792
  PMID: 16428505
• Buzzeo, R., Enkemann, S., Nimmanapalli, R., Alsina, M., Lichtenheld, M. G., Dalton, W. S., & Beaupre, D. M. (2005). Characterization of an R115777-resistant human multiple myeloma cell line. Clinical Cancer Research, 11(16), 6057–6064. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-04-2685
  PMID: 16115951
• Wentworth, J. N., Buzzeo, R., & Pollenz, R. S. (2004). Functional characterization of aryl hydrocarbon receptor localization and degradation in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Biochemical Pharmacology, 67(7), 1363–1372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcp.2003.12.002
  PMID: 15013852