Ras mediated signalling

Since his isolation and characterization of the first human oncogene ( H-ras), Dr Santos¿ scientific career has evolved in close temporal sync with the development of Molecular Oncology. Research in his group has always focused on the study of the structure, function and regulation of Ras family members. Current research is centered on the mechanisms regulating activation of Ras proteins by their specific upstream GEF regulators in physiological and pathological processes such as cancer. The experimental approach currently used involves molecular, cellular, and genomic/proteomic analyses of knockout mice strains defective in individual ras (H-ras, N-ras, K-ras) or GEF (RasGrf1, RasGrf2, Sos1, Sos2 ) genes, or combinations thereof, that were generated in his laboratory. Dr Santos¿group is uniquely positioned to carry out this line of research based on the wide collection of Ras and GEF knockout strains generated in his lab during the last few years