Brown Chair of Cancer Biology
School of Medicine
John W. Eaton, Ph.D., is a professor of medicine and pharmacology/toxicology at the University of Louisville. He also serves on the faculty of the Center for Genetics and Molecular Medicine and is deputy director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center as well as leader of the Molecular Targets Program.
Eaton’s laboratory is investigating how iron and oxidation injure cells, seeking new ways to make cells resistant to such damage. The team’s efforts could have therapeutic implications for a number of human diseases, including cardiac and neurological disorders. In addition, Eaton and his colleagues are pursuing early-stage research into the effects of inflammation on tumor growth and the possibility of developing a vaccine that might prevent many types of tumors.
Eaton holds thirteen U.S. patents and has two patents pending. He is author or co-author of more than 275 peer-reviewed research publications in journals such as Nature, Science, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Biological Chemistry and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA).
Eaton is a founder of a pharmaceutical start-up company, Biomedical Frontiers, Inc., which has received support from the National Institutes of Health for pre-clinical development of a new drug for diabetic peripheral neuropathy. He acts as a consultant and grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and a number of foreign granting agencies.
Eaton, a native of Ann Arbor, Mich., earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University, master’s degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Michigan and a doctorate in biological anthropology/human genetics from the University of Michigan.