Assistant Professor

Bridgeside Point, 100 Technology Drive
Room 326, BRIDG
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3130
Phone: (412) 624-8285
Email: plo4@pitt.edu

Personal Web Page
Research Interests





















Publications
Education

Publications

• Miller A, Balakrishnan L, Buncher NA, Opresko PL, Bambara RA.
  Telomere proteins POT1, TRF1 and TRF2 augment long-patch base excision repair in vitro.
  Cell Cycle. 2012 Mar 1;11(5). PMID: 22336916
• Choi S, Wang W, Ribeiro AJ, Kalinowski A, Gregg SQ, Opresko PL, Niedernhofer LJ, Rohde GK, Dahl KN.
  Computational image analysis of nuclear morphology associated with various nuclear-specific aging disorders.
  Nucleus. 2011 Nov-Dec;2(6):570-9. Epub 2011 Nov 1. PMID: 22127259
• O'Donovan A, Pantell MS, Puterman E, Dhabhar FS, Blackburn EH, Yaffe K, Cawthon RM, Opresko PL, Hsueh WC, Satterfield S, Newman AB, Ayonayon HN, Rubin SM, Harris TB, Epel ES; for the Health Aging and Body Composition Study.
  Cumulative Inflammatory Load Is Associated with Short Leukocyte Telomere Length in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study.
  PLoS One. 2011;6(5):e19687. Epub 2011 May 13. PMID:21602933
• Sanders JL, Iannaccone A, Boudreau RM, Conley YP, Opresko PL, Hsueh WC, Cummings SR, Cawthon RM, Harris TB, Nalls MA, Kritchevsky SB, Newman AB; for the Health ABC Study.
  The Association of Cataract With Leukocyte Telomere Length in Older Adults: Defining a New Marker of Aging.
  J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2011 Jun;66A(6):639-645. Epub 2011 Mar 7. PMID:21382885
• Wang H, Nora GJ, Ghodke H, Opresko P.
  Single Molecule Studies of Physiologically Relevant Telomeric Tails Reveals Pot1 Mechanism for Promoting G-Quadruplex Unfolding.
  J Biol Chem. 2010 Dec 23. PMID: 21183684
• Damerla RR, Knickelbein KE, Kepchia D, Jackson A, Armitage BA, Eckert KA, Opresko PL.
  Telomeric repeat mutagenicity in human somatic cells is modulated by repeat orientation and G-quadruplex stability.
  DNA Repair (Amst). 2010 Nov 10;9(11):1119-29. Epub 2010 Aug 25. PubMed PMID: 20800555
• Liu FJ, Barchowsky A, Opresko PL.
  The Werner Syndrome Protein Suppresses Telomeric Instability Caused by Chromium (VI) Induced DNA Replication Stress.
  PLoS One. 2010 Jun 16;5(6):e11152. PMID: 20585393
• Nora, GJ, Buncher, NA, and Opresko, PL.
  Telomeric Protein TRF2 Protects Holliday Junctions with Telomeric Arms from Displacement by the Werner Syndrome Helicase.
  Nucleic Acids Res. 2010 Jul 1;38(12):3984-98. Epub 2010 Mar 9. PMID 20215438
• Liu FJ, Barchowsky A, Opresko PL.
  The Werner Syndrome Protein Functions in Repair of Cr (VI)-induced Replication.
  Associated DNA Damage. Toxicol Sci. 2009 Jun 1. PMID: 19487340
• Opresko PL, Sowd G, Wang H.
  The Werner Syndrome Helicase/exonuclease Processes Mobile D-loops Through Branch Migration and Degradation.
  PLoS ONE. 2009;4(3):e4825. Epub 2009 Mar 13. PMID: 19283071
• Sowd, G., Lei, M., and Opresko, P.L. (2008)
  Mechanism and Substrate Specificity of Telomeric Protein POT1 Stimulation of the Werner Syndrome Helicase.
  Accepted in Nucleic Acids Research Jun 25. PMID: 18583366
• Opresko PL.
  Telomere ResQue and preservation-Roles for the Werner syndrome protein and other RecQ helicases
  Mech Ageing Dev. 2008 Jan-Feb; 129 ( 1-2 ): 79-90 . Epub 2007 Oct 30. PMID: 18054793
• Opresko, P.L., Calvo, J.P. and von Kobbe, C.
  Essential role of the Werner syndrome protein in oncogenic proliferation of human caner cells.
  Mech Ageing Dev. 2007 Jul-Aug;128(7-8):423-36. Epub 2007 May 31. PMID: 1762441

Education

• 1994 - B.S. in Chemistry and Biology
  DeSales University, Center Valley, PA
• 2000 - Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  Pennsylvania State University, College of Medicine, Hershey, PA