PI: Dr. Dustin Maly
Location: UW Chemistry
Website: http://depts.washington.edu/malylab/

Chemically-inducible signaling proteins

Cells are able to integrate an enormous array of environmental information and convert these signals into complex behaviors such as growth, differentiation, and motility. This relay of extra-cellular stimuli into specific phenotypic responses involves the transfer of information through complex networks that are mediated by signaling proteins. We are interested in generating novel signaling proteins that can be controlled with cell permeable small molecules. Conferring small molecule control allows rapid, reversible, and dose-dependent modulation of signaling protein function in cells and animals. These chemically-inducible signaling proteins will be used to study the specificity and dynamics of endogenous signal transduction networks. In addition, these reagents will be used to engineer sophisticated artificial signaling networks. The goal of this project is to develop new chemically-inducible regulatory modules that can be used to build signaling proteins with novel behaviors. These new modules will be used to engineer diverse signaling systems.