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Shaw Lab Research

The Shaw lab is interested in breast cancer progression and the mechanisms that drive aggressive tumor behavior and poor patient outcomes.  We have had a longstanding interest in the insulin and IGF signaling (IIS) pathway and the mechanisms by which this signaling axis regulates tumor cell function.  IIS is associated with poor outcomes in breast cancer, particularly in the context of obesity and other hyperinsulinemic conditions, when pathway activity is upregulated.  We study how IIS pathway function is altered in breast tumor cells to overcome normal controls and checkpoints to facilitate metastasis. Ongoing projects in the lab focus on understanding how the Insulin Receptor Substrate (IRS) adaptor proteins determine cellular outcomes in response to pathway activation. The goal of our work is to elucidate the molecular and structural basis for differential IRS regulation of tumor cell function and to elaborate novel approaches for improved therapy and breast cancer outcomes.

Shaw Lab News

October 2024

Michael presented his current work in a talk and poster at the Cancer Biology Program retreat held at Holy Cross.

September 2024

Minjeong and the Shaw lab publishes in JBC "Fluorescent tagging of endogenous IRS2 with an auxin-dependent degron to assess dynamic intracellular localization and function."

September 2024

A new R01 grant for the lab was funded: "IRS2 and mitotic regulation in breast cancer"

September 2024

Best of luck to JiSun as she begins her new position as Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at Keimyang University School of Medicine.

July 2024

We said good-bye to JiSun as she returned home to South Korea after 5 wonderful years in the lab.

June 2024

Congratulations to Jeannie and her husband Piotr on the birth of their daughter.

April 2024

Claire was awarded a MCCTS SPARK grant on using oligonucleotide therapeutics to treat breast cancer

November 2023

Congratulations to Minjeong and her husband Seong on the birth of their daughter Jiu.

October 2023

Claire gave a talk at the Cancer Biology Program retreat entitled "IRS2 regulates the actin cytoskeleton to promote breast cancer migration and invasion"

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