
Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
UAMS College of Pharmacy
Research Interest Statement
The overall objective of my research is to elucidate biological mechanisms by which ionizing radiation causes injury in normal (non-cancerous) tissues and to identify countermeasures to intervene in these injuries. Our laboratory has a particular focus on radiation injury in the cardiovascular system. We use in vivo models that address cardiac side effects of radiation therapy, whole-body radiation exposure due to radiological accidents, and cardiovascular effects of charged particle radiation to mimic exposures during travel in deep space. Our lab has long-term experience with in vivo echocardiography, ex vivo cardiac function measurements, and histological and molecular analyses of the heart.
Dr. Boerma’s Cancer-Related Grants
NIH/NIGMS: 5P20GM109005
Boerma, Marjan: Sub-Project PI
Title “Center for Studies of Host Response to Cancer Therapy-Irradiation and Animal Core”
06/24/2015 to 03/31/2020
$852,760*
NASA
Boerma, Marjan: PI
Title “Tocotrienol as a countermeasure against high-energy charged particle-induced carcinogenesis, cardiovascular disease, and central nervous system effects”
01/31/2019 to 01/30/2021
$301,354*
*cancer-related annual direct costs
Dr. Boerma’s UAMS Collaborators
Antino Allen, Ph.D., Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Nukhet Aykin-Burns, Ph.D., Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Martin Hauer-Jensen, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Se-Ran Jun, Ph.D., Department of Biomedical Informatics
Thomas Kim, M.D., Department of Radiation Oncology
Igor Koturbash, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
Reid Landes, Ph.D., Department of Biostatistics
Chenghui Li, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacy Practice
Sanjay Maraboyina, M.D., Department of Radiation Oncology
Ganesh Narayanasamy, Ph.D., Department of Radiation Oncology
Mausam Patel, M.D., Department of Radiation Oncology
Rupak Pathak, Ph.D., Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Snehalata Pawar, Ph.D., Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Dr. Boerma’s External Collaborators
Amrita Cheema, Ph.D., Georgetown University
John Griffin, Ph.D., Scripps Research
Vivien Mao, M.D., Ph.D., Loma Linda University
Meetha Medhora, Ph.D., Medical College Wisconsin
Michael Weil, Ph.D., Colorado State University
Hartmut Weiler, Ph.D., Versiti Bloodcenter
Opportunities for Collaboration
I am happy to collaborate on studies in which my expertise in radiation biology can be of help. In addition, as the director of the Ultrasound Imaging Core and the Experimental Radiation Core at UAMS, I am happy to discuss how we can assist in your research.
You Might Not Know That …
I have been lucky to visit a total of 19 European countries and hope to grow this number in the future.
Recent Cancer-Related Publications
Vijayalakshmi Sridharan, John W. Seawright, Francis J. Antonawich, Merrill Garnett, Maohua Cao, Preeti Singh, Marjan Boerma. Late administration of a palladium lipoic acid complex (POLY-MVA) modifies cardiac mitochondria but not functional or structural manifestations of radiation-induced heart disease in a rat model. Radiation Research 2017, 187: 361-366
Chhanda Bose, Sanjay Awasthi, Rajendra Sharma, Helen Beneš, Martin Hauer-Jensen, Marjan Boerma, Sharda P. Singh. Sulforaphane potentiates anticancer effects of doxorubicin and attenuates its cardiotoxicity in a breast cancer model. PloS One 2018; 13: e0193918
Nukhet Aykin-Burns, Rupak Pathak, Marjan Boerma, Thomas Kim, Martin Hauer-Jensen. Utilization of vitamin E analogs to protect normal tissues while enhancing anti-tumor effects. Seminars in Radiation Oncology 2019; 29: 55-61.