Catherine E. Steding, Ph.D.

Biography

Dr. Catherine E. Steding first recognized her love of research during her undergraduate education at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Her time working in evolutionary ecology laboratories led to a passion for both teaching and scientific inquiry. To further her education, she moved to Indianapolis, Indiana to complete her Ph.D. at Indiana University School of Medicine in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Her training continued after graduation via a T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics. Dr. Steding moves forward in her career by accepting an opportunity to assist in the creation of new degree programs at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. During her time at ISU, she helped create a Master's in Genetic Counseling degree program and maintained an independent research laboratory. The ongoing efforts of her and others' work in cancer molecular biology and genetics sparked significant interest in cancer research at the university and resulted in the creation of the Rich and Robin Porter Cancer Research Center. Dr. Steding served as the founding director of the center before bringing her love of teaching and scientific exploration to Marian University. Here at Marian she will continue her research and teaching efforts as a member of the College of Osteopathic Medicine faculty in the Biomedical Sciences Master's Program. 

Research Interest

Dr. Steding remains committed to pursuing research in Breast Cancer with an emphasis on the molecular mechanisms that drive disease development, progression, metastasis, and chemoresistance. Paclitaxel, a microtubule-stabilizing compound, is of particular interest in studies of chemoresistance given its ongoing use clinically and the evidence of acquired chemoresistance in refractory disease. Cellular signaling pathways and their ability to confer or promote chemoresistance against paclitaxel remain poorly defined with a significant amount of conflicting information available. Preliminary whole-transcriptome analysis from paclitaxel-resistant cell lines performed in the Steding laboratory previously showed several pathways contribute to or are altered as a result of chemoresistance. Identifying which of the genes and pathways actually confer resistance represents the main focus of Dr. Steding's research.

Highlighted Presentations and Publications

Brooks, K., Holman, M., Steding, C., & Tucker, M. (2022). A founder CHEK2 pathogenic variant in association with kidney cancer. Cancer Genet, 262-263, 40-42.

Fry, D., Groepper, D., MacCarrick, G., Demo, E. M., Thomas, M. J., Wilkes, M. J., Lyons, M. J., Tucker, M. E., Steding, C. and Fleischer, J. (2022). Loeys-Dietz syndrome caused by 1q41 deletion including TGFB2 is associated with a neurodevelopmental phenotype. Am J Med Genet A, 188(7), 2237-2241.

Brooks, K., Holman, M., Steding, C.E., and Tucker, M. (2020) A Founder CHEK2 Pathogenic

Variant in Association with Kidney Cancer. National Comprehensive Cancer Network Virtual Annual Conference.

Brown, N., Cleghorn, K., Muse D., and Steding, C.E. (2019). Critically Evaluating In Vitro Conditions:

Implications in Combating Cancer Derived from Long-Term Treatment with Commonly Used Compounds. Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). Anaheim, California. November 13-16, 2019.

Myers N, Mikolaj P, and Steding CE. (2018). Competing Policy Windows in Biotechnology: The

FDA, the 21st Century Cures Act, and Laboratory Developed Tests. Review of Policy Research. 35, (1): 89-119.

Ghosh, S.K., Johnson, S.M., Steding, C.E., and Fitch, R. (2016). Adjuvanticity and Chemo-therapeutic Potential of Novel Phytol-derived Immunoadjuvants. International Congress of Immunology. August 21-26, 2016.

Steding, C. E. (2016). Creating chemotherapeutic-resistant breast cancer cell lines: advances and future perspectives. Future Oncol, 12(12), 1517-1527.

Sprouse, A. A., Steding, C. E., & Herbert, B. S. (2012). Pharmaceutical regulation of telomerase and its clinical potential. J Cell Mol Med, 16(1), 1-7.

Steding, C. E., Wu, S. T., Zhang, Y., Jeng, M. H., Elzey, B. D., & Kao, C. (2011). The role of interleukin-12

on modulating myeloid-derived suppressor cells, increasing overall survival and reducing

metastasis. Immunology, 133(2), 221-238.

Koziel, J. E., Fox, M. J., Steding, C. E., Sprouse, A. A., & Herbert, B. S. (2011). Medical genetics and

epigenetics of telomerase. J Cell Mol Med, 15(3), 457-467.

Mellon, M. J., Bae, K. H., Steding, C. E., Jimenez, J. A., Kao, C., & Gardner, T. A. (2008). Suppression of renal cell carcinoma growth and metastasis with sustained antiangiogenic gene therapy. Hum Gene Ther, 19(5), 487-495.