Joseph Roti Roti

Dr. Joseph Roti Roti graduated from Michigan Tech in 1965 with a BS in Physics. He continued his studies at the University of Rochester and earned a PhD in Biophysics in 1972, followed by a postdoctoral year at the University of Florida in biochemistry.

He was on the faculty at the University of Utah as assistant and associate professor of radiology until 1985 when he joined Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 1987, he has served as professor of radiology at the Washington University School of Medicine.

His major areas of research interest are the cellular response to ionizing radiation, cell-cycle progression, and the effects of heat shock and of radio-frequency radiation. He showed that the intra-nuclear anchoring of DNA loops is different in radiosensitive and oncogene-transfected cells. He was the first to show that heat shock caused altered binding of nuclear proteins, which inhibits DNA repair and DNA replication. Dr. Roti Roti also conducted the most comprehensive single study of the potential effects of radiofrequency radiation from cell phones. He published more than 120 papers and book chapters covering these areas.

Dr. Roti Roti serves as associate editor for Radiation Research, Cell and Tissue Kinetics, Cancer Research. Other examples of his scientific leadership include service as councilor for the Radiation Research Society, service as councilor and president of the Cell Proliferation Society, and the North American Hyperthermia Society. He also served as president of the 9th International Congress of Hyperthermic Oncology and is an active reviewer for the major granting agencies in his field, both at the national and international level.

 

Excerpted from the 2000 College of Sciences and Arts Academy induction ceremony program.