Lipids Involved in Signal Transduction and Lipid: Protein Interactions

One of the major research strengths in the Department of Biochemistry lies in the wealth of expertise regarding lipid-mediated signal transduction processes, lipid:protein interactions, and lipoprotein function and metabolism. This section describes the research programs of seven faculty members in the Department. Four actively participate in the Inflammation and Signal Transduction Program of the Basic Science Division of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and also serve as faculty members for the Signal Transduction Mechanisms and Cell Function training program funded by an institutional NIH training grant. This program is characterized by a number of productive collaborations involving these individuals and faculty members in the Department of Microbiology/Immunology and in the Sections on Infectious Disease, Hematology/Oncology, and Pulmonary Critical Care of the Department of Internal Medicine.

Three faculty associates in Biochemistry also serve as members of this interdisciplinary training program. Biochemistry adn Molecular Biology students choosing to complete their thesis research in this program participate in joint weekly lab group meetings, and most also attend the annual Southeastern Regional Lipid Meeting held each fall in Cashiers, North Carolina. The program sponsors an annual research tutorial presented by a prominent scientist in the general area of proliferative signal transduction and cancer research. The lipoprotein research programs of the Department of Biochemistry primarily involve three faculty members who collaborate extensively with investigators in the Department of Pathology, Section onComparative Medicine and in the Sections on Endocrinology/Metabolism and Gastroenterology of the Department of Internal Medicine. One of these Biochemistry faculty members participates in an institutional NIH training program on Cardiovascular Pathology, and five faculty associates in Biochemistry interact closely with the lipoprotein research groups.