PEOPLE
Faculty
Joanne Tobacman , MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine Staff Physician, Jesse Brown VAMC
Biographical Info
In recent years, Dr. Tobacman’s work has focused on the harmful effects of the common food additive carrageenan. Carrageenan resembles the naturally occurring sulfated glycosaminoglycans, but interferes with their normal functions. Her team has shown how carrageenan contributes to human diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes, due to its stimulation of inflammation. Examination of the role of sulfatase enzymes, particularly the chondroitin sulfatases, has focused on their role in malignancy and in mediation of cell signaling through effects on chondroitin sulfation. They have also identified decline in arylsulfatase B (N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase) in cystic fibrosis.
Education History
Medical School: Case Western Reserve University
Residency: University Hospitals of Cleveland and Cleveland VA Hospital
Fellowship: National Cancer Institute, Medicine Branch and Environmental Epidemiology Branch
Research Projects
- Impact of the no-carrageenan diet on glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in prediabetes.
- Role of chondroitin sulfatases in prostate cancer.
- Decline of arylsulfatase B (N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase) leads to increase in PD-L1 in melanoma.
Current Fellows
Joanne Tobacman , MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine Staff Physician, Jesse Brown VAMC
Biographical Info
In recent years, Dr. Tobacman’s work has focused on the harmful effects of the common food additive carrageenan. Carrageenan resembles the naturally occurring sulfated glycosaminoglycans, but interferes with their normal functions. Her team has shown how carrageenan contributes to human diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes, due to its stimulation of inflammation. Examination of the role of sulfatase enzymes, particularly the chondroitin sulfatases, has focused on their role in malignancy and in mediation of cell signaling through effects on chondroitin sulfation. They have also identified decline in arylsulfatase B (N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase) in cystic fibrosis.
Education History
Medical School: Case Western Reserve University
Residency: University Hospitals of Cleveland and Cleveland VA Hospital
Fellowship: National Cancer Institute, Medicine Branch and Environmental Epidemiology Branch
Research Projects
- Impact of the no-carrageenan diet on glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in prediabetes.
- Role of chondroitin sulfatases in prostate cancer.
- Decline of arylsulfatase B (N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase) leads to increase in PD-L1 in melanoma.
Staff
Joanne Tobacman , MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine Staff Physician, Jesse Brown VAMC
Biographical Info
In recent years, Dr. Tobacman’s work has focused on the harmful effects of the common food additive carrageenan. Carrageenan resembles the naturally occurring sulfated glycosaminoglycans, but interferes with their normal functions. Her team has shown how carrageenan contributes to human diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes, due to its stimulation of inflammation. Examination of the role of sulfatase enzymes, particularly the chondroitin sulfatases, has focused on their role in malignancy and in mediation of cell signaling through effects on chondroitin sulfation. They have also identified decline in arylsulfatase B (N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase) in cystic fibrosis.
Education History
Medical School: Case Western Reserve University
Residency: University Hospitals of Cleveland and Cleveland VA Hospital
Fellowship: National Cancer Institute, Medicine Branch and Environmental Epidemiology Branch
Research Projects
- Impact of the no-carrageenan diet on glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in prediabetes.
- Role of chondroitin sulfatases in prostate cancer.
- Decline of arylsulfatase B (N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase) leads to increase in PD-L1 in melanoma.
Affiliated Faculty
Joanne Tobacman , MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine Staff Physician, Jesse Brown VAMC
Biographical Info
In recent years, Dr. Tobacman’s work has focused on the harmful effects of the common food additive carrageenan. Carrageenan resembles the naturally occurring sulfated glycosaminoglycans, but interferes with their normal functions. Her team has shown how carrageenan contributes to human diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes, due to its stimulation of inflammation. Examination of the role of sulfatase enzymes, particularly the chondroitin sulfatases, has focused on their role in malignancy and in mediation of cell signaling through effects on chondroitin sulfation. They have also identified decline in arylsulfatase B (N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase) in cystic fibrosis.
Education History
Medical School: Case Western Reserve University
Residency: University Hospitals of Cleveland and Cleveland VA Hospital
Fellowship: National Cancer Institute, Medicine Branch and Environmental Epidemiology Branch
Research Projects
- Impact of the no-carrageenan diet on glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in prediabetes.
- Role of chondroitin sulfatases in prostate cancer.
- Decline of arylsulfatase B (N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase) leads to increase in PD-L1 in melanoma.