Richard C Schwartz

###Education
Ph.D., 1980, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Postdoctoral Fellow, 1980-1983, University of California, San Diego
Postdoctoral Fellow, 1983, California Institute of Technology
Postdoctoral Fellow, 1983-1986, University of California, Los Angeles

###Research
My primary research interests focus on the impact of a high fat diet on mammary tumorigenesis, the role of inflammatory and immune processes in mammary tumorigenesis, and the roles of estrogen and progesterone in regulating the expression of proinflammatory genes in mammary epithelial cells and inflammatory processes in the mammary gland. We are also examining the role of C/EBP beta in regulating the expression of the progesterone receptor in mammary gland development. Recent work, in collaboration with Dr. Sandra Haslam (Dept. of Physiology) has shown a pubertal window to the promotional effects of a high fat diet in both DMBA-induced and p53-KO-mediated mammary mutagenesis in a BALB/c mouse model system. The promotional effects of a high fat diet are likely caused by enhanced expression of growth factors, enhanced angiogenesis, and altered immune function. We have also recently shown a role for estrogen, progesterone, and amphiregulin in the recruitment of macrophages and eosinophils to the developing mammary gland, where these leukocytes have essential roles in mammary gland development.