Cells mount a coordinated physiological response to their surroundings through the binding of growth factors and other ligands to cell surface receptors, the generation of signals through such ligand-receptor interactions, and the transduction of these signals into changes in protein and gene activity. Similarly, cell-extracellular matrix interactions, cell-cell interactions, and cytoskeletal components participate in complex signal transduction pathways. Because signal transduction ultimately controls whether cells will proliferate, cease proliferation, or die, detailed study of signal transduction pathways at CSHL has revealed many biological phenomena that are of interest both with a view toward controlling cancer as well as from a general standpoint. For example, in vivo studies of fluorescently labeled adult neural stem cells are yielding intriguing clues about the factors that regulate the ability of multipotent stem cells to contribute to various neural and non-neural cell lineages. Other studies at CSHL are revealing that reversible oxidation of protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) is likely to play an important role in tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent signaling mediated by a wide variety of growth factors, hormones, and cytokines.

Hollis Cline - Neuronal development; experience-dependent plasticity; visual system; Xenopus in vivo imaging; electrophysiology; synaptogenesis
Grigori Enikolopov- Stem cell; neurogenesis; development; signal transduction
Jacek Skowronski- HIV pathogenesis; nef gene; signal transduction; protein sorting; animal models
Nick Tonks- Posttranslational modification; phosphorylation; phosphatases; signal transduction; protein structure and function
Lloyd Trotman - Molecular mechanisms of tumor suppression; cancer modeling and treatment; molecular cancer visualization; PTEN regulation
Linda Van Aelst- Signal transduction; Ras and Rac proteins; tumorigenesis; neuronal development