Faculty & Staff Detail
Melinda E. Lull, Ph.D.
Title: Assistant Professor
Office: WEGPHR 310
Phone: (585) 899-3730
Email: mlull@sjfc.edu
Education: Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Virginia Commonwealth University
Ph.D., Penn State College of Medicine
B.A., St. John Fisher College
Dr. Lull is a 2004 graduate of St. John Fisher College, where she received a B.A. in anthropology, with minors in both biology and chemistry. Dr. Lull went on to earn her Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Penn State University College of Medicine in 2009. Following postdoctoral studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr. Lull returned to St. John Fisher College in the summer of 2010 to begin her tenure as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Wegmans School of Pharmacy.
Dr. Lull’s current research focuses mainly on the work conducted in her postdoctoral fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University. This work is focused on the effect of microglial activation on neurodegeneration (specifically in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases). Closely tied in with this work is the effect of environmental pollutants on microglial activation, and how this, in itself, may be a significant contributing factor to the development of neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Lull has pursued many research interests in diverse subject areas, including:
- Identifying protein biomarkers of alcohol abuse in serum. These studies were conducted to help develop diagnostic tests that recognize patterns of alcohol use and abuse in human patients.
- Screening protein markers of tissue damage and repair in the plasma of pediatric patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass procedures for the repair of heart defects. This project was conducted via collaboration with the Penn State Children’s Hospital in an effort to better understand pathological processes occurring during bypass, and to learn how to better treat patients during and following this invasive procedure.
- Mapping the protein and gene expression profiles in the brain after cocaine self-administration and periods of abstinence. This project formed the basis of Dr. Lull’s dissertation work at Penn State, aimed at identifying molecular processes that are changed by cocaine and may contribute to the long-term craving and high-rates of relapse associated with cocaine abuse.
While at Penn State College of Medicine, Dr. Lull was awarded the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) pre-doctoral grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for her research on protein adaptations occurring during cocaine withdrawal. Additionally, Dr. Lull was chosen to receive the Penn State Alumni Association Dissertation Award in 2009 and the Penn State Department of Pharmacology Outstanding Scholarship in Pharmacology Research Award in 2010 for her dissertation work. Dr. Lull has been a member of the Society for Neuroscience and the Human Proteome Organization (HuPO) throughout her graduate and post-graduate career. Outside of academia, Dr. Lull has served the community for the past 5 years as a volunteer and trainer for the Ronald McDonald House Charities. In 2007, she spent time in Guinea, West Africa with Compassion Evangelical Hospital, where she assisted in setting up and organizing a pharmacy at the newly opened hospital facility.
Publications:
Levesque S, Taetzsch T, Lull ME, Stadler K, Kodavanti U, Johnson J, Kodavanti P, Block ML. Diesel exhaust activates and primes microglia: air pollution and neuroinflammation. Environ Health Perspect 2011; Epub ahead of print. [PMID: 19926406]
Lull ME, Levesque S, Surace MJ, Block ML. Chronic apocynin treatment attenuates beta-amyloid plaque size and microglia number in hAPP(751)SL mice. PLOS One 2011; 6: e20153. [PMID: 19926406]
Lull ME, Block ML. Microglial activation and chronic neurodegeneration. Neurotherapeutics 2010; 7: 354-365.[PMID: 19926406]
Lull ME, Freeman WM, VanGuilder HD, Vrana KE. The future of neuroproteomics in drug abuse research. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2010; 107: 11-22. [PMID: 19926406]
Freeman WM, Lull ME, Patel KM, Bruchlacher RB, Morgan D, Roberts DCS, Vrana KE. Gene expression changes in the mesolimbic pathway following abstinence from cocaine self-administration. BMC Neuroscience 2010; 11: Epub ahead of print. [PMID: 20187946]
Lull ME, Erwin MS, Morgan D, Roberts DCS, Vrana KE, Freeman WM. Persistent proteomic alterations in mPFC with abstinence from cocaine self-administration. Proteomics: Clinical Applications 2009; 3:462-472. [PMID: 20161123]
Lull ME, Block ML. Microglial activation and chronic neurodegeneration. Neurotherapeutics 2010; In press (Invited Review).
