Lyndsay V. Rhodes, Ph.D.
Expert in cellular, molecular and cancer biology | Florida Gulf Coast University
Fort Myers, FL, UNITED STATES
Lyndsay Rhodes' research focuses on understanding breast cancer.
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Biography
Lyndsay Rhodes is an associate professor of Biology at Florida Gulf Coast University. As a cancer biologist, Rhodes' research focuses on the understanding of the development and progression of breast cancer.
Her research has spanned many areas, including the role of stem cells in tumors, the dysregulation of non-coding RNA, transcriptomics and metabolomics alterations in cancer, animal models of breast cancer, and understanding of cell signaling pathways in cancer progression.
Areas of Expertise (6)
Cancer Biology
Breast Cancer Research
Molecular Biology
Cell Biology
Stem Cell (Adult)
Natural Compounds
Education (3)
Tulane University: Postdoctoral fellowship, Medical Oncology 2014
Tulane University: Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences 2010
Pfeiffer University: B.S., Biology 2004
Affiliations (4)
- American Society for Cell Biology : Member
- American Association of Cancer Research : Member
- Textbook and Academic Authors Association : Member
- Non-Profit Steminist Movement : Board Member
Links (1)
Selected Media Appearances (5)
A discussion recognizing October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Spectrum News tv
2022-10-23
Lyndsay Rhodes discusses the greatest risk factors of breast cancer in a roundtable discussion.
‘Cancer Biology’ students create a life-saving campaign
FGCU 360 tv
2021-06-08
Lyndsay Rhodes talks about the creation of the FGCU Campus Cancer Campaign.
Naples teen presents research findings at national cancer conference
Naples Daily News
2018-06-20
Lyndsay Rhodes talks about Anabella Maria Galang, and her poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research's 2018 annual meeting.
FGCU students take on cancer in the classroom and beyond
ABC 7
2017-12-01
Lyndsay Rhodes work sharing her research with Southwest Florida students is discussed.
FGCU students working on breast cancer treatment
Naples Daily News
2017-11-27
Lyndsay Rhodes discusses Nicole Mamprejew's research into breast cancer cells at FGCU.
Research Focus (1)
Topics of interest
Rhodes also enjoys discussing women in science and work-life balance from a female perspective.
Selected Articles (3)
A novel patient-derived xenograft model for claudin-low triple-negative breast cancer
Breast Cancer Research and TreatmentMargarite D Matossian, Hope E Burks, Annie C Bowles et al.
2018 Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes are clinically aggressive and cannot be treated with targeted therapeutics commonly used in other breast cancer subtypes. The claudin-low (CL) molecular subtype of TNBC has high rates of metastases, chemoresistance and recurrence. There exists an urgent need to identify novel therapeutic targets in TNBC; however, existing models utilized in target discovery research are limited. Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models have emerged as superior models for target discovery experiments because they recapitulate features of patient tumors that are limited by cell-line derived xenograft methods.
Argonaute 2 expression correlates with a Luminal B breast cancer subtype and induces estrogen receptor alpha isoform variation
Non-coding RNAAdrienne K Conger, Elizabeth C Martin, Thomas J Yan et al.
2016 Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) signaling pathways are frequently disrupted in breast cancer and contribute to disease progression. ERα signaling is multifaceted and many ERα regulators have been identified including transcription factors and growth factor pathways. More recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) are shown to deregulate ERα activity in breast carcinomas, with alterations in both ERα and miRNA expression correlating to cancer progression. In this study, we show that a high expression of Argonaute 2 (AGO2), a translation regulatory protein and mediator of miRNA function, correlates with the luminal B breast cancer subtype. We further demonstrate that a high expression of AGO2 in ERα+ tumors correlates with a poor clinical outcome. MCF-7 breast cancer cells overexpressing AGO2 (MCF7-AGO2) altered ERα downstream signaling and selective ERα variant expression. Enhanced ERα-36, a 36 kDa ERα isoform, protein and gene expression was observed in vitro. Through quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), we demonstrate decreased basal expression of the full-length ERα and progesterone receptor genes, in addition to loss of estrogen stimulated gene expression in vitro. Despite the loss, MCF-7-AGO2 cells demonstrated increased estrogen stimulated tumorigenesis in vivo. Together with our clinical findings on AGO2 expression and the luminal B subtype, we suggest that AGO2 is a regulator of altered ERα signaling in breast tumors.
Effects of Resveratrol Analogues on Danio rerio Mortality and Embryonic Development
Eastern BiologistJesse Champer, Sarah Cushion, Sierra King, Carlee Rushlow, Bertin Cenatus and Lyndsay V. Rhodes
2019 Phytoestrogens are commonly found in many plant-based food products, such as legumes and beans, and possess structures similar to estrogens that provides them with an affinity for estrogen receptors. As such, these compounds are able to alter the function of many estrogen-influenced systems including breast, bone, cardiovascular, and reproductive tissues. Studies on phytoestrogens have found both harmful and beneficial health impacts in human and animal models. Here, we focus on a class of phytoestrogens known as stilbenes, including resveratrol and pterostilbene, which have gained popularity as dietary supplements. The effects of stilbenes on embryonic development is an intriguing area of study due to their significant potential for disruption of estrogen signaling. The purpose of the present study was to expand the current scientific knowledge on how phytoestrogens, specifically stilbenes, affect the development and mortality of Danio rerio (zebrafish) embryos. The zebrafish was used as the animal model system for this research due to the wealth of existing data on developmental parameters, as well as the capacity of zebrafish for rapid and readily observable reproductive stages. Embryos were exposed to a series of stilbene compounds in vivo shortly after fertilization, and developmental endpoints and mortality were tracked throughout embryogenesis to functional maturity. Our data identified five stilbene compounds that display significant detrimental effects on embryonic growth and/or mortality rates, demonstrating the need for further studies on the safety of these compounds for human consumption at higher levels.
