Grant: Operating Grant - PA: Inst of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes -Bridge Funding

Apoptosis (or "cell suicide") is a process which performs a central role in the control of cell populations, in tissue repair and in getting rid of abnormal or damaged cells. The anchorage of cells to their extracellular matrix is a crucial means of apoptosis regulation, since any normal (i.e. non cancerous) cell which loses its interactions with its matrix is induced to die - a process also known as anoikis. However, the molecular mechanisms implicated in the regulation of anoikis remain to be fully understood. This is especially of importance considering that cancer cells acquire some resistance to anoikis as they devolve into metastizing, aggressively invasive cells, through means which likewise remain poorly understood. Our research program aims at better understanding the molecular mechanisms of anoikis regulation, as well as the roles of anoikis in cancer, specifically in the gut and intestinal cancers (such a colon cancer).