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Katrina F. Cooper, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Science Center, Room 362 
856 566-2887 
Fax: 856 566-6291 
cooperka@rowan.edu

Education

University of Oxford, Great Britain
D.Phil., Biochemistry, 1993

University of Manchester, Great Britain
Hons. B.Sc., Microbiology, 1989

Research Interests

The long-term goal of my research is to understand how cells fate decisions are made in response to adverse environmental cues. This is important as misinterpretation of stress signals is associated with the pathophysiology of many diseases including cancer, and neuropathies, including ALS, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s. To study this we focus on the Cdk8 kinase module (CKM)of the Mediator complex that consists of four highly conserved proteins (cyclin C, Cdk8, Med13 and Med12). In unstressed cells the CKM regulates a sub-set of stress response genes. However, my group focuses on the second, stress-induced cytoplasmic night jobs of cyclin C and Med13. Upon translocation to the cytoplasm, cyclin C promotes stress-induced mitochondrial fission and cell death and is a newly identified tumor suppressor. Cytoplasmic cyclin C also promotes cell death associated with protein aggregate neuropathies including ALS, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s. Currently, studies in my lab are focused on analyzing cyclins C role in these neuropathies. The second focus of my group is studying how and why a subset of transcription factors including Med13 are destroyed by a new autophagy mechanism that we discovered in yeast.

 

To study this in the laboratory, we use a combination of yeast and mammalian model systems. Students in my group use yeast to identify and dissect molecular pathways. In collaboration with Dr. Randy Strich (Molecular Biology), students test the conservation of their discoveries in mammalian cells.

 

Selected Publications - (see PubMed for a complete list) - Student contributors are underlined.

  1. Willis, S. D., Hanley, S.E., Doyles SJ., Strich R and Cooper, K. F. (2022). Cyclin C-Cdk8 Kinase Phosphorylation of Rim15 Prevents the Aberrant Activation of Stress Response Genes. Front Cell Dev Biol. PMID: 35433688

 

  1. Hanley, S.E., Willis, S. D., and Cooper, K. F. (2021). Snx4-assisted vacuolar targeting of transcription factors defines a new autophagy pathway for controlling ATG Autophagy Journal. PMID: 33678121.

 

  1. Willis, S. D., Hanley, S.E., Beishke, T., Tati, P and Cooper, K. F. (2021). Ubiquitin-proteasome-mediated cyclin C degradation promotes cell survival following nitrogen starvation. Mol Biol Cell. PMID: 32160104

 

  1. Ganesan V Willis, S. D., Chang KT, Beluch S,Cooper KF, Strich R. (2019). Cyclin C directly stimulates Drp1 GTP affinity to mediate stress-induced mitochondrial hyperfission. Mol Biol Cell. PMID: 30516433 

 

  1. Stieg D.C, Willis S.D, Ganesan V, Ong K.L, Scuorzo J, Song M, Grose J, Strich R, Cooper, K.F.(2018). A complex molecular switch directs stress-induced cyclin C nuclear release through SCFGrr1-mediated degradation of Med13. Mol Biol Cell. PMID:29212878

 

  1. Wang K, Yan R, Cooper, K.F., Strich R. (2015) Cyclin C mediates stress-induced mitochondrial fission and apoptosis.Mol Biol Cell. PMID:25609094

 

  1. C., Kim S., Willis. S. and Cooper, K.F.(2015). The MAPKKKs Ste11 and Bck1 jointly transduce the high oxidative stress signal through the cell wall integrity MAP kinase pathway.Microbial Cell. PMID: 27135035. Cover Issue

 

  1. Cooper, K.F., Khakhina, S., Kim, S. K.and Strich, R. (2014) Stress-induced nuclear-to-cytoplasmic translocation of cyclin C promotes mitochondrial fission in yeast.  Cell.  PMID: 24439911

 

  1. Jin, C., Strich, R. and Cooper, K.F.(2014) Slt2p phosphorylation induces cyclin C nuclear-to-cytoplasmic translocation in response to oxidative stress. Mol Biol Cell. PMID: 24554767

 

Recent Review Articles

  1. Friedson B and Cooper, K. F., (2021) Cdk8 Kinase Module: A Mediator of Life and Death Decisions in Times of Stress. PMID: 34683473 

 

  1. Hanley SE,and  Cooper K. F., (2020) Sorting Nexins in Protein Homeostasis. Cells. PMID: 33374212

 

  1. Cooper K. F., (2018) Till Death Do Us Part: The Marriage of Autophagy and Apoptosis. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity.org/10.1155/2018/4701275/

 

Complete list of published work in Pubmed:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1bUb6yLbVOKQR/bibliography/public/