John Sundberg, Diplomat ACVP, D.V.M., Ph.D.

Professor

Veterinary pathologist contributing to many aspects of disease research at JAX, with a research program focusing on genetic skin diseases.

The Jackson Laboratory Cancer Center

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About John Sundberg, Diplomat ACVP, D.V.M., Ph.D.

There is an old saying that "pathology is the mother of medicine." Diseases, and more specifically the discipline of studying diseases (pathology), are why we have medicine and biomedical research. Correctly identifying a disease and the various processes each disease undergoes as it develops is the basis of most work done at The Jackson Laboratory. Through a collaborative effort of scientists in our Jackson Aging Center, we are identifying strain-specific diseases in 32 heavily used inbred strains of mice and, using modern genetic technologies, are mapping the genes responsible for many of these diseases. As humans get similar diseases as they age, this information will be vitally important to studying complex genetic diseases associated with aging.

Alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease featuring hair loss, is a long-term focus of our laboratory group.We have identified four regions of the mouse genome that contain susceptibility genes for alopecia areata and have identified a critical gene in the primary effect or cells. We are also characterizing how drug targets change during the development and progression of the disease and are working to make new diagnostic and prognostic tools available to the medical community. We also work on projects investigating chronic proliferative dermatitis and B6 alopecia as well as characterizing mutant mice with hair medulla defects and a new spontaneous mutant with blistering of the skin.

Grants, awards and accomplishments

AWARDS:

2008 ACVP Very Important Pathologists Program, member

2008 John Ebbling Lectureship, The European Hair Research Society

2007 Distinguished Alumnus Award, Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine

2006 Silver Fern Award, New Zealand Laboratory Animal Science Society

1980 Gamma Sigma Delta (Honorary Society of Agriculture)

1978 DuPont-Haskell Laboratories Fellowship in Veterinary Pathology

1977 Phi Zeta (Honorary Veterinary Fraternity)

1976 Phi Zeta Research Paper Award

1975 Mead-Johnson Summer Fellowship in Veterinary Pathology

1973 Animal Science Award

1973 Elmer Towne Dairy Science Award

ACTIVE GRANTS:

1. NIH R01 AR049288. Cpdm: Cloning a Gene that Regulates Eosinophil Function. Principal Investigator.

2. NIH R01 AR056635. Genetics of alopecia areata in the C3H/HeJ mouse. Principal Investigator.

3. NIH/NCI R01 CA089713. Electronic Access to Mouse Tumor Data. Co-Investigator.

4. NIH R01 AR055225. Model systems for PXE. Subcontract Principal Investigator.

5. NIH R01 AR063702. Skeletal Phenotyping of KOMP Mice. Subcontract PI.

6. NIH R13 OD010920. Pathology of the Laboratory Mouse. Principal Investigator.

7. NIH R21 AR063781. Discovering Novel Gene Networks for Skin Diseases. Principal Investigator.

8. DEBRA UK. Modeling the Genetics onf Epidermolysis Bullosa in Mice. Co-principal investigator.

GRANTS IN PREPARATION OR IN REVIEW:

1. DEBRA International. (submitted 15 Sept 2014)

2. NIH R01 Discovering Novel Gene Networks for Skin Diseases. Principal Investigator. (conversion of R21, to be submitted 5 Oct 2014).

3. NIH R01 Genetic modifiers of junctional epidermolysis bullosa. Co-PI. (to be submitted 5 Feb 2015). Others currently under discussion potentially for 5 Oct 2014 deadline.

Selected Publications

Highlighted Abstract

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) and generalized arterial calcification of infancy (GACI) are heritable ectopic mineralization disorders. Most cases of PXE and many cases of GACI harbor mutations in the ABCC6 gene. There is no effective treatment for these disorders. We explored the potential efficacy of bisphosphonates to prevent ectopic calcification caused by ABCC6 mutations by feeding Abcc6(-/-) mice with diet containing etidronate disodium (ETD) or alendronate sodium trihydrate (AST) in quantities corresponding to 1x, 5x, or 12x of the doses used to treat osteoporosis in humans. The mice were placed on diet at 4 weeks of age, and the degree of mineralization was assessed at 12 weeks by quantitation of the calcium deposits in the dermal sheath of vibrissae, a progressive biomarker of the mineralization, by computerized morphometry of histopathologic sections and by direct chemical assay of calcium. We found that ETD, but not AST, at the 12x dosage, significantly reduced mineralization, suggesting that selected bisphosphonates may be helpful for prevention of mineral deposits in PXE and GACI caused by mutations in the ABCC6 gene, when combined with careful monitoring of efficacy and potential side-effects.

View full list of publications

Search MagazineSeptember 01, 2009
Twin tracks
Anne and Erin Spillane speak of their time spent at the Jackson Laboratory in 2001. The sisters now work in dermatology for the U.S. Army.
- Skin and Hair Defects
- Genetics and Genomics