Grant: Operating Grant

The main goal of the research from my lab is to identify how the pancreas develops from separate dorsal and ventral pancreatic buds. Many of these same genes involved in early development are also implicated in controlling pancreatic tumor cell motility and growth. We recently identified two new genes that are directly involved in controlling pancreatic cell growth and fusion. The main goals of this research proposal are to define how one of these genes, BrunoL1 regulates cell proliferation and how another, Tm4sf3, controls fusion of the pancreatic buds. In the end, the results obtained will help elucidate the molecular pathway used by pancreatic cells during development, and may have implications for both diabetes and pancreatic cancer.