Professor of Biochemistry
Telephone: 215 991-8285
John.Swaney@Drexelmed.Edu

Education:
Ph.D. (1970) Chemistry/Biochemistry, Northwestern University
M.B.A. (2000) Villanova University
 
Honors

2003, GSA Teaching Award
2004, Angelo Pinto Basic Science Educator Award
2005, elected to Alpha Omega Alpha honor society
 
Current Activities

Since closing my research laboratory in 1998, I have been heavily engaged in teaching and in educational research. I am Course Director for the Medical Nutrition course and for the Molecular Structure and Metabolism module in the graduate Core Curriculum, in addition to teaching in the Medical Biochemistry course. Educational research activity includes the creation of a web-based educational system for teaching Nutrition ("Netrition") and ongoing evaluations of the educational outcome from this intervention in terms of student performance and satisfaction.

Prior Research Program

Over the period from 1972-1998 the major focus of my research concerned the study of how lipoprotein function, especially that of the high density lipoproteins, is dependent upon chemical and physical structure. Theses studies led to the discovery of a new class of apolipoproteins (apo A-IV). Later studies on reverse cholesterol transport was directed at identifying key players in the process of uptake of cellular cholesterol. We found that we could enhance the ability of serum to extract cholesterol from cells after reaction of whole serum with certain phospholipids and we hope that study of this process will lead to insights into ways in which lipid deposition and atherosclerosis might be retarded.

Selected References

1. Fournier, N., de la Llera Moya, M., Burkey,B., Swaney, J.B., Paterniti, J., Moatti, N., Atger, V., and Rothblat, G. (1996) The role of HDL phospholipid in efflux of cell cholesterol to whole serum: Studies with human apo A-I transgenic rats. J. Lipid Res. 37:1704-1711.

2. Ji, Y., Jian, B. Wang, N., de la Llera Moya, M., Phillips, M.C., Rothblat, G.H., Swaney, J.B. and Tall, A.R. (1997) Scavenger Receptor B1 promotes high density lipoprotein cellular cholesterol efflux. J. Biol. Chem. 272:20982-20985.

3. Jian, B. de la Llera-Moya, M., Rothblat, G., Francone, O. and Swaney, J.B. (1997) Modification of the cholesterol efflux properties of serum by enrichment with phospholipid. J. Lipid Res. 38: 738-744.

4. Jian, B. de la Llera Moya, M., Ji, Y.,Wang, N., Phillips, M.C., Swaney, J.B. Tall, A.R., and Rothblat, G.H. (1998) Scavenger Receptor B1 as a Mediator of Cellular Cholesterol Efflux to Lipoproteins and Phospholipid Acceptors. J. Biol. Chem. 273:5599-5606.