Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
Key Note: Dr. Lewis Cantley, Biophysics, Harvard University
Department of Systems Biology
Chief, Division of Signal Transduction, BIDMC
Center for Life Sciences, Room 412
3 Blackfan Circle, Boston, MA 02115
We are interested in the biochemical basis for growth, survival and transformation of mammalian cells. We have developed a peptide library technique that allows us to determine the structural basis for specificity in protein/protein interactions that are involved in signal transduction cascades. This information is incorporated into a computer program that predicts likely signaling partners from scans of protein sequences of whole genomes. To evaluate the role of signaling proteins at the whole animal level, we delete the gene encoding the protein of interest in mice and characterize the effect on growth, development, metabolism and tumor formation. In particular, we are interested in pathways that utilize phosphorylation of inositol lipids as a mechanism for assembling signaling complexes at specific locations in membranes.