Faculty


Sonia C. Flores, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine

EDUCATION/TRAINING

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
1979B.S.Biology

University of South Alabama, Mobile
1984B.S.Basic Medical Sciences
1988Ph.D.Biochemistry
UCD
4200 E. Ninth Ave.
Denver, CO 80262
Tel: 303.315.0055
Sonia.Flores@uchsc.edu

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

1975
General Excellence Scholarship, Italo-American Society, University of Puerto Rico

1979
Honorary Society of Phi Kappa Phi; Magna Cum Laude, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Puerto Rico

1986
Procter and Gamble Graduate Fellowship

1988-89
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dep. Micro & Immunol, Univ. South Ala.

1989
NIH NRSA award

1989-90
Instructor, Biochem, Univ South Ala School of Medicine, Mobile, Alabama

1990-91
Instructor, Biochem, Biophys, and Genetics, University of CO HSC, Denver, CO

1991-96
Assistant Professor, Biochem, Biophys, Genetics, Univ.CO

1993
New Investigator Award from the editors of Free Radical Biology & Medicine Journal

1994-2000
NIH RDA-MF

1996-97
Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, LSU Medical Center, Shreveport, LA

1997-00
Assistant Professor, Dept. Medicine, Webb-Waring Inst., UCD

2000-Present
Associate Professor, Dept. Medicine, Webb-Waring Institute

1997-Present
Editorial Board, Archives Biochemistry and Biophysics

1995-2000
Consultant, NHLBI Special Emphasis Panel

2000-Present
Director, UCD Graduate Training for Multicultural Students Summer Internship Program

