WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE

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In general, we are interested in understanding how extracellular signals, including cell adhesive events, are transduced inside cells to influence the cellular cytoskeleton so as to effect cell motility. Our approach to this problem has been biochemical, cell biologic, genetics, and cellular imaging - both static and dynamic and in 2- and 3-dimensional systems. We are developing computational models of signaling pathways that regulate cell migration and are amenable to experimental manipulation, so as to identify and quantify interactions between these processes during cell migration.

Epithelia are cellular barriers that protect our bodies (inside and out) from environmental insults. Their development, organization, and maintenance are critical for normal homeostasis. We are interested in understanding how epithelia form and remodel during development, how they are organized, and how they are maintained in the adult. Our approach to this problem is cell biologic and genetic. To do so we make use of multiple organisms (Xenopus, drosophila, and mouse). During epithelia-derived cancer invasion (metastasis), early tumors de-adhere from one another and acquire the capacity to migrate or invade through the basement membrane, leading to spread throughout the body. This process has been morphologically, functionally, and genetically described as an epithelial-mesenchymal transition or EMT. While EMT is a normal process during development, in the adult it occurs in pathologic conditions such as organ fibrosis in response to injury, and cancer metastasis. We are interested in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms regulating EMT. Specifically, how cell surface adhesive events communicate with nuclear responses to initiate, maintain, and terminate EMT changes.

Ajuba is rapidly recruited to newly formed cell-cell contacts in keratinocytes From: Marie H, Pratt SJ, Betson M, Epple H, Kittler JT, Meek L, Moss SJ, Troyanovsky S, Attwell D, Longmore GD, Braga VM The LIM protein Ajuba is recruited to cadherin-dependent cell junctions through an association with alpha-catenin. J Biol Chem 2003 Jan 10;278(2):1220-8

Education

1973-1977	B.Sc. (Honours) Biochemistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
1977-1979	M.Sc. Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
1979-1983	M.D., C.M. Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
1983-1990	Clinical Fellow, Internal Medicine and Hematology-Oncology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
1989-1993	Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Cell Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA

Academic Positions & Training

1977-1980	Predoctoral Student, Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Ontario (laboratory of Dr. Harry Schachter)
1983-1986	Clinical Fellow in Internal Medicine, Harvard Medical School, New England Deaconess Hospital (now Beth Israel-Deaconess Hospitals), Boston, MA
1985-1986	Visiting Scientist, Department of Biology and Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (laboratory of Dr. Herman Eisen)
1987-1990	Clinical Fellow in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital (Hematology) and Dana Farber Cancer Institute (Medical Oncology), Boston, MA
1988-1992	Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (laboratory of Dr. Harvey Lodish)
1990-1992	Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
1993-1998	Assistant Professor of Medicine and Cell Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
1999-2007	Associate Professor of Medicine and Cell Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
2008-present	Professor of Medicine and Cell Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Appointments &Committees

1983	Co-Chairperson, Curriculum Review Committee, McGill Medical School
1986-1987	Institutional Review Board, New England Deaconess Hospital, Boston, MA
1993-1995	Compton Scholar Award for entering undergraduates, Natural Sciences and Liberal Arts, Washington University, St. Louis MO
1994-1998	Admissions Committee, Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
1996-2000	Developmental Biology Steering Committee, Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
1999-2001	Four Schools Program (Washington University, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University), Washington University representative
2003-present	Molecular Cell Biology Steering Committee, Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
2003-present	Member, Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Board Certification

1986	Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine
1989	Diplomate, American Board of Medical Oncology

Honors & Awards

1977-1979	Medical Research Council of Canada Studentship
1980-1981	Faculty Scholarship Award, Department of Medicine, McGill University
1984	James L. Tullis Award, Harvard Medical School
1988-1992	NIH Physician-Scientist Award AG00294, National Institutes of Health
1992-1995	Career Development Award, James S. McDonnell Foundation for Molecular Oncology
1998-1999	NIH Hematology II Study Section
1998-2001	Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation Scholar
1999-2003	Established Investigator, American Heart Association
2000	Elected member of American Society for Clinical Investigation
2001	Invited Visiting Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki, Finland
2004-2008	NIH/NCI-F Manpower and Training Study Section
2006-2008	Member, American Cancer Society: Cell Structure and Metastasis Peer Review Committee
2008-2010	Chairperson, American Cancer Society: Cell Structure and Metastasis Peer Review Committee

Editorial Responsibilities

2007-present	Editorial Board, Molecular and Cellular Biology
2007-present	Associate Editor, Cancer Research

Professional Societies

1980-present	American Association for the Advancement of Science
1993-present	American Society for Microbiology
1995-2000	American Society of Hematology
2000-present	American Society for Cell Biology
2000-present	American Society for Clinical Investigation
2007-present	The EMT International Association
2008-present	American Association of Cancer Research

• Updated: July 8, 2009
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