Prof. Dr. Maricica Pacurari holds the rank of an associate professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the Department of Biology, College of Science, Engineering, and Technology, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, USA. Dr. Pacurari is the project leader at the NIH/NIMHD RCMI Center for Environmental Health, Jackson State University. Dr. Pacurari's holds a Ph.D. from West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia. Dr. Pacurari completed her postdoctoral training at Cancer Center, West Virginia University and Cardiovascular Disease, School of Medicine, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL. Dr. Pacurari also worked at the Pulmonary Pathology and Physiology Research Branch, NIOSH, Morgantown, WV. She is a member of the American Federation of Medical Research, American Thoracic Society, and Mississippi Academy of Sciences. Dr. Pacurari's research interests include the following: 1) lung cancer; 2) lung fibrosis;  3) inflammation and oxidative stress signaling in extracellular matrix remodeling and activation of the TGF-beta pathway; 4) identification of gene signatures as prognosis tools. Dr. Pacruari's research is funded by NIH/NIMHD.