Leena Maddukuri, Postdoctoral Student

leena.maddukuri@vanderbilt.edu

I was born and brought up in Uppalapadu, Andhra Pradesh state in India. After high school, I attended JKC college in Guntur and received Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences form Nagarjuna University. For higher studies I moved to Poland where at Warsaw University I obtained a Masters in Science degree in Biotechnology. I continued to pursue a Ph.D. degree from the Postgraduate School of Molecular Medicine and from Polish Academy of Sciences in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry with an interest in understanding mechanisms of DNA damage and repair. Under the guidance of Prof. Barbara Tudek, I worked to identify the major DNA repair pathway involved in the removal of trans-4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) induced DNA adducts in mammalian cells. I also sought to understand the deleterious effects of HNE-DNA adducts in premature aging and cancer.

My desire to continue working in the field of DNA damage attracted me to join Prof. Lawrence J. Marnett’s lab. My current project is mainly focused on determining the mutagenic potential of malondialdehyde- (MDA) derived DNA adducts in bacterial and mammalian cells by using a shuttle vector containing a single MDA modified base at a defined location. MDA, a genotoxic byproduct of lipid peroxidation, is mutagenic and carcinogenic in bacterial and mammalian cells. MDA directly interacts with DNA bases to form stable adducts such as 3-(2’-deoxy-b-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl)pyrimido-[1,2-a]-purin-10(3H)-one (M1dG), N2-(3-oxo-1-propenyl)- 2’-deoxyadenosine (N2-OPdA) and N2-(3-oxo-1-propenyl)-2’-deoxycytidine (N2-OPdC).

When I am not in lab, I like spending time with family and friends, listening to Indian music, watching cricket and decorating the house. I also enjoy boat rides and long walks on the beach under the moonlight. Chocolate is my soul food, along with butterscotch ice cream.