Julie Kadrmas, Ph.D. is an investigator in the Cell Response and Regulation Program at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Her group is interested in understanding regulatory mechanisms controlling cell adhesion and migration, with implications for how cancer cells gain the capacity to leave the site of a primary tumor and migrate during metastasis. Through the examination of normal developmental processes in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, they characterize the functions of the integrin family of transmembrane receptors in regulating cell attachment and movement. Of particular interest is a molecular scaffolding protein called PINCH, which physically associates with integrins, as well as several additional PINCH protein partners that impinge upon distinct signaling cascades. Their work will provide a molecular understanding of how protein-protein interactions mediated by molecular scaffolds such as PINCH, integrate signals between multiple pathways to coordinate complex biological processes like cell adhesion and migration.

Integrin Signaling Integrin Adhesion Cell Migration Metastasis Drosophila melanogaster