Sarafan ChEM-H
Showing 1-10 of 14 Results
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Alice C. Fan
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Oncology) and, by courtesy, of Urology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Fan is a physician scientist who studies how turning off oncogenes (cancer genes) can cause tumor regression in preclinical and clinical translational studies. Based on her findings, she has initiated clinical trials studying how targeted therapies affect cancer signals in kidney cancer and low grade lymphoma. In the laboratory, she uses new nanotechnology strategies for tumor diagnosis and treatment to define biomarkers for personalized therapy.
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Jessica Feldman
Associate Professor of Biology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe are interested in understanding design principles within cells that contribute to the diversification of cellular form and function. Using a combination of genetic, biochemical, and live imaging approaches, we are investigating how the microtubule cytoskeleton is spatially organized and the mechanisms underlying organizational changes during development.
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Dean W. Felsher
Professor of Medicine (Oncology) and of Pathology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy laboratory studies the molecular basis of cancer with a focus on understanding when cancer can be reversed through targeted oncogene inactivation.
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Daniel Fernandez
Director of Crystallography
BioDot-to-dot on an electron density map, the molecular bricks that sustain life - proteins, nucleic acids, polymers, and their ligands, inhibitors, and co-factors - all initially invisible to the naked eye, come alive on-screen. Connecting these molecules to what they do in life inspires research and development. At the Macromolecular Structure Knowledge Center (MSKC) you will find a platform to explore, expand, and enrich our understanding on how natural processes and technology work at the level of the atom.
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Katherine Ferrara
Professor of Radiology (Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy focus is image-guided drug and gene delivery and I am engaged in the design of imaging devices, molecularly-targeted imaging probes and engineered delivery vehicles, drawing upon my education in biology and imaging physics and more than 20 years of experience with the synthesis and labeling of therapeutic particles. My laboratory has unique resources for and substantial experience in synthetic chemistry and ultrasound, CT, MR and PET imaging.
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Michael Fischbach
Liu (Liao) Family Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe microbiome carries out extraordinary feats of biology: it produces hundreds of molecules, many of which impact host physiology; modulates immune function potently and specifically; self-organizes biogeographically; and exhibits profound stability in the face of perturbations. Our lab studies the mechanisms of microbiome-host interactions. Our approach is based on two technologies we recently developed: a complex (119-member) defined gut community that serves as an analytically manageable but biologically relevant system for experimentation, and new genetic systems for common species from the microbiome. Using these systems, we investigate mechanisms at the community level and the strain level.
1) Community-level mechanisms. A typical gut microbiome consists of 200-250 bacterial species that span >6 orders of magnitude in relative abundance. As a system, these bacteria carry out extraordinary feats of metabolite consumption and production, elicit a variety of specific immune cell populations, self-organize geographically and metabolically, and exhibit profound resilience against a wide range of perturbations. Yet remarkably little is known about how the community functions as a system. We are exploring this by asking two broad questions: How do groups of organisms work together to influence immune function? What are the mechanisms that govern metabolism and ecology at the 100+ strain scale? Our goal is to learn rules that will enable us to design communities that solve specific therapeutic problems.
2) Strain-level mechanisms. Even though gut and skin colonists live in communities, individual strains can have an extraordinary impact on host biology. We focus on two broad (and partially overlapping) categories:
Immune modulation: Can we redirect colonist-specific T cells against an antigen of interest by expressing it on the surface of a bacterium? How do skin colonists induce high levels of Staphylococcus-specific antibodies in mice and humans?
Abundant microbiome-derived molecules: By constructing single-strain/single-gene knockouts in a complex defined community, we will ask: What are the effects of bacterially produced molecules on host metabolism and immunology? Can the molecular output of low-abundance organisms impact host physiology?
3) Cell and gene therapy. We have begun two new efforts in mammalian cell and gene therapies. First, we are developing methods that enable cell-type specific delivery of genome editing payloads in vivo. We are especially interested in delivery vehicles that are customizable and easy to manufacture. Second, we have begun a comprehensive genome mining effort with an emphasis on understudied or entirely novel enzyme systems with utility in mammalian genome editing. -
Polly Fordyce
Associate Professor of Bioengineering and of Genetics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Fordyce Lab is focused on developing new instrumentation and assays for making quantitative, systems-scale biophysical measurements of molecular interactions. Current research in the lab is focused on three main platforms: (1) arrays of valved reaction chambers for high-throughput protein expression and characterization, (2) spectrally encoded beads for multiplexed bioassays, and (3) sortable droplets and microwells for single-cell assays.
