18. GOALS FOR FELLOWSHIPTRAINING AND CAREER My major interests lie in understanding cell extrinsic and intrinsic signals that lead to major physiological changes within cells, such as ion concentration changes and cytoskeletal rearrangements. To understand these biological processes, a model system with a simple anatomy and tractable to genetic, cell and molecular biological techniques is necessary. The major goals that I have set during my postdoctoral fellowship are to learn additional methodologies to approach and understand cellular function. This proposal focuseson the study of a prrotein, Vav, which is central to many signalingques that influence cell physiology. The methodologies to be used for this study will include electrophysiology, microscopy, genetics and molecular biology. Therefore, the proposed research is focused on a central regulator of cell physiology and will utilize new scientific approaches, such as electrophysiology. In addition, the proposed research will provide many avenues of research that a suitable research program can be established and taken to start my own academic position. m '0 0' 20. POSITIONRANK Assistant Professor 21. RESEARCHINTERESTS'AREAS Development and function of the nervous system The Vav family of signaling molecules is a multifaceted group of proteins that have been implicated in cancer, the immune response, cytoskeleton rearrangement and Ca2+ signaling. However, the roles these proteins have in vivo are not fully understood.
The aim of this proposal is to addressthe function of Vav in the genetic amenable model system Caenorhabditis elegans. C. elegans Vav, encoded by vav- 1,is widely expressed and is required for viability. Evidence thus far indicates that vav-1function is required for normal pharyngeal function and viability. The first goal of this proposal is to analyze the structure and function of vav-1during C. elegans development. This will entail a careful analysis of structural and physiologicaldefectsthat arise in vav-1mutants. Additionally, mutant and deletion constructs will be generated and their function will be analyzed in the wild type and vav-1 mutant backgrounds. The second goal is to identify components that interact within the VAV-1 signaling pathway. This will be accomplished by conducting suppressor screens on vav-1mutant phenotypes. Since there are many similarities between vertebrate and invertebrate signaling cascades and evidence points to their commonality at the molecular, structural and functional level, these approaches will identify possible downstream effectorsof the Vav signaling pathways and will aid in elucidating the function of Vav in vivo. Individual NRSA Application I Nfiivit (Lasr, rrrsr, mroore rnrrrar) Table of Contents ========================================Section End===========================================
| Norman, Kenneth R; Cordes, Shaun; Qadota, Hiroshi et al. (2007) UNC-97/PINCH is involved in the assembly of integrin cell adhesion complexes in Caenorhabditis elegans body wall muscle. Dev Biol 309:45-55 |
