Career Summary
With over 40 years of research experience, I was trained in chemistry and biochemistry before focusing on genetic and molecular toxicology and getting a PhD in Biomedical Science from the University of Tennessee and postdoctoral training in molecular pathology at the University of Washington, Seattle. I then worked for 12 years at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine in NY, USA, where I studied the mechanisms of metal-induced carcinogenesis. In 1999 I moved to Australia to work in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Deakin University and in 2007 I moved to take up a research active position at UTas within the School of Human Life Sciences. As an Associate Professor and Deputy Head of School, I am teaching into molecular biology, biochemistry and environmental health and continuing with my research on arsenic toxicology, environmental health and molecular carcinogenesis.
Research Interests
My research interests encompass environmental and molecular toxicology, particularly the genetic toxicology of environmental metals and metalloids. Arsenic, one of the most toxic of the common elements, is an important contaminant of well water and often found in high concentration in association with gold and copper ores. Arsenic is also a known human carcinogen, however the mechanisms of arsenic carcinogenesis are unclear in that arsenic does not produce direct DNA damage and appears to have its primary effects on signal transduction and gene regulation. I am exploring this new paradigm in carcinogenesis and investigating the mechanisms whereby arsenic modulates DNA repair processes in cultured human cells. We have found that low, non-toxic exposures to arsenic can produce dramatic changes in the regulation of critical DNA repair genes, changes that are not seen after acute exposures. This has important implications for our current strategies for risk assessment. Many metals and other carcinogens also alter the redox balance within cells - analysis of how arsenic perturbs this system will give new insight into mechanisms of carcinogenesis due to a variety of environmental exposures. I am also investigating the uptake and metabolism of arsenic in Cherax destructor, the common Australian yabby, which often lives in highly arsenic-contaminated dams, especially in gold mining regions of country Victoria. We have found that the yabby is able to accumulate large amounts of arsenic from the sediments in which it lives. We are now investigating the form and relative toxicity of the arsenic species stored in this prized Australian delicacy. Other interests include the effect of functional foods, such as onions, on cellular metabolism and heart disease.
Research Areas:- Environmental and Molecular Toxicology
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Teaching
I am part of a large multi-disciplinary teaching team in the School of Human Life Sciences with partial responsibility for teaching Human Molecular Biology and other units covering aspects of toxicolgy, biochemistry and molecular biology.
UnitsSelected Publications:- Sykora P, Snow ET. , 2008, 'Modulation of DNA polymerase beta-dependent base excision repair in cultured human cells after low dose exposure to arsenite', Toxicol Appl Pharmacol , 228(3), pgs. 385-394
- Williams G, West JM, Snow ET, 2008, 'Total arsenic accumulation in Yabbies (Cherax destructor Clark) exposed to elevated arsenic in Victorian gold mining areas', Environ. Toxicol Chem, 27(6), pgs. 1332-1342
- Williams G, West JM, Koch I, Reimer KJ, Snow ET, 2008, 'Arsenic speciation in the freshwater crayfish, Cherax destructor Clark', Sci Total Environ, 407, pgs. 2650-2658
- Durham TR, Snow ET, 2006, 'Metal Ions and Carcinogenesis.', Cancer: Cell Structures, Carcinogens and Genomic Instability, Leon Bignold, MD, editor, Birkhäuser Verlag Publishers, Switzerland, pgs. 97 – 130
- Alam MGM, Snow ET, Tanaka A., 2003, 'Arsenic and heavy metal contamination of vegetables grown in Samta village, Bangladesh. Science of the Total Environment, 2003. : ', 308, 308, pgs. 83-96
- Schuliga M, Chouchane S, Snow ET, 2002, 'Up-regulation of glutathione-related genes and enzyme activities in cultured human cells by sub-lethal concentrations of inorganic arsenic.', Toxicological Sciences, 70(2), pgs. 183-192
- Hu Y, Jin X, Snow ET, 2002, 'Effect of Arsenic on Transcription Factor AP-1 and NF-B DNA Binding Activity and Related Gene Expression. ', Toxicology Letters, 133, pgs. 33-45
Full Publication List
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