Study sections review grant applications submitted to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), make recommendations on the applications to the appropriate NIH national advisory council or board, and survey the status of research in their fields of science.
“Dr. LeDoux’s research has had a profound impact on the study of mitochondrial DNA repair in a variety of disease processes, including cancer,” said Dr. Samuel Strada, dean of the USA College of Medicine. “Her selection to this committee underscores her many contributions to this important scientific field of biomedical research.”
Dr. LeDoux, as a member of the Cancer Etiology Study Section, will be one of 28 scientists who review grant application related to the causal agents, processes and cells involved in early events in carcinogenesis. Specific areas covered by cancer etiology include DNA damage and repair mechanisms, chemical and environmental carcinogenesis, oxidative stress and free radicals that modulate early events in carcinogenesis, and non-HIV/AIDS viral carcinogenesis.
Members for study sections are selected on the basis of their demonstrated competence and achievement in their scientific discipline as evidenced by the quality of research accomplishments, publications in scientific journals, and other significant scientific activities, achievements and honors. Membership on a study section is a major commitment of professional time and energy and provides an opportunity to contribute to the national biomedical research effort.
Dr. LeDoux’s primary research interests are focused on the role of mitochondrial DNA damage and repair in cellular responses to genotoxic injury, or an injury to a cell’s genetic material. In collaboration with Dr. Glenn Wilson, professor and chair of cell biology and neuroscience at USA, Dr. LeDoux’s laboratory was the first to discover that base excision DNA repair, a cellular mechanism that repairs damaged DNA throughout the cell cycle, occurs within mitochondria. For the past 15 years, Dr. Ledoux’s work has been directed toward the study of mitochondrial DNA repair in the central nervous system.
Dr. LeDoux received a bachelor of science degree in biology from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, La., and her master’s in biology from the University of Houston. She also received a bachelor of science degree in basic medical sciences and her Ph.D. in basic medical sciences and anatomy, both from the University of South Alabama.
Dr. LeDoux will serve as a member on the study section from July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2016.
