Faculty

Curriculum Vitae

• B.Sc. in Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, Croatia
• M.Sc. in Medical Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, Croatia
• Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, New Zealand, 2000
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Univ. of Miami, 2000-2003
• Assistant Scientist, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Univ. of Miami , 2003-2006
• Research Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, 2007

Research Interests

My research interest is focused on olfactory recognition. I am studying molecular mechanisms of activation of olfactory receptors (GPCRs) and receptor/odorant interactions by combining high throughput electrophysiology, mutagenesis, computational homology modeling and in silico analysis (docking and virtual screening).

Homology model of mouse olfactory receptor MOR42-3 and its odorant binding site (docked ligand/odorant - nonanedioic acid-highlighted in orange).

In addition, I am also interested in cancer detection based on volatile/odorous metabolomics. Volatile compounds released from cancerous tissue (as a result of altered metabolism) form a unique odorant signature that can be detected by canine olfactory system. The first step in exploring this hypothesis is identification of volatile tumor markers. The next step is to identify the canine olfactory receptors that can detect these tumor markers The knowledge obtained from these studies will provide a foundation for development of a biosensor, a diagnostic tool for early detection ofcancer (melanoma).

Recent Publications

• Menashe, I., Abaffy, T., Hasin, Y., Goshen, S., Yahalom, V., Luetje C.W., Lancet D. (2007) Genetic Elucidation of Human Hyperosmia to Isovaleric Acid, PLoS Biology in press

• Abaffy, T., Malhotra, A., Luetje, C.W. (2007) “Molecular basis for ligand specificity in a mouse olfactory receptor- A network of functionally important residues”, Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2007 Jan 12; 282(2):1216-24.

• Abaffy, T., Matsunami, H., Luetje, C.W. (2006) “Functional analysis of a mammalian odorant receptor subfamily”. Journal of Neurochemistry, Jun; 97(5):1506-1810.

• Abaffy T., Cooper G.J.S (2004) “Amylin signaling in skeletal muscle”, Peptides. Dec; 25(12):2119-25.

• Abaffy T., Trubey K.R., Chaudhari N, (2003) “Adenylyl cyclases expression and modulation of cAMP in rat taste buds”, Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. Jun; 284(6):C1420-8.

• Topic E. Zovko V., Abaffy T., Barbaric V. Rudez J. Jelic I. (1994) “Troponin T and Serum enzymes in monitoring open hearth surgery”, Acta Clin. Croat. 1994, 33:77-85