A Message from the Chair

Gary Stein, Ph.D.   Professor and Chairman, Department of Cell Biology Deputy Director for Research, UMass Cancer Center

Our Department of Cell Biology is at the forefront both in pursuit of basic regulatory mechanisms and in meeting the challenge of clinical applications. This success has been by design rather than by circumstance.

We are an interdisciplinary and integrated group of basic scientists and physician/investigators who collaboratively utilize state-of-the-art concepts and experimental approaches. Joint pursuit of research initiatives with investigators from the basic science and clinical departments of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and other academic institutions, as well as from pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, contributed to effectiveness of our research programs. In addressing fundamental biological questions from both basic science and clinical perspectives, our students and fellows are making significant contributions at the cutting edge of science and medicine.

There has been extraordinary progress in defining cellular regulatory mechanisms. The combined application of cellular, molecular, biochemical and in vivo genetic approaches has established new frontiers in understanding cell structure-gene expression interrelationships which control cell proliferation and differentiation during development, the phenotypic properties of specialized cells and tissues, and alterations occurring in disease states. Major advances have been made in the areas of cell cycle control, regulation of proliferation and tissue-specific gene expression by hormones and growth factors, dynamics and control of chromatin remodeling, intranuclear organization and assembly of gene regulatory machinery and elucidation of multiple signaling pathways that transduce and integrate regulatory information within cells and tissues. Particularly exciting has been the direct translation of new insights in fundamental cellular control to the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. Breakthroughs in biomedical research include but are not restricted to cancer, musculoskeletal disease, hematological disorders, neurological disorders, arthritis, and cardiovascular disease.

We, in the Department of Cell Biology, are dedicated to excellence in research, graduate education and medical education. We are committed to providing a collegial environment with maximal opportunity for junior and senior colleagues to successfully resolve complex biological problems and support the career development of the next generation of scientists, physician investigators and educators.

Gary S. Stein, Ph.D.