EMBO Associate Member
David L. Vaux
EMBO 2012
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Parkville, Australia
Molecular mechanisms of cell death
My lab studies cell death. We found that bcl2 promotes cancer by inhibiting apoptosis, opening the molecular era of cell death research. By expressing bcl2 in C. elegans, we showed that apoptosis and programmed cell death are the same process. We identified several IAPs, and proteins that bind to them such as Diablo/Smac. While some IAPs are needed for cell division, we are studying how others (e.g. cIAP1) regulate signalling by TNF receptors.
Keywords
IAP / Bcl-2 / apoptosis / programmed cell death