Damon Runyon News

Dr. Case is establishing an in vitro experimental system to study the formation of integrin signaling complexes on model membranes. Integrins form multiprotein signaling complexes that are essential for the survival, growth, and migration of tumor cells; integrins and their associated proteins are commonly mutated or misregulated in diverse cancer types. She will elucidate the molecular interactions and physical mechanisms that regulate the assembly of  integrin complexes to potentially reveal novel strategies for disrupting integrin signaling in cancer.

Dr. Cambier [HHMI Fellow] studies the role of cells called macrophages in mediating inflammation in immune responses to cancer. He is using the Mycobacterium marinum/zebrafish model of infection to examine misguided immune responses, many of which are shared with cancer. In particular, he proposes to study the distribution of a mycobacterial glycolipid molecule that is associated with driving macrophage activation and death, and will visualize the interactions of these glycolipids with macrophages in a living system.

Dr. Bosch is studying the molecular language of cell-cell communication, an essential function of animal cells that coordinates normal tissue development and function that is frequently misregulated in many cancers. By developing novel methods to study the biological functions of an extraordinary class of intercellular messages-those that transfer directly into the interior of recipient cells-he will gain new insight into fundamental modes of cell-cell communication.

Dr. Beliveau [HHMI Fellow] is using newly developed “super-resolution” microscopy methods to look at DNA structure in cells. These new methods may provide a clearer picture of the difference between the structure of genes that are “on” and genes that are “off.” As many cancers are driven by the abnormal expression of genes such as oncogenes and tumor suppressors, information about how DNA structure can turn genes on and off may aid in the development of cancer therapies.

Dr. Basnet is investigating the mechanisms responsible for cancer relapse. During cancer progression, cancer cells can spread to secondary sites where they can stay latent for months to decades before developing into metastases. His goal is to identify the genes that are important for regulating latency in metastatic cancer cells. This study will uncover potential therapeutic targets to eliminate latent metastatic cells and thus prevent cancer relapse.

Dr. Abitua studies the development of the African turquoise killifish, Nothobranchius furzeri, a promising model organism to investigate cell migration in vivo. He seeks to understand how cells aggregate through a mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET) during embryogenesis. Using light sheet microscopy, he plans to image and analyze this highly dynamic phenomenon in order to make predictions about how cells decide to change their behavior during MET, an understudied process that is casual for malignancy.