Kouokam Lab

About 

The Kouokam Laboratory seeks to improve human health in the context of growing environmental pollution, which is directly responsible for multiple clinical conditions, including metabolic syndrome and cancer. Our projects are focused on the effects of heterocyclic amines, aromatic amines and other environmental pollutants on key organs, including the liver and the lung. We use Omics approaches to dissect these effects, using in vitro and in vivo models.  In addition, we study natural products with anti-inflammatory properties, especially nutraceuticals, to identify novel mechanisms for various toxicants that cause inflammation.   

Key Research Areas

• Metabolic syndrome
• Cancer
• Inflammation
• Genotoxicity
• Omics
• Natural products
• Nutraceuticals
• Heterocyclic amines
• Aromatic amines
• Environmental pollutants

Recent Publications

• Vielee ST, Meaza I, Buchanan WJ, Roof SH, Lu H, Diven SS, Guo L, Easley J, Kouokam JC, Wise JL, et al. Hexavalent Chromium Oropharyngeal Aspiration Induced Behavior Effects and Essential Metal Dyshomeostasis in Young Hartley Guinea Pigs. Applied Sciences. 2026; 16(1):59. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16010059.
• Griffin G, Delnicki ME, Lu H, Meaza I, Williams A, Vielee ST, Bolatimi OE, Wise RM, Liu R, Kouokam JC, Wise SS, Wise JP Sr, Cave MC, Wise JP Jr, Wise JL. Exposure to low levels of hexavalent chromium in drinking water alters diet-induced steatotic liver disease in male rats. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2025 Oct;91:127731. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127731. Epub 2025 Aug 23. PubMed PMID: 40886507; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12443201.
• Meaza I, Wise JL, Wise SS, Lu H, Williams AR, Delnicki M, Easley J, Kouokam JC, Wise JP Jr, Vielee ST, Wise JTF, Wise RM, Wise JP Sr. Oropharyngeal aspiration of particulate hexavalent chromium increases chromium levels in lung and liver, and induces essential metal dyshomeostasis in lung, liver, and blood. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2025 Oct;91:127705. doi: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2025.127705. Epub 2025 Jul 26. PubMed PMID: 40773862; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12435473.
• Vielee ST, Isibor J, Buchanan WJ, Roof SH, Patel M, Meaza I, Williams A, Toyoda JH, Lu H, Wise SS, et al. Female Rat Behavior Effects from Low Levels of Hexavalent Chromium (Cr[VI]) in Drinking Water Evaluated with a Toxic Aging Coin Approach. Applied Sciences. 2024; 14(14):6206. https://doi.org/10.3390/app14146206
• Meaza I, Cahill CR, Speer RM, Kouokam JC, Wise JP Sr. Particulate hexavalent chromium inhibits global transcription of genes in DNA repair pathways, particularly targeting homologous recombination repair, base excision repair, mismatch repair and microhomology-mediated end-joining. J Hazard Mater. 2024 Dec 15;485:136892. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136892. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39706010.
• Lu H, Wise SS, Toyoda JH, Speer RM, Croom-Perez TJ, Meaza I, Kouokam JC, Wise JY, Hoyle G, Chen N, Wise JP Jr, Kondo K, Toba H, Takizawa H, Wise JP Sr. Particulate Hexavalent Chromium Exposure Induces DNA Double-Strand Breaks and Inhibits Homologous Recombination Repair in Rat and Human Lung Tissues. Chemosphere. 2024 Dec 17:143982. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143982. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39701314.
• Vielee ST, Buchanan WJ, Roof SH, Kahloon R, Evans E, Isibor J, Patel M, Meaza I, Lu H, Williams AR, Kouokam JC, Wise SS, Guo L, Wise RM, Wise JL, Cai L, Cai J, Wise JP Jr. Chromium Selectively Accumulates in the Rat Hippocampus after 90 Days of Exposure to Cr(VI) in Drinking Water and Induces Age- and Sex-Dependent Metal Dyshomeostasis. Toxics. 2024 Oct 3;12(10):722. doi: 10.3390/toxics12100722. PMID: 39453142; PMCID: PMC11510846.
• Vielee ST, Isibor J, Buchanan WJ, Roof SH, Patel M, Meaza I, Williams A, Toyoda JH, Lu H, Wise SS, Kouokam JC, Young Wise J, Abouiessa AM, Cai J, Cai L, Wise JP Jr. Employing a Toxic Aging Coin approach to assess hexavalent chromium (Cr[VI])-induced neurotoxic effects on behavior: Heads for age differences. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2024 Aug;489:117007. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2024.117007. Epub 2024 Jun 18. PMID: 38901695; PMCID: PMC11342792.
• Lu H, Wise SS, Speer RM, Croom-Perez TJ, Toyoda JH, Meaza I, Williams A, Wise JP Jr, Kouokam JC, Young Wise J, Hoyle GW, Zhu C, Ali AM, Wise JP Sr. Acute particulate hexavalent chromium exposure induces DNA double-strand breaks and activates homologous recombination repair in rat lung tissue. Toxicol Sci. 2024 Sep 1;201(1):1-13. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfae076. PMID: 38867691; PMCID: PMC11347773.
• Kouokam JC, Speer RM, Meaza I, Toyoda JH, Lu H, Wise JP Sr. Transcriptomic analysis reveals particulate hexavalent chromium regulates key inflammatory pathways in human lung fibroblasts as a possible mechanism of carcinogenesis. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2024 Apr;485:116889. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2024
• Toyoda JH, Martino J, Speer RM, Meaza I, Lu H, Williams AR, Bolt AM, Kouokam JC, Aboueissa AE, Wise JP Sr. Hexavalent Chromium Targets Securin to Drive Numerical Chromosome Instability in Human Lung Cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Dec 23;25(1):256
• Meaza I, Williams AR, Lu H, Kouokam JC, Toyoda JH, Croom-Perez TJ, Wise SS, Aboueissa AE, Wise JP Sr. Prolonged particulate hexavalent chromium exposure induces RAD51 foci inhibition and cytoplasmic accumulation in immortalized and primary human lung bronchial epithelial cells. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2023 Nov 15;479:116711. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2023
• Wise SS, Lu H, Speer RM, Wise JP Jr, Young J, Toyoda JH, Meaza I, Croom-Perez TJ, Kouokam JC, Specht A, Liu KJ, Hoyle GW, Wise JP Sr. Chromium distribution in an oropharyngeal aspiration model for hexavalent chromium in rats. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2022 Oct 22;457:116294.
• Kouokam JC, Meaza I, Wise JP Sr. Inflammatory effects of hexavalent chromium in the lung: A comprehensive review. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2022 Nov 15;455:116265

A complete listing of Dr. Kouokam's scholarly work can be found here.

Team 

• Darby Kwon (Graduate student, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology)
• Promise Konang (Undergraduate Student, Department of Biology)