Grant: Operating Grant

Our lab is concerned with the mechanisms that are used by mammals to control the development of the mammary gland (mice) or the breast (humans). We are interested in these processes in embryonic animals, where mammary gland development begins, as well as in postnatal animals. In particular, our studies examine a group of protein molecules, called the Wnts. These proteins are important in directing how the three-dimensional structure of many tissues and organs are organized and formed. This same group of molecules, when expressed incorrectly, can cause cancer in many tissues, including the breast. We will, therefore, perform experiments in order to understand how this group of protein molecules direct the development of breast tissue as well as to learn how, when expressed incorrectly or due to mutations, they lead to malignant transformation and cancer in breast tissue.