Elizabeth A. Leibold

Elizabeth A. Leibold, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Internal Medicine

Divisions: Hematology & Hematologic Malignancies

Elizabeth A. Leibold, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Division of Hematology and Hematologic Malignancies, Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. She holds an adjunct appointment as a Professor of Oncological Sciences at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and is a member of the Nuclear Control of Cell Growth and Differentiation program. Dr. Leibold is an active and productive member of the scientific community, serving as a reviewer for multiple scholarly journals including Blood, Science, Cell, Genetics, the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta-BBA, and the EMBO Journal.

Iron is essential for growth and survival of eukaryotes. Control of cellular iron content is crucial: excess iron catalyzes the generation of toxic reactive oxygen species that damage cellular macromolecules while cellular iron deficiency causes cell cycle arrest and cell death. Iron is required for the growth and metastasis of cancer cells, and as a consequence, cancer cells alter iron metabolism to satisfy their increased need for iron. Understanding the molecular changes in iron metabolism that differentiate normal and cancer cells can be used to develop strategies to limit iron availability.

Dr. Leibold received her Bachelor of Science in Biology at State University of New York at Potsdam, and her Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Applied Biological Sciences. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Applied Biological Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has supervised or mentored nearly 30 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students, and has served on over 40 graduate student committees. In addition, Dr. Leibold has published over 40 journal articles, review articles and book chapters since 1983, and has been an invited/Visiting Professor at over 40 national and international conferences and universities.

Education History

Postdoctoral Fellowship Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Postdoctoral Fellow
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 PhD
Undergraduate State University of New York at Potsdam
 BS
Undergraduate Hunter College

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Ilardo M, Dos Santos MCF, Grote Beverborg N, Rajan M, Said MA, Verweij N, Van Der Harst P, Van Der Meer P, Leibold EA (2022). An Erythropoietin-Independent Mechanism of Erythrocytic Precursor Proliferation Underlies Hypoxia Tolerance in Sea Nomads. Front Physiol, 12, 760851. (Read full article)
  2. Wang H, Shi H, Rajan M, Canarie ER, Hong S, Simoneschi D, Pagano M, Bush MF, Stoll S, Leibold EA, Zheng N (2020). FBXL5 Regulates IRP2 Stability in Iron Homeostasis via an Oxygen-Responsive [2Fe2S] Cluster. Mol Cell, 78(1), 31-41.e5. (Read full article)
  3. Santos MCFD, Anderson CP, Neschen S, Zumbrennen-Bullough KB, Romney SJ, Kahle-Stephan M, Rathkolb B, Gailus-Durner V, Fuchs H, Wolf E, Rozman J, de Angelis MH, Cai WM, Rajan M, Hu J, Dedon PC, Leibold EA (2020). Irp2 regulates insulin production through iron-mediated Cdkal1-catalyzed tRNA modification. Nat Commun, 11(1), 296. (Read full article)
  4. Rajan M, Anderson CP, Rindler PM, Romney SJ, Ferreira Dos Santos MC, Gertz J, Leibold EA (2019). NHR-14 loss of function couples intestinal iron uptake with innate immunity in C. elegans through PQM-1 signaling. Elife, 8. (Read full article)
  5. Zumbrennen-Bullough KB, Becker L, Garrett L, Hlter SM, Calzada-Wack J, Mossbrugger I, Quintanilla-Fend L, Racz I, Rathkolb B, Klopstock T, Wurst W, Zimmer A, Wolf E, Fuchs H, Gailus-Durner V, de Angelis MH, Romney SJ, Leibold EA (2014). Abnormal brain iron metabolism in Irp2 deficient mice is associated with mild neurological and behavioral impairments. PLoS One, 9(6), e98072. (Read full article)
  6. Anderson CP, Leibold EA (2014). Mechanisms of iron metabolism in Caenorhabditis elegans. Front Pharmacol, 5, 113. (Read full article)
  7. Anderson CP, Shen M, Eisenstein RS, Leibold EA (2012). Mammalian iron metabolism and its control by iron regulatory proteins. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1823(9), 1468-83. (Read full article)
  8. Romney SJ, Newman BS, Thacker C, Leibold EA (2011). HIF-1 regulates iron homeostasis in Caenorhabditis elegans by activation and inhibition of genes involved in iron uptake and storage. PLoS Genet, 7(12), e1002394. (Read full article)
  9. Vashisht AA, Zumbrennen KB, Huang X, Powers DN, Durazo A, Sun D, Bhaskaran N, Persson A, Uhlen M, Sangfelt O, Spruck C, Leibold EA, Wohlschlegel JA (2009). Control of iron homeostasis by an iron-regulated ubiquitin ligase. Science, 326(5953), 718-21. (Read full article)
  10. Zumbrennen KB, Wallander ML, Romney SJ, Leibold EA (2009). Cysteine oxidation regulates the RNA-binding activity of iron regulatory protein 2. Mol Cell Biol, 29(8), 2219-29. (Read full article)