Lull ME, Freeman WM, Vrana KE, Mash DC. Functional genomics of human cocaine abuse. Ann NY Acad Sci 2008; 1141:58-75 (Invited Review). [PMID: 18991951]
Lull ME, Carkaci-Salli N, Freeman WM, Myers JL, Midgley F, Thomas NJ, Kimatian SJ, Vrana KE, Undar A. Plasma proteomic biomarkers in pediatric cardiac patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass procedures. Pediatric Research 2008; 63(6): 638-644. [PMID: 18317239]
Freeman WM, Patel KM, Bruchlacher RB, Lull ME, Erwin M, Morgan D, Roberts DCS, Vrana KE. Persistent alterations in mesolimbic gene expression with abstinence from cocaine self-administration. Neuropsychopharm 2008; 33(8): 1807-1817. [PMID: 17851536]
Lull ME, Freeman WM, Kimatian SJ, Myers JL, Midgley F, Undar A, Vrana KE. Plasma Proteomics: A Noninvasive Window on Pathology and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery. ASAIO 2006; 52(5): 562-566. [PMID: 16966860]
Freeman WM, Lull ME, Guilford M, Vrana KE. Depletion of abundant proteins from non-human primate serum for biomarker studies. Proteomics 2006; 6(10): 3109-3113. [PMID: 16619306]
Freeman WM, Gooch RS, Lull ME, Worst TJ, Walker SJ, Xu ASL, Green H, Pierre PJ, Grant KA, Vrana KE. ApoAII is an elevated biomarker of chronic non-human primate ethanol self-administration. Alcohol and Alcoholism 2006; 41(3): 300-305. [PMID: 16581821]
Presentations:
Posters:
Taetzch T, Levesque S, Lull ME, Duke L, Block ML. The NFκB p50 radical and neurotoxic microglial activation. 2010, Society for Neuroscience.
Levesque S, Taetzsch T, Lull ME, Stadler K, Block ML. Diesel exhaust particles cause neuroflammation and prime microglia. 2009, Society for Neuroscience.
Lull ME, Baker KH, Vrana KE. Medical School-Public School Partnership: Dual enrollment program in laboratory techniques. 2009, EdVenture.
Freeman WM, Lull ME, Houlihan L, Myers JL, Midgley F, Undar A, Vrana KE. Differential plasma protein abundances in hepatic and pulmonary compartments. 2007, Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion.
Lull ME, Freeman WM, Kimatian SJ, Myers JL, Midgley F, Undar A, Vrana KE. Using plasma proteomics in the identification of pathology-related markers in pediatric patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass. 2007, Pediatric Mechanical Circulatory Support Systems and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Perfusion.
Freeman WM, Bennett CD, Lull ME, Erwin MS, Sonntag WE. Age-related changes in the hippocampal proteome of cognitively defined rodents. 2006, HUPO.
Sonntag WE, Bennett CD, Erwin MS, Lull ME, Freeman WM. Age-related changes in the hippocampal proteome in cognitively defined rodents. 2006, Society for Neuroscience.
Lull ME, Erwin M, Patel KM, Thomas L, Morgan D, Roberts DCS, Freeman WM, Vrana KE. The proteomic profile of rat mPFC is altered following long-term abstinence from cocaine self-administration. 2006, Society for Neuroscience.
Lull ME, Freeman WM, Kimatian SJ, Myers JL, Midgley F, Undar A, Vrana KE. Proteomic analysis of pediatric plasma. 2006, Penn State Pediatric Research Day.
Lull ME, Hu S, Chen X, Pruss A, Lehman EB, Summy-Long JY. Microglia in the supraoptic nucleus respond during microdialysis. 2005, Society for Neuroscience.
Oral Communications:
“Proteomic Applications in Drug Abuse;” Capital Area Biotechnology Partnership Seminar Series, Harrisburg University, Harrisburg, PA (2008)
“The Neuroproteomics of Abstinence from Cocaine Self-Administration;” University of Utah, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology; Special Seminar, Salt Lake City, UT (2008)
“Drug Metabolism and Basic Drug Safety;” Mamou School for Biomedical Engineering, Mamou, Guinea, West Africa (2007)