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to educate and discover
Changing the pathways: targeting cell signals to fight disease “When you want to cure a disease, rather than just a symptom, you have to figure out how to change the basic pathways,” says Chair of the Department of Biochemistry David A. Harris (center). That’s exactly what he and his new recruits— Assistant Professors Valentina Perissi and Bob Varelas—are doing. They’re studying cell signals, hoping to target those signals to treat cancer in its early stages. Concurrently, in an effort to treat diabetes more effectively, they’re looking at how genes express themselves in cells and how that leads to obesity.
They’re also examining how basic biological processes relate to Alzheimer’s, birth abnormalities, and other diseases. And rather than being grouped according to which disease or process they study, the department’s members pursue all these efforts side-by-side, ensuring that collaboration happens on the spot, in real time.