Kevin A. Janes, Ph.D.

Research

Understanding how signaling networks enable cells to respond to their environment is important for diseases such as cancer, where the molecular “signal processing” has gone awry and cellular responses are inappropriate.Our group develops experimental and computational techniques for quantitatively monitoring signaling networks as they become activated by diverse stimuli and perturbations. These tools allow us to collect complex datasets, which can be analyzed by “data-driven” modeling to address network-level questions about signal transduction. Fundamentally, our approach is problem driven, involving techniques that range from enzyme-activity assays in cell populations to gene-expression measurements in individual microdissected cells. We are currently interested in studying the tissue responses of colonic epithelia and the morphogenetic responses of 3D-cultured mammary epithelia in vitro.