Laura Schnackenberg Ph.D.

Research Chemist — Division of Systems Biology

Laura Schnackenberg, Ph.D.
(870) 543-7391
NCTRResearch@fda.hhs.gov

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Background

Dr. Laura Schnackenberg received her B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Arizona in 1998 and her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2003. Following completion of her Ph.D., she was hired as a postdoctoral fellow within the Division of Chemistry at NCTR in the Metabolomics group. In May 2005, she was converted to a staff fellow and in 2007 was converted to a permanent government employee. In 2006, Dr. Schnackenberg was part of the FDA Intercenter Renal Biomarkers Group that was recognized with an “NCTR Scientific Achievement Award.” The same group received the “FDA Outstanding Intercenter Scientific Collaboration Award” in 2007 and 2012. She received the “NCTR Outstanding Junior Investigator Award” in 2007. She also received a “Friends of the Department Award” from the Department of Chemistry, University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2010, 2011, and 2013. In 2011, Dr. Schnackenberg was part of the Melamine and Cyanuric Acid Toxicity Investigative Group that received the “FDA Group Recognition Award (Agency Cross-Cutting).” Finally, she received the “FDA Group Recognition Award (Non-Agency Cross-Cutting)” for In Silico Modeling Approaches to Polypharmacy. In addition to her research, Dr. Schnackenberg served as co-chair for the NCTR Summer Student Research Program (SSRP) in 2015 and is the current chair for the SSRP.

Research Interests

The Biomarkers and Alternative Models Branch within the Division of Systems Biology at NCTR conducts metabolomics analyses using both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic methods and mass spectrometry (MS) methods to investigate and identify novel biomarkers of toxicity and disease in preclinical and clinical samples. Dr. Schnackenberg is a trained NMR spectroscopist and has been instrumental in the implementation of the NMR-based metabolomics program at NCTR. NMR-based metabolomics have been used in multiple studies to identify metabolite changes due to drug-induced hepatotoxicity or renal toxicity. Recently, Dr. Schnackenberg has been involved in the development of matrix assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) to evaluate lipids, metabolites, and drug molecules in tissue slices. Such techniques will be used to identify unknowns of interest based upon statistical analysis of the NMR or MS data that are potential biomarkers of toxicity or disease. Current research includes the evaluation of maternal blood samples to identify metabolites that correlate with diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders in offspring. MALDI IMS is being used to evaluate the distribution of doxorubicin and its metabolite, doxorubicinol, in heart tissue as well as to evaluate lipids in the brain tissue of a rodent model of Alzheimer’s disease.

Professional Societies/National and International Groups

American Chemical Society
Member
1996 – Present

Metabolomics Society
Member
2005 – Present

Society of Toxicology
Member
2012 – Present

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Selected Publications

Early Metabolomics Changes in Heart and Plasma During Chronic Doxorubicin Treatment in B6C3F1 Mice.
Schnackenberg L.K., Pence L., Vijay V., Moland C.L., George N., Cao Z., Yu L.R., Fuscoe J.C., Beger R.D., and Desai V.G.
J Appl Toxicol. 2016, 36(11):1486-95.

Translational Biomarkers of Acetaminophen-Induced Acute Liver Injury.
Beger R.D., Bhattacharyya S., Yang X., Gill P.S., Schnackenberg L.K., Sun J., and James L.P.
Arch Toxicol. 2015, 89(9):1497-522.

Identification of a Metabolic Biomarker Panel in Rats for Prediction of Acute and Idiosyncratic Hepatotoxicity.
Sun J., Slavov S., Schnackenberg L.K., Ando Y., Greenhaw J., Yang X., Salminen W., Mendrick D.L., and Beger R.
Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2014, 10(17):78-89.

Metabolomics Evaluation of the Effects of Green Tea Extract on Acetaminophen-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Mice.
Lu Y., Sun J., Petrova K., Yang X., Greenhaw J., Salminen W.F., Beger R.D., and Schnackenberg L.K.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2013, 62:707-21.

Evaluating Effects of Penicillin Treatment on the Metabolome of Rats.
Sun J., Schnackenberg L.K., Khare S., Yang X., Greenhaw J., Salminen W., Mendrick D.L., and Beger R.D.
J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2013, 932:134-43.

