Dr. Athena Starlard-Davenport is Assistant Professor of Genetics, Genomics and Informatics at University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in Memphis, TN. Dr. Starlard-Davenport earned a Masters in Biology at University of Louisiana at Monroe and a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Medicine. Following her graduate studies, Dr. Starlard-Davenport spent several years at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an ORISE post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Toxicological Research, an FDA Commissioner's Fellow, and as a staff fellow. She then returned to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to design tools to promote and increase cancer awareness and the importance of biobanking as part of the Department of Cancer Control and Population Sciences. Dr. Starlard-Davenport is now at UTHSC where she leads as PI the Sistas Taking A stand for breast cancer Research (STAR) study. Dr. Starlard-Davenport is a current (2019-2021) Human Genetics Scholar with the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG).
Recent Publications
- Wang, X, Bajpai, AK, Gu, Q, Ashbrook, DG, Starlard-Davenport, A, Lu, L. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis identifies key hub genes and pathways in acute myeloid leukemia. Front Genet 2023; 14 : 1009462. PubMed PMID:36923792 PubMed Central PMC10008864.
- Bajpai, AK, Gu, Q, Orgil, BO, Xu, F, Torres-Rojas, C, Zhao, W, Chen, C, Starlard-Davenport, A, Jones, B, Lebeche, D et al.. Cardiac copper content and its relationship with heart physiology: Insights based on quantitative genetic and functional analyses using BXD family mice. Front Cardiovasc Med 2023; 10 : 1089963. PubMed PMID:36818345 PubMed Central PMC9931904.
- Gu, Q, Palani, CD, Smith, A, Li, B, Amos-Abanyie, EK, Ogu, U, Lu, L, Pace, BS, Starlard-Davenport, A. MicroRNA29B induces fetal hemoglobin via inhibition of the HBG repressor protein MYB in vitro and in humanized sickle cell mice. Front Med (Lausanne) 2022; 9 : 1043686. PubMed PMID:36507536 PubMed Central PMC9732025.
- Smith, A, Cao, X, Gu, Q, Kubi Amos-Abanyie, E, Tolley, EA, Vidal, G, Lyn-Cook, B, Starlard-Davenport, A. Characterization of the Metabolome of Breast Tissues from Non-Hispanic Black and Non-Hispanic White Women Reveals Correlations between Microbial Dysbiosis and Enhanced Lipid Metabolism Pathways in Triple-Negative Breast Tumors. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14 (17): . PubMed PMID:36077608 PubMed Central PMC9454857.
- Starlard-Davenport, A, Gu, Q, Pace, BS. Targeting Genetic Modifiers of HBG Gene Expression in Sickle Cell Disease: The miRNA Option. Mol Diagn Ther 2022; 26 (5): 497-509. PubMed PMID:35553407 PubMed Central PMC9098152.
- Wang, X, Bajpai, AK, Gu, Q, Centeno, A, Starlard-Davenport, A, Prins, P, Xu, F, Lu, L. A systems genetics approach delineates the role of Bcl2 in leukemia pathogenesis. Leuk Res 2022; 114 : 106804. PubMed PMID:35182904 PubMed Central PMC9272521.
- Starlard-Davenport, A, Fitzgerald, A, Pace, BS. Exploring epigenetic and microRNA approaches for γ-globin gene regulation. Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2021; 246 (22): 2347-2357. PubMed PMID:34292080 PubMed Central PMC8606961.
- Pace, BS, Starlard-Davenport, A, Kutlar, A. Sickle cell disease: progress towards combination drug therapy. Br J Haematol 2021; 194 (2): 240-251. PubMed PMID:33471938 PubMed Central PMC8282668.
- Xu, F, Gao, J, Munkhsaikhan, U, Li, N, Gu, Q, Pierre, JF, Starlard-Davenport, A, Towbin, JA, Cui, Y, Purevjav, E et al.. The Genetic Dissection of Ace2 Expression Variation in the Heart of Murine Genetic Reference Population. Front Cardiovasc Med 2020; 7 : 582949. PubMed PMID:33330645 PubMed Central PMC7714829.
- Gao, J, Xu, F, Starlard-Davenport, A, Miller, DB, O'Callaghan, JP, Jones, BC, Lu, L. Exploring the Role of Chemokine Receptor 6 (Ccr6) in the BXD Mouse Model of Gulf War Illness. Front Neurosci 2020; 14 : 818. PubMed PMID:32922257 PubMed Central PMC7456958.