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Union University

College of Pharmacy

College of Pharmacy at Union

Pharmacology

Area Specialist: Dr. Luna Bennett

The overarching goal of Dr. Luna Bennett's lab is to understand treatment options for different cancers. Anti-cancer drugs generally cause severe adverse effects due to their toxicities and cause high incidence of drug resistance; therefore, there is a need for novel therapeutic approaches for better efficacy of cancer treatment with the least adverse effects.

Specific research areas are:

  1. Understanding the role of antioxidants such as curcumin, resveratrol on cancer treatments
  2. Studying the effects of pharmacological concentrations of vitamin C on different cancers
  3. Using a combination of anti-cancer drugs with antioxidants for their synergistic effects to lower adverse effects of anti-cancer drugs
  4. Testing new compounds with anti-cancer properties

Several methods are used in my laboratory including cytotoxicity assay, apoptosis assay, DNA fragmentation, analysis of intracellular reactive oxygen species, analysis of mitochondrial membrane potential, and identify genes involve in cancer progression, invasion and metastasis with Western blot analysis.

Besides doing bench-top research in cancer, Dr. Bennett is also interested writing books and review papers related to Gaucher disease or other orphan diseases and understanding the role of natural products and antioxidants on cardiovascular and diabetes.

Floid Cell Imaging System

Molecular Imager
Chemi Doc XRS+ System

Plate Reader Spectra M3
Trans Blot Turbo
Centrifuge

Research Testimonial

Natalie Mausey"Research was something I knew I would be interested in, but I never thought I would want to make it a career until spending the month of January with Dr. Bennett in her lab. The project we were working on was testing the effects of different drugs on the linings of cancer cells, and my specific drug was derived from spigelia anthelmia. Dr. Bennett went above and beyond to guide me through the process and was incredibly patient while explaining new concepts to me. In my time researching, I learned many new laboratory techniques as well as what to look forward to in pharmacy school. I also was able to grow tremendously in my faith because the work we did allowed me to see God through science as we studied what He created. There were many early mornings and frustrations along the way, but it was so rewarding to obtain data that could be life changing to someone. The research she and I did together was challenging and through the challenges I grew not only in knowledge, but also learned how to persevere when the results were not what we expected or hoped for. The experience overall allowed me to obtain a deeper appreciation for research and a better understanding about its vital role in science and healthcare. I believe that research is the future of medicine and I am excited to be a part of groundbreaking work taking place at Union University."

— Natalie Mausey

Publications