Janet L Funk, MD

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Professor, Medicine
Biography
Janet Funk, MD, MS, is a Professor of Medicine with a joint appointment as a Professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Arizona. She earned her BS in chemistry from Stanford University, MS in chemistry from Cornell University with Barbara Baird (IgE receptor membrane dynamics) including work at the National Institutes of Health, and MD from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Following internal medicine residency training at George Washington University, she completed a clinical and research fellowship at UCSF in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism with Carl Grunfeld and Kenneth Feingold, studying hormonal and lipid responses to inflammation. Dr. Funk joined the UCSF faculty as an Assistant Professor of Medicine before moving to the University of Arizona in 1995 to join the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism in the Department of Medicine. Her research seeks to identify novel molecular targets to combat bone diseases commonly affecting women, including arthritis, osteoporosis and breast cancer. Understanding bone protective effects of dietary polyphenols, as well as the interplay of obesity, inflammation and hormonal changes across the lifespan on bone disorders are primary research interests.
Cancer Focus
Bone metastases affecting the majority of women with stage IV breast cancer are a major focus of study in the Funk research group. An initial research effort, which identified a protective effect of dietary polyphenols in blocking the progression of breast cancer bone metastases, has led to current work clarifying the importance of bone specific metabolism of these dietary compounds for bioactivity, and our development of unique and more clinical relevant (ER+) models of breast cancer bone metastases. Clinical studies are underway to examine associations between dietary polyphenols and bone in breast cancer survivors, and pre-clinical studies are testing novel therapeutic approaches for targeting dormant or hormone-resistant ER+ cells in bone.
Selected Publications
Cheng, J. N., J. B. Frye, S. A. Whitman, and J. L. Funk, "Skeletal impact of 17β-estradiol in T cell-deficient mice: age-dependent bone effects and osteosarcoma formation.", Clin Exp Metastasis, vol. 37, issue 2, pp. 269-281, 2020 04. PMID: 31863240
Bland, V. L., J. W. Bea, R. M. Blew, D. J. Roe, V. R. Lee, J. L. Funk, and S. B. Going, "Influence of Changes in Soft Tissue Composition on Changes in Bone Strength in Peripubertal Girls: The STAR Longitudinal Study.", J Bone Miner Res, 2020 Aug 18. PMID: 32810295
Kunihiro, A. G., P. B. Luis, J. B. Frye, W. Chew, H. H. Chow, C. Schneider, and J. L. Funk, "Bone-Specific Metabolism of Dietary Polyphenols in Resorptive Bone Diseases.", Mol Nutr Food Res, vol. 64, issue 14, pp. e2000072, 2020 07. PMID: 32506808
Kunihiro, A. G., J. A. Brickey, J. B. Frye, P. B. Luis, C. Schneider, and J. L. Funk, "Curcumin, but not curcumin-glucuronide, inhibits Smad signaling in TGFβ-dependent bone metastatic breast cancer cells and is enriched in bone compared to other tissues.", J Nutr Biochem, vol. 63, pp. 150-156, 2019 01. PMCID: PMC6296872 PMID: 30393127
Hetherington-Rauth, M., J. W. Bea, V. R. Lee, R. M. Blew, J. L. Funk, T. G. Lohman, and S. B. Going, "Relationship between fat distribution and cardiometabolic risk in Hispanic girls.", Am J Hum Biol, vol. 30, issue 5, pp. e23149, 2018 09. PMCID: PMC6225066 PMID: 30129276
Bea, J. W., J. Funk, M. Hetherington-Rauth, B. C. Wertheim, L. Mosquiera, R. Thuraisingam, V. Lee, R. Blew, T. Lohman, D. J. Roe, et al., "Anthropometry Versus Imaging for Prediction of Inflammation Among Hispanic Girls.", Obesity (Silver Spring), vol. 26, issue 10, pp. 1594-1602, 2018 Oct. PMCID: PMC6171347 PMID: 30277029
Wright, L. E., J. B. Frye, B. Gorti, B. N. Timmermann, and J. L. Funk, "Bioactivity of turmeric-derived curcuminoids and related metabolites in breast cancer.", Curr Pharm Des, vol. 19, issue 34, pp. 6218-25, 2013. PMCID: PMC3883055 PMID: 23448448
Wright, L. E., J. B. Frye, A. L. Lukefahr, B. N. Timmermann, K. S. Mohammad, T. A. Guise, and J. L. Funk, "Curcuminoids block TGF-β signaling in human breast cancer cells and limit osteolysis in a murine model of breast cancer bone metastasis.", J Nat Prod, vol. 76, issue 3, pp. 316-21, 2013 Mar 22. PMCID: PMC3596492 PMID: 23145932
Wright, L. E., J. B. Frye, A. L. Lukefahr, S. L. Marion, P. B. Hoyer, D. G. Besselsen, and J. L. Funk, "4-Vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) inhibits mammary epithelial differentiation and induces fibroadenoma formation in female Sprague Dawley rats.", Reprod Toxicol, vol. 32, issue 1, pp. 26-32, 2011 Jul. PMCID: PMC3142287 PMID: 21621605