Neel H. Shah, PhD

Tyrosine kinases are enzymes that act as “on” and “off” switches for signals in cells and are important in regulating cellular activity, such as cell division. They can become mutated, stuck in the "on" position, and cause unregulated growth of the cell, which is a necessary step for the development of cancer. Kinase inhibitors have been developed as cancer treatments, but they have not been sufficiently effective and are susceptible to drug resistance.  Dr. Shah seeks to identify new activities and modes of regulation that distinguish oncogenic and non-oncogenic tyrosine kinases, with the goal of identifying more specific drug targets.