2001-Present
Member, NIGMS MBRS Review Subcommittee

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

  1. S.C. Flores, T.K. Moore, and J.W. Gaubatz. Dispersed repetitive sequences of mouse genome are differentially represented in extrachromosomal circular DNAs in vitro. Plasmid 17:257-260, 1987.
  2. S.C. Flores, P.Sunnerhagen, T.K. Moore, and J.W. Gaubatz. Characterization of repetitive sequence families in mouse heart small polydisperse circular DNAs: Age related studies. Nucleic Acids Research 16: 3889-3906, 1988.
  3. J.W. Gaubatz and S.C. Flores. Purification of eukaryotic extrachromosomal circular DNAs using exonuclease III. Analytical Biochemistry 184:305-310, 1990.
  4. J.W. Gaubatz and S.C. Flores. Tissue-specific and age-related variations in repetitive sequences of mouse extrachromosomal circular DNAs. Mutation Research 237:29-36,1990.
  5. B. Gao, S.C. Flores and J.M. McCord, A Site-Directed Mutant of Cu,Zn-Superoxide Dismutase Modeled After Native Extracellular Superoxide Dismutase, Biological Trace Element Research, 47:95-100, 1995.
  6. S.C. Flores, J.C. Marecki, K.P. Harper, S.K. Bose, S.K. Nelson, and J.M. McCord, Tat protein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 represses expression of manganese superoxide dismutase in HeLa Cells, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 90:7632-7636 (1993).
  7. J.M. McCord, B. Gao, J. Leff, and Sonia C. Flores. Neutrophil-generated free radicals:possible mechanisms of injury in adult respiratory distress syndrome. Env. Health Perspectives 102:Suppl 11:57-60, 1994.
  8. D.M. Guidot, J.E. Repine, A.D. Kitlowski, S.C. Flores, S.K. Nelson, R.M. Wright and J.M. McCord, Mitochondrial respiration scavenges extramitochondrial superoxide anion via a non-enzymatic mechanism:an additional role for electron transport. J. Clin Inv. 96:1131-1136, 1995.
  9. B. Gao, S.C. Flores, and J.M. McCord, A novel Escherichia coli vector for oxygen-inducible high level expression of foreign genes. Gene, 176:269-272, 1996.
  10. O. Prakash, S. Teng, M. Ali, X. Zhu, R. Coleman, R. Chambers, T.Y. Aw, S.C. Flores, and B.H. Joshi. HIV-1 Tat potentiates AZT-induced cellular toxicity in transgenic mice, Archives Biochemistry & Biophysics, 343: 173-180, 1997.
  11. S.C. Flores and J.M. McCord, Redox regulation by the HIV-1 Tat transcriptional factor, In: Oxidative Stress and the Molecular Biology of Antioxidant Defenses, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 117-138, 1997.
  12. S. Komatsu, S.C. Flores, M.E. Gerritsen, D.C. Anderson, D.N. Granger. Differential up-regulation of circulating soluble and membrane-bound forms of murine intercellular adhesion molecule-1. American Journal of Pathology 151:205-14, 1997.
  13. H. Ichikawa, S.C. Flores, P.R. Kvietys, R.E. Wolf, T. Yoshikawa, D.N. Granger, and T.K. Aw. Molecular mechanisms of anoxia/reoxygenation-induced neutrophil adherence to cultured endothelial cells. Circulation Research, 81:922-931, 1997.
  14. M. Seve, A. Favier, M. Osman, J.M. McCord, and S.C. Flores. The Tat protein from HIV-1 increases sensitivity to TPEN-induced apoptosis and changes Sp1 binding to DNA in HeLa cells. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 361:165-172, 1999.
  15. G. M. Vaitaitis, R.J. Sanderson, E. J. Kimble, N.D. Elkins and S.C. Flores. Modification of enzyme-conjugated streptavidin-biotin Western blot technique to avoid detection of endogenous biotin-containing proteins. Biotechniques 26 (5):854?8, 1999
  16. Y. Horie, R. Wolf, S.C. Flores, J.M.McCord, C.J. Epstein and D.N. Granger. Transgenic mice with increased copper/zinc-superoxide dismutase activity are resistant to hepatic leukostasis and capillary no-reflow after gut ischemia/reperfusion. Circ. Res. 83:691-696, 1998.
  17. Faust-Chan R, Hybertson B, Flores SC, Wright RM, Repine JE Initiation and tolerance to acute lung injury: yin-yang mechanisms involving interleukin-1. Chest 116 (1 Suppl):102S?103S, 1999
  18. Oshima, T, Flores, S.C., Vaitaitis, G., Coe, L, Joh, T., Park, J. H., Zhu, Y., Alexander, B. Alexander, J. S. Human immunodeficiency virus-1 Tat protein increases endothelial solute permeability through tyrosine kinase and MAP kinase-dependent pathways. AIDS 14: 1-8, 2000.
  19. Tuder, RM, Wood, K, Taraseviciene, L, Flores, SC, Voelkel NF. Cigarette smoke extract decreases the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor by cultured cells and triggers apoptosis of pulmonary endothelial cells. Chest 117(5 Suppl 1):241S?2S, 2000.
  20. Terada, L.S., Gu, Y., and Flores, S.C. AIDS Vasculopathy, The American Journal of Medical Sciences, 200: 379-387, 2000
  21. Richard, M-J, Guiraud, P., Didier, C., Seve, M, Flores, S.C. and Favier, A. Human immunodeficiency virus-1 Tat protein impairs selenoglutathione peroxidase expression and activity by a mechanism independent of cellular selenium uptake: consequences on cellular resistance to UV-A radiation. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 386:213-220, 2001
  22. Gu, Y., Wu,F.R., Xu, C.Y., Flores, S.C. and Terada, L.S. HIV Tat activates c-Jun Terminal kinase Through an Oxidant-Dependent Mechanism. Virology Jul 20;286(1):62?71, 2001.
  23. Kasahara, Y., Tuder, RM., Cool, CD, Lynch DA, Flores SC, Voelkel NF. Endothelial cell death and decreased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 in emphysema. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 163(3 Pt 1):737?44, 2001.
  24. Piganelli, J.D*., Flores, S.C.*, Cruz, C., Koepp, J., Batinic-Haberle, I., Kachadourian, R., Young, R., Bradley, B., and Haskins, K. A metalloporphyrin-based Superoxide Dismutase mimic Inhibits Autoimmune Diabetes, In Press, Diabetes. (*Both authors contributed equally).
  25. Cota-Gomez, A. Flores, N.C., Cruz, C., Casullo, A., Aw,T.Y., Ichikawa, H, Schaack, J., Scheinman, R., and Flores, S.C. The human immunodeficiency virus-1 Tat protein activates human umbilical vein endothelial cell E-selectin expression via an NF-kB-dependent mechanism. Under revision, J. Biol. Chemistry, 2001