Laboratory of Molecular Oncology

From left: Gao, Thompson, Xie, Graveel, Kaufman, Vande Woude, Staal, Bassett, Haak, Nelson, DeGroot, Su, Zhang

Scientific Overview

General Overview

Met is a transmembrane protein found in many different types of human cells. Increased expression of this protein has been found in most human solid tumors. The Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, headed by George Vande Woude, has the role of Met and its intracellular signaling as a major focus. The lab staff has developed antibodies against the Met protein that allow them to determine the location of cells that produce Met, and radiolabeled antibodies allow the imaging of tumors within living tissue. These antibodies have been shown to be valuable reagents for detecting cells that express Met. Studies are underway to determine for a variety of cancers the percentage that express the Met protein and to determine the feasibility of using Met expression or anti-Met antibodies as detection and prognostic tools for physicians.