VCU Human Genetics

Steven Townson

Steven Matthew Townson

Associate professor
Department of Human Genetics

Contact information
Office location: Massey Cancer Center,
Goodwin Research Lab
401 College Street, Room 165
Richmond, VA 23298
P.O. Box: 980033
Phone: (804) 628-1992
Fax: (804) 828-3760
E-mail: smtownson@vcu.edu

Education

  • B.Sc. Microbiology and Parasitology (1989) University of Queensland
    First Class Honors in Medical Parasitology (1989-1990) University of Queensland; adviser: Dr. Paul Prociv

  • Ph.D. Medical Parasitology (1995) Queensland Institute of Medical Research and The University of Queensland; advisers: Drs. Peter Upcroft and Paul Prociv

Professional experience

  • 2004: Assistant professor, Virginia Commonwealth University
  • 2002 to 2003: Instructor, Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
  • 1999 to 2002: Postdoctoral fellow, Breast Center, Baylor College of Medicine; adviser: Dr. Steffi Oesterreich, Ph.D.
  • 1998 to 1999: Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Genetics, University of Adelaide; adviser: Rob Saint, Ph.D.
  • 1995 to 1998: Postdoctoral fellow, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Institute of Biotechnology, Department of Molecular Medicine; adviser: Steve Britt, M.D.
  • 1995: Research assistant (Grade II), Queensland Institute of Medical Research
  • 1989: Summer vacation scholar, Queensland Institute of Medical Research
  • January 1988: Laboratory technician, Department of Parasitology, University of Queensland
  • December 1987: Laboratory technician, Department of Microbiology, University of Queensland

Honors

  • 1988 to 1989: Summer vacation scholarship, The Queensland Institute of Medical Research
  • 1991 to 1995: Australian Postgraduate Research Award
  • 1996 to 1997: Johansen Research Fund of the Fight for Sight Research Division of Prevent Blindness America, Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
  • 1998 to 1999: Peter Doherty Postdoctoral Fellowship
  • 2001 to 2004: U.S. Army Medical Research and Materials Command, Department of Defense Postdoctoral Fellowship DAMD17-01-1-0146

Funded research

  • VCU Massey Cancer Center development grant

Research interests

Breast cancer is still one of the leading forms of cancer for women and many of the molecular aspects of this deadly disease are yet to be resolved. My laboratory studies the molecular-genetic basis of breast cancer development. Primarily I am interested in the mechanisms of regulation of the estrogen receptor and how these processes are abrogated in tumor development leading to hormone-responsive cell proliferation and cancer metastasis. Furthermore, I am interested in defining the communication between cancer cells and the surrounding tumor microenvironment. Thus, the information from our studies will facilitate a more global understanding of the molecular events underlying cancer development and progression.

Publications

  • Steven M. Townson, Kaiyan Kang, Adrian V. Lee, and Steffi Oesterreich (in preparation) RFP is essential for ER activity.
  • Steven M. Townson, Kaiyan Kang, Adrian V. Lee, and Steffi Oesterreich. SAFB1 represses ER via an independent transcriptional repression domain that interacts with the RFP. J Biol Chem. 2004 Jun 18;279(25):26074-81. Epub 2004 Apr 05.
  • Steven M. Townson, Wanleng Deng, Klaudia M. Dobrzycka Mamie Air, Adrian V. Lee, Kaiyan Kang, kioka noriyyuki, Shiming Jiang, Kai Michaelis, and Steffi Oesterreich. SAFB2 - A new SAFB homolog and estrogen receptor corepressor. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. May 30; 278(22):20059-68. Epub 2003 Mar 26. March 26.
  • Steven M. Townson, Toby Sullivan, QingPing Zhang, Gary M. Clark, C. Kent Osborne, Adrian V. Lee, and Steffi Oesterreich (2000) HET/SAF-B Overexpression Causes Growth Arrest and Multinuclearity and is Associated With Aneuploidy in Human Breast Cancer. Clinical Cancer Research. 6, 3788-3796.
  • Bellomo D, Headrick JP, Silins GU, Paterson CA, Thomas PS, Gartside M, Mould A, Cahill MM, Tonks ID, Grimmond SM, Townson S, Wells C, Little M, Cummings MC, Hayward NK, Kay GF. (2000) Mice lacking the vascular endothelial growth factor-B gene (Vegfb) have smaller hearts, dysfunctional coronary vasculature, and impaired recovery from cardiac ischemia. Circ. Res. 2000 Feb 4; 86(2):E29-35.
  • Townson, S.M., Chang, B.S.W., Salcedo, E., Chadwell, L.V., Pierce, N.E., and Britt, S.G. (1998) Honeybee Blue- and Ultraviolet-Sensitive Opsins: Cloning, Heterologous Expression in Drosophila, and Physiological Characterization: Isolation and functional in vivo expression of two novel opsin genes from the honey-bee, Apis mellifera. J. Neurosci. 1998 18 (7): 2412-2422.
  • Wen-Hai Chou, Kristin J. Hall, D. Bianca Wilson, Christis L. Wideman, Steven M. Townson, Linda V. Chadwell, and Steven G. Britt. (1996) Identification of a novel Drosophila opsin reveals specific patterning of the R7 and R8 photoreceptor cells. Neuron, 17, 1101-1115.
  • Grimmond, S., Lagercrantz, J., Drinkwater,C., Silins, G., Townson, S., Pollock, P., Godfrey, D., Carson, E., Raker, S., Nordenskjold, M., Ward, L., Hayward, N., and Weber, G. (1996) Cloning and characterisation of a novel human gene related vascular endothelial growth factor. Genome Res. 6, 124-131.
  • Townson, S.M., Lagercrantz, J., Grimmond, S., Silins, G., Nordenskjold, M., Weber, G., and Hayward, N. (1996) Characterisation of the murine VEGF-related gene. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 220, 922-928.
  • Townson, S.M., Upcroft, J.A. & Upcroft, P. (1996) Characterisation and purification of pyruvate:ferredoxin- oxidoreductase from Giardia duodenalis. Mol. Biochem. Parasitol.79, 183-193.
  • Townson, S.M., Hanson, G.R., Upcroft, J.A. & Upcroft, P. (1994) A purified ferredoxin from Giardai duodenalis. Eur J. Biochem. 220, 439-446.
  • Townson, S.M., Laqua, H., Upcroft, P., Boreham, P.F.L., Upcroft, J.A. (1992) Induction of metronidazole resistance in Giardia. Trans. Royal. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 86, 521-522.

Book chapters and reviews

  • Klaudia Dobryzcka, Steven M. Townson, Shiming Jiang, Steffi Oesterreich. Estrogen Receptor Corepressors-Do They really Play a role in Human Breast Cancer? (2004) Endocrine Related Cancer. 10 (4) pages 517-536.
  • Steven M. Townson, Margarita Ivanova, Adrian V. Lee and Steffi Oesterreich. The role of estrogen in normal development and breast cancer. (2002) In Natural and Synthetic estrogens: aspects of the Cellular and Molecular Activity. Editors Elke Dopp, Helga Stopper, and Gerrit M. Alink. pp33-55. Kerala, India.
  • Townson, S.M., Boreham, P.F.L., Upcroft, P. & Upcroft, J.A. (1994) Resistance to nitroheterocyclic drugs. Acta Tropica. 56, 173-194.

Editorials

  • Townson, S.M. (2004) Editorial comment on environmental pollutants and breast cancer. Cancer Investigation. Vol. 22, No. 0, pp. 1 3, 2004