Research Disciplines
Cell-cell and cell-pathogen interactions
This research involves the study of how cells are affected by contact from outside their world. This involves studies of the interactions between cells in the context of a tissue, and the ways that microbial pathogens manipulate cells to establish an advantageous growth niche.
| Researchers: | |
|---|---|
| Dr. John Brumell | Dr. Anne Opavsky |
| Dr. Sergio Grinstein | Dr. Philip Sherman |
| Dr. Nicola Jones | Dr. Chet Tailor |
| Dr. Aleixo Muise | |
Immune cell function and dysfunction
Research in this discipline examines immune cells of both innate and adaptive immune systems. Studies focus both on how immune cells function normally to battle infection, and how on rare occasion these cells can turn against their host.
| Researchers: | |
|---|---|
| Dr. Sergio Grinstein | Dr. Lisa Robinson |
| Dr. Christoph Licht | Dr. Rae Yeung |
Fundamental cellular processes and their contribution to disease
Research in this area includes the study of membrane traffic and organelle function within the cell, and how defects in these processes can lead to diseases such as diabetes.
| Researchers: | |
|---|---|
| Dr. John Brumell | Dr. Daniela Rotin |
| Dr. Walter Kahr | Dr. William Trimble |
| Dr. Amira Klip | Dr. Gregory Wilson |
| Dr. Jane McGlade | |
Spatial and temporal control of cell signaling in health and disease
Cells continually receive stimuli from external sources and must assimilate this information in order to determine whether to replicate, migrate, secrete hormones and so on. Studies in the program are investigating how this signaling occurs, how it is controlled, and what happens if it fails to occur correctly.
| Researchers: | |
|---|---|
| Dr. Sergio Grinstein | Dr. Aleixo Muise |
| Dr. Abhijit Guha | Dr. Daniela Rotin |
| Dr. David Kaplan | Dr. James Rutka |
| Dr. Jane McGlade | |
Regulation of cell growth, death and defects leading to cancer
Cell proliferation is balanced by cell death, and failure to maintain this balance can lead either to uncontrolled proliferation in the form of cancer, or loss of cells in the cases of ischemia or bone marrow failures. Research in the program aims to understand the mechanisms that control the cell’s decision to proliferate or die, and determine how this balance goes awry in disease states.
Advanced imaging
Most cell biology research involves microscopic analysis of cells and research in the program aims to improve the technologies by which microscopy is performed. New cutting-edge tools allow higher resolution imaging than was ever before possible, allowing us to visualize real-time events that occur within subcellular compartments in living cells.
| Researchers: |
|---|
| Dr. Sergio Grinstein |