PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Surgery
UNC-Chapel Hill
Molecular Therapeutics
Area of Interest
Our group studies the signaling and structural mechanisms employed by RAS superfamily GTPases to regulate critical cellular processes (e.g., proliferation, motility, morphogenesis and apoptosis) and how these GTPases act to promote human malignancies when deregulated. We use a combination of biochemical, biophysical, structural and cell biological approaches to fully elucidate these mechanisms. We are especially focused on the RAS (HRAS, KRAS, NRAS) and RHO (RHOA, RAC1, CDC42) GTPase families. The activities of these GTPases and their accessory proteins are altered in over 30% of all human cancers and are also altered in several rare developmental disorders termed “RASopathies”. Our ultimate goal is to not only understand the unique signaling properties of RAS and RHO GTPases, but to discover how to manipulate these signaling pathways pharmacologically to treat cancer and other diseases.
Awards and Honors
- University Cancer Research Fund Innovation Award, 2014-2017
- American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2005-2007
- NCI GI Cancer SPORE Developmental Research Award, 2004-2005
- UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2002-2004
- UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Graduate Fellow Award, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2001
- Cancer Cell Biology Training Program Predoctoral Fellowship, UNC-Chapel Hill, 1996-1998
- Special Recognition Award, Glaxo Inc., RTP, NC, 1994
