As a molecular biologist with a keen interest in developing mouse models of solid cancers, my lab, over the last 5 years has generated lung-specific doxycycline inducible & conditional (Cre/loxP) mouse models to elucidate molecular mechanisms of aberrant transcription regulation & cell signaling events lung cancer. We are using systems biology approach mainly focusing to mechanistic understanding of initiation of lung cancer and Epithelail-Mesencymal Transitions (EMT) during the process of metastasis.
The PTEN and the LKB1 lung-specific conditional-deficiency models are also utilized to identify gene signatures of epithelial cell polarity (AJRCB 2008) & Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) regulated by miRNA and master transcription factors Snail, Slug, Twist ZEB1, ZEB2 etc.
We have also developed conditional mouse models for pVHL/HIFs & lung-specific CDC42-Flox mice to identify, enrich and study cancer and normal Stem cell properties
Other interests include Transcriptional regulatory networks in the lung mediated by Calcinurin/NFAT signaling (JBC 2004, JCI 2006) & Structure-function studies on Transcription factor-DNA & protein-protein interaction in specific gene regulation. (MCB 2000, MCB 2000, Biochemistry 2005 & JMB 2006)