Bodine G300CC
Thomas Jefferson University
111 S. 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Phone: (215) 955-1056
FAX: (215) 955-5825
E-mail: ronald.coss@mail.tju.edu

Research Interests:

• cellular radiation and hyperthermia biology
• heat shock proteins
• pHi homeostasis
• the importance of the nuclear matrix and cytoskeleton in the cellular stress response.

 Basic Cancer Research Program Director

Dr. Coss' laboratory is currently studying mechanisms responsible for therapeutic resistance of human tumor cells growing in acidotic environments, especially melanoma, with the aim of developing strategies to identify and selectively sterilize these cells.

Dr. Coss has been the recipient of numerous National Cancer Institute grants, and has authored or coauthored over 80 scholarly papers and abstracts. He is a member of numerous scientific organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association for Cancer Research, American Society for Cell Biology, North American Hyperthermia Society, Radiation Research Society and Sigma Xi (Thomas Jefferson University Chapter President, 1995-1997). He is also a member of the Philadelphia Cancer Research Association (President, 1988-1990).

Dr. Coss earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. He was a postdoctoral fellow at The Rockefeller University and at Colorado State University. Dr. Coss was a faculty member at Colorado State University before coming to Thomas Jefferson University in 1982. Dr. Coss has a secondary appointment in the Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, is a Member of the College of Graduate Studies, and is a Member of the Kimmel Cancer Institute.

Recent Representative Publications:

Wachsberger, P, and Coss, RA (1993). The response of the nuclear matrix of G1 CHO cells to heat shock: Resinless section electron microscopy, biochemical and immunofluorescence studies. J Cell Physiol 155:615- 634.

Haldar, S, Jena, N, Coss, RA, Sedar, AW, Wachsberger, PR, Beatty, C, and Croce, CM (1994). Cellular localization of the bcl-2 protein and response to glucocorticoid stress. Cell Death and Differ 1:109-115.

Coss, RA, Alden, ME, Wachsberger, PR and Smith, NN (1996). Response of the microtubular cytoskeleton following hyperthermia as a prognostic indicater of survival in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Int. J Radiat Oncol BiolPhysics 34:403-410.

Coss, RA and Linnemans, WAM (1996) The Effects of Hyperthermia on the Cytoskeleton-A Review.

Int. J Hyperthermia 12:173-196.

Wachsberger, PR, Landry, J, Storck, C, Davis, K, O'Hara, MD, Owen, CS, Leeper, DB and Coss, RA (1997) Mammalian cells adapted to growth at pH 6.7 have elevated HSP27 levels and are resistant to cisplatin. I J Hyperthermia. 13:251-255.

Coss, RA, Messinger, JA, Wahl, ML, Wachsberger, PR, Leeper and Owen, CS (1997) Bicarbonate-dependent proton extrusion in CHO cells adapted to growth at pH 6.7. International Journal of Hyperthermia. 13:325- 336.

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