The research interests of our laboratory lie at the intersection of cancer biology, signal transduction, and metal homeostasis. Recent investigations, including our own work, are beginning to illuminate new functions for transition metals as regulators of signaling pathways involved in a diverse array of cellular processes essential to the tumorigenic process. Thus unraveling the complete framework of how metals are integrated into kinase signaling networks is vital in order to gain a better understanding of the role of metals in cancer. Further, findings from these studies can be leveraged to perturb metal availability to kinase signaling cascades in tumors.

In this regard, we are focusing on three interconnected research areas. Specifically, i) elucidating the molecular mechanisms and cellular contexts that underlie Cu integration into the MAPK pathway, ii) systematically mapping the landscape of sensitivity and resistance to perturbations in Cu availability as a new strategy to target kinase signal transduction in cancer, and iii) applying these findings to other transition metals and signaling networks in cancer.