Diane K. Hartle, Ph.D. Associate Professor Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Sciences Office: Room 701 Boyd Graduate Studies Phone: (706) 542-5309 E-mail: dhartle@rx.uga.edu

Biosketch

B.S. Biochemistry	University of Minnesota	Minneapolis, MN	1975
Ph.D. Pharmacology	University of Iowa	Iowa City, IA	1981
Postdoctoral Fellow, Cardiovascular Center	University of Iowa	Iowa City, IA	1981-1982
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Medicine	Emory University	Atlanta, GA	1982-1984
Assistant Professor	Emory University School of Medicine	Atlanta, GA	1984-1987
Assistant Professor	University of Georgia	Athens, GA	1987-1995
Associate Professor	University of Georgia	Athens, GA	1995-Present

Honors and Awards
Chairman of the Board of Directors, American Heart Associate, GA Affiliate (1993-1994) with service on the Board of Directors from 1988-1997.
Clinical Sciences II Study Section Service, National Institutes of Health (1990-1995).
Teacher of the Year Award, College of Pharmacy, 1993.

Research Interests
The Nutraceutical Research Laboratory. Current laboratory research centers around the pharmacology of nutraceuticals and various pharmaceuticals. Three patents are being developed concerning new nutraceuticals designed to lower cholesterol. There are ongoing projects involving formulating and characterizing very strong and broad range anti-oxidant nutraceuticals that regulate gene expression in beneficial ways. The goal of the research efforts is to define biological targets that can be effectively manipulated with nutraceuticals. Nutrient control of gene expression is an area of science that is rapidly growing due to gene microarray technology and other molecular biological techniques that make it possible to test for the effects of complex mixtures of chemicals in natural products on gene expression. Students training in the laboratory will have the opportunity to develop the science supporting the use of a nutraceutical in human health maintenance or disease treatment. Current products being tested involved muscadine grape fractions, herbals, spices and a variety of waxes from vegetable sources that affect lipid biochemistry in beneficial ways. The study of the waxes represents an entirely new area of nutrition and nutraceutical development. Of particular research interest are natural PPAR alpha agonists and natural substances that inhibit NF-kappa B activation. Both patentable and non-patentable products are being developed and tested. Students training in this area will develop an appreciation for the biological targets that are the focus of both pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. The laboratory is interested in products that can be used to prevent or treat atherosclerosis, inflammatory diseases and metabolic syndrome. For example, one muscadine grape product has been commercialized and is being tested for activity in models of arthritis and heart disease. Students will become familiar with anti-oxidant theory and redox control of gene expression. Much of our current work involves ascertaining the role of VLCFAs (very long chain fatty acids) in regulating gene expression and exploring the nutraceutical value of the VLCFAs. The laboratory has applied for three patents in this area of research. Students working in the nutraceutical research laboratory will also have the opportunity to guest lecture in a graduate course on nutraceuticals after each has developed an area of interest. The research conducted in the laboratory will train students for future careers in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries or in academic science. The laboratory works closely with investigators at the USDA, commodity groups and private industries interested in manufacturing the patentable products.

Representative Publications
E. Bralley, P. Greenspan, J.L. Hargrove, D.K. Hartle, Inhibition of Hyaluronidase Activity by Vitis rotundifolia (Muscadine) Berry Seeds and Skins, Pharmaceutical Biology, 2007, In Press.

E. Bralley, J.L. Hargrove, D.K. Hartle, Topical Anti-inflammatory Activities of Vitis rotundifolia (Muscadine Grape) Extracts in the Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate (TPA) Model of Ear Inflammation, The Journal of Medicinal Food, 2007, In Press.

T.S. Hudson, N.P. Nomeli, D.K. Hartle, J.E. Greenspan, Inhibition of Prostate Cancer Growth by Muscadine Grape Skin Extract and Resveratrol Through Distinct Mechanisms. Cancer Research, 2007 Accepted for Publication.

P. Greenspan, J.D. Bauer, S.H. Pollock, J.D. Gangemi, E.P. Mayer, A. Ghaffar, J.L. Hargrove and D.K. Hartle, Anti-inflammatory Peroperties of the Muscadine Grape (Vitis rotundifolia). J. Agric. Food Chem., 2005, 53:8481-8484.

F. Zhang, W. Yu, J. Hargrove, P. Greenspan, R.J. Dean, E.W. Taylor and D.K. Hartle, Inhibition of TNF-Alpha Induced ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin by Selenium, Atherosclerosis, 2002, 161:381-386.


J.L. Hargrove, M. Azain, D.K. Hartle and J. Hwang, Rate of Exchange of Adipose Precursors to Cell Membrane Phospholipids When Feeding Canola Oil to Rodents, Computer Simulation:Health Sciences Simulation, 2002, 6:111-116.