![Lipid Kinases in Breast Cancer]()
The National Institute for General Medical Sciences has awarded Jonathan Backer, M.D., and Anne Bresnick, Ph.D., a four-year, $1.4 million grant to study the role of PI3Kb--a ubiquitous member of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase family. In many cancers, PI3Kb fuels the growth of tumors that have lost the PTEN tumor suppressor gene, but its role in tumors that express PTEN is less well understood. Dr. Backer and colleagues previously identified specific PI3Kb mutations that disrupt its activation by G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Now Drs. Backer and Bresnick will study (1) how loss of GPCR’s activation of PI3Kb affects the ability of breast cancer cells to invade and metastasize, and (2) how PI3Kb integrates signals it receives from different upstream activators. Dr. Backer is professor and chair of molecular pharmacology, professor of biochemistry, and holds the William S. Lasdon Chair in Molecular Pharmacology. Dr. Bresnick is professor of biochemistry, and is director of the Belfer Institute for Advanced Biomedical Studies. (1R01GM119279-01)
Posted on: Monday, October 31, 2016