Abstract: Professor Mcclatchey will share her lab’s efforts to develop in vivo and 3D models of glial and epithelial tumors, and to deploy them for both preclinical and mechanistic studies. Their studies have uncovered unexpected ways in which cellular states impact morphogenesis, oncogene signaling and drug response, highlighting the value of this approach.

Bio: The McClatchey laboratory seeks to understand how cells organize their outer membrane or cortex, which, in turn, determines their identity, behavior, and interface with the external environment. Cancer cells exhibit defective membrane organization and therefore interact inappropriately with other cells and with their environment.

Our research stems from a longstanding dedication to understanding the molecular basis of neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), a familial tumor syndrome caused by mutation of the NF2 tumor suppressor gene. The NF2-encoded protein, Merlin, and closely related ERM proteins (Ezrin, Radixin, and Moesin) are key architects of the cell cortex.