Medical College of Georgia

IFL Home | A-Z Index | MCG Home

Alphabetical List
Emeritus List
Schools
Administrative Units
Special Professorships
Search for Faculty
Update Your Record
Help

Rashid A. Akhtar
Office Phone: (706) 721-4776
Office Address: CB 2606
E-mail: RAAKHTAR@mail.mcg.edu

Appointment Date: November 1975
Appointment Type: Full-Time

Academic Rank(s)
Rank Department Section School
Professor Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Medicine
Professor Graduate Studies Graduate Studies

Education
PHD; 1974; University of London
MS; 1964; Panjab Univ
BS; 1963; Panjab Univ

Teaching Areas
Signal transduction mechanisms. Interaction and regulation of signaling pathways. Biosynthesis and degradation of lipids and their metabolic regulation in living cells. Cholesterol and lipoprotein metabolism in health and disease. Metabolic disorders of lipid metabolism. Integration of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in different organ systems.

Research Areas
The biochemical mechanism by which growth factors promote corneal wound repair is not clear. The long-term goals of my interest is to investigate whether the phosphoinositide-derived second messengers play a role in corneal epithelial wound repair. Our hypothesis is that interaction of epidermal growth factor with its receptor activates at least three phosphoinositide-metabolizing enzymes, namely phospholipase C gamma-1, phospholipase D, and phosphoinositide 3-kinase in corneal epithelium. Currently, our efforts are focused on identification of target proteins that mediate the effects of these enzymes on DNA synthesis and cell proliferation in corneal epithelium. We believe data from these studies will enhance understanding of the mechanism involved in wound repair, and help design therapeutic drugs for better treatment of corneal wounds.

Clinical Interests
Diabetic complications in corneal wound repair.

IFL Extras
Automatic search of National Library of Medicine's publications database.

© 2005
Medical College of Georgia
All rights reserved.

Medical College of Georgia
Direct inquiries about faculty information 
to Faculty Affairs.
Comments or questions about the system? Contact Institutional Information.