Coming to Canada from

USA

Research involves

Understanding the mechanisms by which cells respond to signals from their external environment about survival - and death.

Research relevance

The research is leading to the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic tools, particularly for such diseases as diabetes and cancer.

Identifying the Molecular Harbingers of Cell Death

Apoptosis, the mechanism by which cells are programmed to die, is built into many human illnesses and injury states. A failure of programmed cell death may underlie many forms of cancer and, conversely, cellular death has been observed in many human disorders, such as the autoimmune condition Type 1 ("juvenile") diabetes and Alzheimer's.

Canada Research Chair Dr. Robert Screaton works on the identification of the molecular players involved in the processes of sensing and responding to extracellular cues that trigger cell death or that promote cell survival.

Nearly all cellular processes - including those related to (programmed) dying as well as living - are controlled by information relay proteins called protein kinases. The human complement of genes for these kinases, called the "kinome," consists of 518 genes. Screaton studies the behaviour of the entire kinome in mammalian cells.

Once Screaton and his colleagues identify the specific kinases that propagate death and survival signals, they use traditional molecular biological and biochemical approaches to develop a comprehensive understanding of the kinases' underlying biological function.

As kinases have proven so far to be attractive targets for therapeutic intervention, results from Screaton's program will provide opportunities for the development of therapies for various diseases including diabetes.

Diabetes is a particular interest of Screaton's. With over one million diabetics in Canada, Health Canada has estimated that the total costs involved in management and treatment of this disease to be nine billion dollars annually. The prevalence of the most common form of the disease -Type II - increases with age. With an aging population, combined with an already growing incidence of Type II and Type I, there is an urgent need to develop more effective therapies.

Screaton recognizes the need for basic research into the mechanisms underlying diabetes and has designed his research program with this understanding in mind.