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Christian Rocheleau, Ph.D. Polypeptide Laboratory christian [dot] rocheleau [at] mcgill [dot] ca (Email) |
Research:
Our laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms of endocrinology using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Hormones and Growth Factors act as signals from one cell to another to control various cellular behaviors such as proliferation, differentiation, and migration. These signals can activate receptors on the cell surface to initiate a cascade of molecular events that transduce the signal to the cell interior to elicit a cellular response. The Ras/MAPK pathway can transduce signals from a variety of receptors to control numerous cellular responses and inappropriate activation of this pathway can lead to cancer. Our research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that regulate signal transduction through the Ras/MAPK pathway.
Since the Ras/MAPK pathway is evolutionarily conserved between humans and the nematode C. elegans, we can apply the rapid forward and reverse genetic approaches available in C. elegans to identify and characterize new regulators of the signaling pathway. Current projects in our laboratory include analyzing the role of the protein scaffold CNK-1, regulators of endocytic trafficking, and an endogenous small RNA pathway in regulating Ras/MAPK signaling. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate the Ras/MAPK signaling pathway will be paramount to the development of therapeutics to treat cancer and other human diseases caused by unregulated Ras/MAPK signaling.
Selected Publications:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&cmd=search&term=rocheleau%20ce