Cell and Developmental Biology University of Michigan

Signal transduction in development and cancer:

The goals of our research programs are to understand fundamental principles of cell signaling in the regulation of basic cellular functions in normal cell and developmental processes and to determine how disruption of the normal signaling pathways either by genetic mutations or environmental insults may lead to diseases such as cancer. One area of current interests is identification of signaling molecules and pathways involved in the regulation of cell migration and invasion as well as examination of the signaling networks involving cross-talks among different pathways. A second area of research focuses on the role of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase important in mediating signaling by integrins as well as some growth factor receptors, in the regulation of angiogenesis and cancer metastasis in vivo using mouse genetic approaches. Lastly, our lab has recently identified a protein inhibitor for FAK, FIP200, which has been shown to regulate a number of signaling pathways and is implicated as a putative tumor suppressor for breast cancer. We are using a combination of cell and molecular biological and mouse genetic approaches to clarify the potential role and mechanisms of FIP200 in development and cancer.