Richard Schwartz

Richard Schwartz is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Michigan State University. His research focuses on mammary tumorigenesis, investigating the impacts of high-fat diets, oxybenzone exposure, and inflammatory processes. He holds a Ph.D. from MIT with postdoctoral training at UC San Diego, Caltech, and UCLA.

Education:

• Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Postdoctoral Fellowships: UC San Diego, California Institute of Technology, UCLA

Research Interests:

• Puberty-related susceptibility to diet-induced mammary cancer
• Mechanisms of oxybenone (BP-3) as a carcinogen
• Role of estrogen/progesterone in proinflammatory gene regulation
• Immune cell recruitment dynamics in mammary development

Key Findings:

• Pubertal high-fat diet windows significantly increase tumor risk in mouse models
• Oxybenzone acts synergistically with dietary fat to promote tumorigenesis
• Amphiregulin mediates progesterone's effects on ductal development

Labs/Teams: The Schwartz Lab focuses on environmental and hormonal factors in breast cancer etiology, employing mouse models and molecular biology techniques.