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Advances in our understanding
of cancer biology have demonstrated that malignant cells
arise as a result of the sequential accumulation of
mutations that alter the function of growth regulatory
genes. Dr. Drebin's
research efforts are focused on developing approaches
that target and disrupt the activity of proteins encoded
by these growth regulatory genes or of downstream elements
of signal transduction pathways they control. These
studies serve both to increase our understanding of
the molecular biology of cancer and provide pre-clinical
support for the development of novel treatments. These
studies are thus “translational” serving
to bridge basic and clinical cancer research. Current
Laboratory Projects Include:
Studies of ß-catenin in colon carcinoma
- Defining the role of transcriptional
regulation of ß-catenin in colon cancer
- Development of novel agents
to target ß-catenin in cancer cells
- Evaluating the chemopreventative
activity of ß-catenin targeted therapies in
animal models of intestinal polyposis
- Differentiating the contributions
of ß- and gamma- catenin isoforms in stimulating
cancer cell growth
Studies of HER2/neu in pancreatic carcinoma
- Defining molecular events
downstream of HER2/neu that drive pancreas cancer
growth
- Evaluating novel approaches
to targeting HER2/neu in pancreatic cancer
- Developing a pancreas-specific
HER2/neu transgenic mouse model
Research
Laboratory
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