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Current
Laboratory Member |
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Gordon K Chan, Ph.D.
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Principal Investigator |
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Dawn Macdonald, Ph.D. |
Research
Associate |
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Larissa Vos, Ph.D. |
PDF |
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Devinderjit Kaur, B.Sc., M.Sc |
Graduate Student |
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Ishwar Hosamani, B.Sc. |
Graduate Student |
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Danielle Yandt, B.Sc. |
Graduate Student |
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John Dong |
Summer Student |
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Shivani Upadhyaya |
Summer Student |
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Research
Interests - Overview |
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In my
laboratory, research is centered on the mechanism of cell cycle
control and particularly the regulation of accurate chromosome
segregation during mitosis. The mitotic checkpoint is a failsafe
mechanism by which the cell prevents premature anaphase and ensures
accurate chromosome segregation. The relevance this line of basic
research to cancer is established in the demonstrated importance of
chromosome fidelity during cell division to carcinogenesis. By
investigating the molecular mechanism of the mitotic checkpoint, we
can better evaluate these genes as potential cancer drug targets as
well as contributing to the basic understanding of cancer.
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Ongoing Research
Highlights |
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We have two main
areas of research: (i) The role(s) of the Rod/Zw10
complex in mitotic checkpoint regulation and (ii)
centromere and kinetochore structure and assembly.
(i) We are currently examining the mechanisms by which
mitotic checkpoint proteins monitor
kinetochore:microtubule attachments to ensure that cells
with misaligned chromosomes are provided enough time to
establish proper connections to the spindle. hZw10 and
hROD are kinetochore proteins that recruit the
microtubule motor, dynein/dynactin, to kinetochores but
were found to be also essential for the mitotic
checkpoint. We propose that hZw10 and hROD links
kinetochore:microtubule attachments mediated by dynein
to the checkpoint. We are using molecular, biochemical
and cell biological approaches to study the structure
and function of the mitotic checkpoint apparatus in
order to understand the underlying mechanism.
(ii) We are studying the effect of epigenetic
modifications of histones on the assembly and structure
of the centromere and kinetochore. |
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Selected Research Picture |
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