Thomas F. Huff , Ph.D.
Professor & Vice Provost of Life Sciences

Phone: (804) 827-5600
Dept. Fax: (804) 828-1961
e-mail: tfhuff@vcu.edu

Lab Web Page

Address:
Office of the Vice Provost for Life Sciences
Virginia Commonwealth University
Trani Center for Life Sciences
1000 West Cary Street, Suite 111
Richmond, VA 23284-2030

Professional Experience

• B.S., 1974, Clemson University 
• Ph.D., 1980, University of Louisville 
• Postdoctoral, 1980-1983, The Johns Hopkins University

Current research:

The research activities of this laboratory center on molecular mechanisms of proliferation and differentiation of three cell types: the mast cell, the totipotent hematopoietic stem cell, and the leukemic myeloblast. We use the mast cell as a model of cellular differentiation because the phenotypic changes which occur as nongranulated progenitors differentiate into mature mast cells are unique and extraordinarily large-scale. Most of these research projects are carried out in conjunction with the work of Dr. John Ryan in the Trani Center for Life Sciences. Administrative: Dr. Huff assumed his position as Vice Provost for Life Sciences in May 2001 after having been interim for a year. He is a former leader of the immune mechanisms program at the VCU's Massey Cancer Center, is presently director of the Institutional Grants Program at the Center. He was the Principal Investigator for VCU's institutional research grant from the American Cancer Society. Since April 2000, Dr. Huff has directed VCU Life Sciences to accomplished a number of important missions as part of developing an overall University program to integrate Life Sciences education and scholarship on the campuses of Virginia Commonwealth University. These include the establishment of a number of new VCU programs, including the Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences on the James River, the Center for the Study of Biological Complexity, new undergraduate and graduate curricula in Life Sciences, the Bioinformatics Computational Core Laboratory, the VCU Proteomics Center, the VCU Governor's School in Medicine and Life Sciences, the Secure Digital Patient Record for Virginia, the Virginia Bioinformatics Consortium, and the teaching guide to accompany the national public television series Secrets of the Sequence .
 

Selected Publications:

Ryan, J.J., S.K. DeSimone, G. Klisch, R. Kovacs, L. McReynolds, C.P. Shelburne, P. Miramonsef, and T.F. Huff. IL-4 inhibits Fc,RI expression on mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells through a STAT6-dependent mechanism. J. Immunol.16:6915-23. 1998.
 

Schwartz, L.B. and T.F. Huff. Biology of mast cells. In Allergy: Principles and Practice . (E. Middleton, Jr., N.F. Adkinson, Jr., and J.W. Yuninger, eds.) C.V. Mosby Co., St. Louis. 1998.
 

D.H. Conrad and T.F. Huff. IgE and its receptors, In Allergy, S. T. Holgate, ed., Blackwell Scientific Publications, London, 1998.
 

Kauma, S.W. and T.F. Huff. Placental Fas ligand expression is a mechanism for maternal immune tolerance to the fetus. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 84:2188-2194, 1999.
 

Shelburne, C.P., and T.F. Huff. Inhibition of kit expression in P815 mouse mastocytoma cells by an anti-Kit ribozyme. Clinical Immunology. 93:46-58. 1999.
 

Androstenetriol and Androstenediol: Protection against lethal radiation and restoration of immunity after radiation injury. Loria, R.M., D.H. Conrad, T. Huff, H. Carter, and D.Ben-Nathan. Ann NY Acad. Sci. 917: 860-867. 2000.
 

T.F. Huff and J.J. Ryan. Biology of Mast Cells. In Allergy: Principles and Practice . (E. Middleton, Jr., C.E. Reed, N.F. Adkinson, Jr., and J.W. Yuninger, eds.) C.V. Mosby Co., St. Louis. (In press).

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Date Last Modified: 07/10/2008
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