Damon Runyon Researchers

Dr. McLaughlin [HHMI Fellow] is using the developing nervous system to study metastasis, the primary cause of cancer-related fatalities. In metastasis, cell surface and secreted molecules enable cells to travel through diverse environments and invade distant tissues. Likewise, growing axons in the developing nervous system use similar sets of cell surface proteins to traverse long distances to form precise connections with their synaptic partner cells. Dr. McLaughlin aims to define the mechanisms used by cell surface proteins to promote axon targeting, which will provide critical insight into how these molecules are harnessed by malignant cells during metastasis.