Department:
School of Nursing
Organizational Systems and Adult Health
UMGCC Research Program:
Experimental Therapeutics Program
Education/Training:
College Degree:
B.S., West Virginia Wesleyan College
Medical Degree:
Ph.D., University of Maryland Baltimore
Post Doctoral
Degree:
Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, NCI/NIH
Contact
Information:
Mailing Address:
Room 764 School of Nursing
655 West Lombard Street
Baltimore MD 21201
Email:
sdorsey@son.umaryland.edu
Phone:
410-706-7250
Fax:
410-706-0344
Research Interests:
Chronic pain is a leading public health epidemic, affecting more than 25 million Americans and costing more than $165 billion per year in treatment expenses and lost work productivity. Despite recent advances in conventional treatments, most patients do not obtain adequate pain relief. Neuropathic pain caused by chemotherapeutic agents is of particular interest since as many as 80% of patients on an antineoplastic protocol develop severe neuropathic pain that limits the performance of activities of daily living and decreases quality of life. Since withdrawal from drug therapy is not recommended and often does not resolve symptoms, the identification of new therapeutic targets is critical.
In my laboratory, we are taking two approaches to identify new targets in mouse models of drug-induced neuropathic pain. First, since Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and its receptor trkB have been shown to be critical for the development of hippocampal long term potentiation, we are exploring the potential role(s) for BDNF signaling in the neuronal plasticity involved in the development and persistence of chronic neuropathic pain at the level of the brainstem and spinal dorsal horn in mice treated with various chemotherapeutic or antiretroviral agents. Second, we are exploiting 3 expression and exon level microarray technology to identify new molecular targets and signaling pathways that may be involved in chronic pain in both animal models and in human patients.
Publications:
Dorsey, SG, Renn, CL, Carim-Todd, L, Barrick, CA, Bambrick, LL, Krueger, BK, Ward, CW and Tessarollo, T (2006). In vivo restoration of physiological levels of truncated trkBT1 receptor rescues neuronal cell death in a trisomic mouse model. Neuron, 51, 21-28.
Renn, CL, Lin, L, Thomas, S and Dorsey, SG (2006). Full-length tropomyosin-related kinase B expression in the brainstem in response to persistent inflammatory pain. Neuroreport, 17, 1175-1179.
Esteban, PF, Yoon, H-Y, Becker, J, Dorsey, SG, Caprari, P, Palko, ME, Coppola, V, Saragovi, HU, Randazzo, PA and Tessarollo, L (2006). A kinase-deficient trkC receptor isoform activates ARF6-Rac1 signaling through the scaffold protein tamalin. Journal of Cell Biology, 173, 291-299.
Renn, CL and Dorsey, SG (2005). The physiology and processing of pain: A review. AACN Clinical Issues, 16, 277-290.
Dorsey, SG, Bambrick, LL, Balice-Gordon, R and Krueger, BK. (2002). Failure of brain-derived neurotrophic factor-dependent neuron survival in mouse Trisomy 16. Journal of Neuroscience, 22, 2571-2478.
