Education
- PhD, 1979, University of Minnesota
- BS, 1975, Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Research Summary
The Lauffenburger laboratory emphasizes integration of experimental and mathematical/computational analysis approaches, toward development and validation of predictive models for physiologically-relevant behavior in terms of underlying molecular and molecular network properties. Our work has been recognized as providing contributions fostering the interface of bioengineering, quantitative cell biology, and systems biology. Our main focus has been on fundamental aspects of cell dysregulation, complemented by translational efforts in identifying and testing new therapeutic ideas. Applications addressed have chiefly resided in various types of cancer (including breast, colon, lung, and pancreatic cancers along with leukemias and lymphomas), inflammatory pathologies (such as endometriosis, Crohn’s disease, colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and Alzheimer’s disease), and the immune system (mainly for vaccines against pathogens such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis). We have increasingly emphasized complex tissue contexts, including mouse models, human subjects, and tissue-engineered micro-physiological systems platforms in association with outstanding collaborators. From our laboratory have come more than 100 doctoral and postdoctoral trainees. Many hold faculty positions at academic institutions in the USA, Canada, and Europe; others have gone on to research positions in biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies; and others yet have moved into policy and government agency careers.
Awards
- Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education, National Academy of Engineering, 2021
- American Association for the Advancement of Science, Member, 2019
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow, 2001
- John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, Guggenheim Fellowship, 1989
Education
- PhD, 1987, Case Western Reserve University; MD, 1989, Case Western Reserve University
- BS, 1981, Chemistry with Concentration in Solid-State and Polymer Physics, Cornell University
Research Summary
Our goal is to understand how signaling pathways are integrated at the molecular and systems levels to control cellular responses. We have two main focuses: First, we study signaling pathways and networks that control cell cycle progression and DNA damage responses in cancer and cancer therapy. Second, we examine the cross-talk between inflammation, cytokine signaling and cancer. Much of our work focuses on how modular protein domains and kinases work together to build molecular signaling circuits, and how this information can be used to design synergistic drug combinations for the personalized treatment of human disease.
Awards
- MacVicar Faculty Fellow, 2021
- Fellow, Association of American Physicians, 2021
- Teaching with Digital Technology Award, 2018
Education
- PhD, 1998, University of California, Los Angeles
- SB, 1992, Physics, Harvard University
Research Summary
Our goal is to understand, at a high level of detail, how the interaction properties of proteins are encoded in their sequences and structures. We investigate protein-protein interactions by integrating data from high throughput assays, structural modeling, and bioinformatics with biochemical and biophysical experiments. Much of our work focuses on α-helical coiled-coil proteins, Bcl-2 apoptosis-regulating proteins, and protein domains that bind to short linear motifs.
Education
- PhD, 2010, Harvard University
- SB, 2004, Physics, National Tsinghua University
Research Summary
We seek to understand the optimization of bacterial proteomes at both mechanistic and systems levels. Our work combines high-precision assays, genome-wide measurements, and quantitative/biophysical modeling. Ongoing projects focus on the design principles of transcription, translation, and RNA maturation machineries in the face of competing cellular processes.
Awards
-
Smith Odyssey Award, 2020
-
MIT Committed to Caring Award, 2020
- NSF Career Award, 2019
- Pew Biomedical Scholar, 2017
- Smith Family Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research, 2017
- NIGMS R35 Maximizing Investigator Research Award, 2017
- Sloan Research Fellowship, 2016
- Searle Scholar, 2016
- NIH Pathway to Independence Award, 2013
Education
- PhD, 2002, MIT
- SB, 1996, Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin
Research Summary
We investigate how stem cells are regulated to regenerate missing tissues. We study the cellular events involved in this process and the attendant roles for regulatory genes that control regeneration steps. We utilize an array of methodologies, including high-throughput sequencing, RNA interference (RNAi) screening, and numerous assays and tools for phenotypic analysis to characterize regeneration regulatory genes.
Awards
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, HHMI Investigator, 2013
Education
- MD, 1984, Harvard Medical School
- BS, 1978, Chemistry, Swarthmore College
Research Summary
We seek to understand the genetic differences between males and females — both within and beyond the reproductive tract. We study the medical ramifications of these differences in a broad context, through comparative biological, evolutionary, developmental and clinically focused analyses. Our three main veins of research relate to sex differences in health and disease, sex chromosome genomics, and germ cell origins and development.
Awards
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow, 2012
- March of Dimes, Developmental Biology, 2011
- National Academy of Medicine, Member, 2008
- National Academy of Sciences, Member, 2005
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, HHMI Investigator, 1990
- MacArthur Foundation, MacArthur Fellowship, 1986
Education
- PhD, 2006, University of California, Berkeley
- BS, 2000, Biology and Genetics, Cornell University
Research Summary
We study how cells and tissues change shape during embryonic development, giving rise to different body parts. We visualize these changes to determine how mechanical forces drive massive tissue movements in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. In addition, we also study the regulation of tissue integrity, investigating the processes that regulate the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition or EMT.
Education
- PhD, 2010, MIT
- BA, 2003, Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley
- BS, 2003, Biological Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
Research Summary
The Davis lab is working to uncover how cells construct and degrade complex molecular machines rapidly and efficiently. We apply a variety of biochemical, biophysical, and structural approaches including quantitative mass spectrometry and single particle cryo-electron microscopy to understand the detailed molecular mechanisms of these processes. Ongoing projects in the lab are focused on autophagy, an essential eukaryotic protein and organelle degradation pathway, and assembly of the ribosome, which is essential in all cells.
Awards
- Sloan Research Fellowship, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, 2021
- National Institute on Aging R00 Fellowship, 2017
- National Institute on Aging K99 Fellowship, 2015
Education
- PhD, 1997, Stanford University
- BS, 1990, Biological Sciences, Stanford University
Research Summary
We aim to understand the code for RNA splicing: how the precise locations of introns and splice sites are identified in primary transcripts and how its specificity changes in different cell types. Toward this end, we are mapping the RNA-binding affinity spectra of dozens of human RNA-binding proteins and integrating this information with in vivo binding and activity data. We are also studying the functions of 3’ untranslated regions, including their roles in mRNA localization and microRNA regulation. The lab uses a combination of computational and experimental approaches to address these questions.
Awards
- Schering-Plough Research Institute Award (ASBMB), 2007
- Overton Prize for Computational Biology (ISCB), 2001
Education
- PhD, 1993, Harvard University
- BA, 1982, Biology, Goshen College
Research Summary
We study microRNAs and other small RNAs that specify the destruction and/or translational repression of mRNAs. We also study mRNAs, focusing on their untranslated regions and poly(A) tails, and how these regions recruit and mediate regulatory phenomena.
Awards
- National Academy of Sciences, Member, 2011
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, HHMI Investigator, 2005
- National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology, 2005
- AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize, 2002
