SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2004 - Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

T U M O R C E L L B I O L O G Y P R O G R A M
T U M O R C E L L B I O L O G Y P R O G R A M
PROGRAM LEADER
Kermit L. Carraway, Ph.D.
Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy
DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM
The Tumor Cell Biology Program currently
comprises 28 faculty members in 11 different
departments at the University of Miami
School of Medicine. Faculty members are chosen
based on the potential of their research to contribute
to important aspects in the understanding
of cancer cell biology. Faculty members must have
peer-reviewed cancer related research funding in
a field aligned with the scientific goals of the program
or be newly recruited faculty investigators.
GOALS OF PROGRAM
The overall goal of the Tumor Cell Biology Program
is to develop knowledge in the area of cell
biology that can be applied to translational research
on neoplastic disease. The focus of the individual
studies varies widely, from gene therapy
to the ultrastructural analyses of protein; however,
all investigators are involved in cutting-edge
research using the developing methods of molecular
biology and cell structural analysis to ask
questions important to tumor cell biology.
The specific aims of the program are to:
1) Understand how genetic information is maintained,
transferred, and translated into functional
cell proteins, a fundamental issue
throughout the history of cancer research.
2) Determine how tumor cells interact with other
cells and their environment, particularly the
molecular species and associations that favor or
disfavor those interactions. This issue is critically
important for understanding metastasis
of tumors, the process that usually determines
mortality of cancer patients.
3) Determine how signaling pathways and
molecules transmit and integrate information,
which determines cell fate, including cell structure
and function. Included in such analyses are
the mechanisms by which the molecular components
of signaling and metabolic pathways
are localized in cells to perform their particular
roles.
All of these questions and approaches are important
to understanding how tumor cells behave
and determining whether specific tumor cell
behaviors can be exploited in combating cancer.
Developing such translational applications is the
ultimate goal of the Tumor Cell Biology
Program.
PARTICIPANTS
Burnstein, Kerry L., Ph.D.
Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology
Carraway, Kermit L., Ph.D.
Cell Biology and Anatomy
Deutscher, Murray P., Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
D’Urso, Gennaro, Ph.D.
Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology
Fletcher, Terace M., Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Franzmann, Elizabeth J., M.D.
Otolaryngology
Han, Zhiyong, Ph.D.
Biology
Harris, Thomas K., Ph.D.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
King, Mary Lou, Ph.D.
Cell Biology and Anatomy
UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Scientific Report 2004 65