Dr. Nathan Davis' Research Focus

Major Research interests:
Receptor tyrosine kinase signal transduction pathways; oncogenesis due the dysregulation of signal transducing molecules.

One goal of my laboratory is to expand our understanding of the processes by which extracellular growth promoting signals are relayed from the cell surface to the nucleus. Using a variety of biochemical and molecular/genetic approaches, we are analyzing signal transduction pathways that are regulated by the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R). Our most recent studies have identified an essential role of a phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase (PIP5K) in the ligand-dependent interalization of receptor tyrosine kinases. PIP5Ks regulate diverse cellular processes including signal transduction, cytoskelital dynamics, membrane trafficking and cellular adhesion. The spatial and temporal regulation of the PIP5Ks is key to understanding the molecular events that control these diverse cell processes.