Metabolomics Evaluation of Hydroxyproline as a Potential Marker of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid Nephrotoxicity in Male and Female Fischer F344 Rats.
Schnackenberg L.K., Sun J., Pence L.M., Bhattacharyya S., Gamboa da Costa G., and Beger R.D.
Food Chem Toxicol. 2012, 50(11):3978-83.

The Liver Toxicity Biomarker Study Phase I: Markers for the Effects of Tolcapone or Entacapone.
McBurney R.N., Hines W.M., VonTungeln L.S., Schnackenberg L.K., Beger R.D., Moland C.L., Han T., Fuscoe J.C., Chang C.W., Chen J.J., Su Z., Fan X.H., Tong W., Booth S.A., Balasubramanian R., Courchesne P.L., Campbell J.M., Graber A., Guo Y., Juhasz P., Li T.Y., Lynch M.D., Morel N.M., Plasterer T.N., Takach E.J., Zeng C., and Beland F.A.
Toxicol Pathol. 2012, 40(6):951-64.

¹³C NMR-Distance Matrix Descriptors: Optimal Abstract 3D Space Granularity for Predicting Estrogen Binding.
Slavov S.H., Geesaman E.L., Pearce B.A., Schnackenberg L.K., Buzatu D.A., Wilkes J.G., and Beger R.D.
J Chem Inf Model. 2012, 52(7):1854-64.

Serum Metabolomic Profiles from Patients with Acute Kidney Injury: A Pilot Study.
Sun J., Shannon M., Ando Y., Schnackenberg L.K., Khan N.A., Portilla D., and Beger R.D.
J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. 2012, 893-894:107-13.

Modeling Chemical Interaction Profiles: II. Molecular Docking, Spectral Data-Activity Relationship, and Structure-Activity Relationship Models for Potent and Weak Inhibitors of Cytochrome P450 CYP3A4 Isozyme.
Tie Y., McPhail B., Hong H., Pearce B.A., Schnackenberg L.K., Ge W., Buzatu D.A., Wilkes J.G., Fuscoe J.C., Tong W., Fowler B.A., Beger R.D., and Demchuk E.
Molecules. 2012, 17(3):3407-60.

Metabolomics Techniques in Nanotoxicology Studies.
Schnackenberg L.K., Sun J., and Beger R.D.
Methods Mol Biol. 2012, 926:141-56.

Modification of Norfloxacin by a Microbacterium sp. Strain Isolated from a Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Kim D.W., Heinze T.M., Kim B.S., Schnackenberg L.K., Woodling K.A., and Sutherland J.B.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2011, 77(17):6100-8.

Biotransformation of Quinazoline and Phthalazine by Aspergillus Niger.
Sutherland J.B, Heinze T.M., Schnackenberg L.K., Freeman J.P., and Williams A.J.
J Biosci Bioeng. 2011, 111(3):333-5.

Metabolomics Approaches for Discovering Biomarkers of Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Nephrotoxicity.
Beger R.D., Sun J., and Schnackenberg L.K.
Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2010, 243(2):154-66.

Study of Valproic Acid-Induced Endogenous and Exogenous Metabolite Alterations Using LC-MS-Based Metabolomics.
Sun J., Schnackenberg L.K., Hansen D.K., and Beger R.D.
Bioanalysis. 2010, 2(2):207-16.

Single Valproic Acid Treatment Inhibits Glycogen and RNA Ribose Turnover While Disrupting Glucose-Derived Cholesterol Synthesis in Liver as Revealed by the [U-C(6)]-D-Glucose Tracer in Mice.
Beger R.D., Hansen D.K., Schnackenberg L.K., Cross B.M., Fatollahi J.J., Lagunero F.T., Sarnyai Z., and Boros L.G.
Metabolomics. 2009, 5(3):336-345.

Studies of Acetaminophen and Metabolites in Urine and their Correlations with Toxicity Using Metabolomics.
Sun J., Schnackenberg L.K., and Beger R.D.
Drug Metab Lett. 2009, 3(3):130-6.

Interaction of Dietary Resveratrol with Animal-Associated Bacteria.
Jung C.M., Heinze T.M., Schnackenberg L.K., Mullis L.B., Elkins S.A., Elkins C.A., Steele R.S., and Sutherland J.B.
FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2009, 297(2):266-73.

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