Research in the Kendall Moseley Lab is focused on the interplay between type 2 diabetes, aging and osteoporosis. We also study the function of bone stem cells in the regulation of bone remodeling.

The Kenneth J. Pienta laboratory has championed the concept that cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis can best be understood utilizing the principles of Ecology. As a result, the Pienta laboratory is working to develop new treatments for cancer utilizing network disruption.

Dr. Kinzler’s laboratory has focused on the genetics of human cancer. They have identified a variety of genetic mutations that underlie cancer, including mutations of the APC pathway that appear to initiate the majority of colorectal cancers and IDH1/2 mutations that underlying many gliomas. In addition, they have developed a variety of powerful tools for analysis of expression and genetic alterations in cancer. Most recently, they have pioneered integrated whole genome analyses of human cancers through expression, copy number, and mutational analyses of all the coding genes in several human cancer types including colorectal, breast, pancreatic and brain. The identification of genetic differences between normal and tumor tissues provide new therapeutic targets, new opportunities for the early diagnosis of cancer, and important insights into the neoplastic process.

Research in the Kimberly Gudzune Lab examines how obesity affects patient-provider relationships and how physical and social environments impact body weight. We recently conducted a cohort study of married couples and found that having a spouse who become obese nearly doubles one's risk of becoming obese.

The King-Wai Yau Laboratory is interested in the area of sensory transduction. Specifically, we study visual and olfactory transductions, which are the processes by which the senses of vision and olfaction are initiated. Rods and cones are the retinal photoreceptors that absorb light for initiating image vision. We are studying the cellular and molecular details underlying rod and cone phototransduction.

Malfunction and malformation of blood vessels are associated with a broad range of medical conditions, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological disorders. The ultimate goal of the Komatsu lab is to find a way to reverse the process of abnormal vessel formation and restore normal function to these vessels. In cancer, normalization of tumor blood vessels facilitates lymphocyte infiltration, potentiating anti-tumor immunity, and enhances the efficacy of immunotherapies as well as conventional cancer treatments. Normalization of regenerating blood vessels is also necessary for reestablishing blood flow to ischemic hearts and limbs, and preventing blindness caused by diabetic retinopathy or macular degeneration. Komatsu lab’s research is uncovering key molecular pathways important for the normalization of pathological vasculature.

The Konig Lab focuses on chimeric T cell- and antibody-based strategies for the treatment of autoimmune rheumatic diseases and cancer. A primary goal of the translational research program is the development of antigen-specific and personalized immunotherapies for autoimmune diseases, with the intent to achieve sustained disease remission and functional cure. The lab further aims to establish precision T cell-targeting therapies for the treatment of various autoimmune diseases. Applying these tools to immuno-oncology, the lab utilizes cellular engineering strategies to augment the cytotoxic killing of solid cancers by the immune system.

Work in the Kristin Riekert Lab focuses on methods for improving health care quality and delivery, particularly among underserved and disadvantaged populations. Our research covers a range of important topics, including health beliefs, treatment adherence, doctor-patient communication, self-management interventions, mobile health initiatives, health disparities and patient-reported outcome methodology. We also work with the National Institutes of Health on multiple intervention trials focused on improving adherence and health outcomes in asthma, chronic kidney disease, cystic fibrosis (CF), sickle cell disease and secondhand smoke reduction.

The Kristina Nielsen Laboratory investigates neural circuits in the visual cortex that are responsible for encoding objects to understand how the visual system performs object recognition. We aim to reveal the fine-scale organization of neural circuits, with an emphasis on higher-level visual areas. We use two-photon microscopy to perform high-resolution functional imaging of visual areas in the non-human primate. We also investigate how the function of higher visual areas changes over the course of brain development in ferrets, by measuring the activity of single neurons in these areas, as well as determining the animal's visual capabilities at various developmental stages. In both types of investigations, we also rely on detailed anatomical techniques to precisely observe how the function of neuronal circuits is related to their structure.

The Glunde lab is within the Division of Cancer Imaging Research in the Department of Radiology and Radiological Science. The lab is developing mass spectrometry imaging as part of multimodal molecular imaging workflows to image and elucidate hypoxia-driven signaling pathways in breast cancer. They are working to further unravel the molecular basis of the aberrant choline phospholipid metabolism in cancer. The Glunde lab is developing novel optical imaging agents for multi-scale molecular imaging of lysosomes in breast tumors and discovering structural changes in Collagen I matrices and their role in breast cancer and metastasis.