In recent years it has become clear that cancer cells use multiple mechanisms to up-regulate oncogenes and down-regulate tumor suppressor genes. Much of the focus of this research has been on modulators of transcription; however we now estimate that transcriptional control only explains 30% to 40% of protein level variation. One of the major reasons for this discrepancy is thought to be differences in RNA translation, and this is the focus of study in our lab.

We are particularly interested in the ribosome. Recent work has shown that there is far more variation to the ribosome than previously appreciated, and we are now trying to understand whether this heterogeneity results in specialized functions. This work has led us to study immune responses, as well as various cancer models. In all, we hope to gain a much more thorough understanding of the role that ribosome specialization plays in both normal and disease biology, while at the same time identifying many new, exciting therapeutic targets.