Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

As the fundamental units of life, cells of the human body need to know basic information, like where they reside in a tissue or organ, what functions they should perform, and when they should divide. These instructions can be communicated through biochemical signaling pathways made up of proteins. When these pathways are activated at the right times in appropriate locations, they support the growth, development, and maintenance of the body. However, under the wrong circumstances, they can lead to the unwanted proliferation and movement of cells that characterize cancer. The objective of my work is to investigate the contributions of a specific protein, called ShcD, to cellular communication. My preliminary studies have demonstrated that this protein is present in the human brain, but becomes over-expressed in the serious cranial cancer, glioblastoma multiforme. This raises many intriguing questions about its potential significance in the condition. Specifically, I am interested in studying whether ShcD can serve as a molecular marker for brain cancers, to eventually provide physicians and patients with new criteria for classifying malignancies, making diagnoses, and determining disease prognosis. It is also of great interest to determine how the ShcD protein becomes involved in cancer. With this knowledge, there may be the potential to design targeted therapies for the treatment of the illness. As a final objective, I intend to analyze the characteristics and functional attributes of ShcD that distinguish it from other signaling proteins of the cell. This will answer fundamental questions about how cells send and receive unique messages, which in turn will be important to future medical research and pharmaceutical development. Overall, my investigations are poised to improve the diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours, while advancing the field of cell biology.