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Research/Career Interests

Dr. Filtz's general research interest is in signal transduction, i.e. the mechanism by which a cell receives a signal and then transmits that signal to alter its function in response. Trained as a pharmacologist, she conducted thesis research on dopamine receptors which are primary targets for antipsychotic agents. Over her faculty career, her lab has studied post-translational regulation of a tumor suppressor protein, Bcl11b, that is critical for the proper development of T cells in the immune system and whose loss is associated with T cell leukemias. Earlier research examined alterations in phosphorylation and levels of phospholipase C-beta, a ubiquitous signaling enzyme implicated in the development of atrial fibrillation. Additionally, the Filtz lab has been involved in screening natural product compounds for direct activity on heart cells. Current collaborative research is examining differential gene expression in metabolically and mechanically opposed skeletal muscles.

Credentials

University of North Carolina, Postdoctoral fellow, 1993-1998

University of Pennsylvania, Ph.D. in Pharmacology, 1993

University of Virginia, B.S. Chemistry, 1986