Overview of Our Research

The fruit fly, Drosophila, is an ideal model organism for exploring the cellular and developmental basis of human diseases. Genes implicated in cancers in humans are also conserved in Drosophila. Thus, taking advantage of the sophisticated genetics of Drosophila, one can explore fundamental cellular functions of these genes besides deciphering the mechanisms by which these cause cancers when mutated. We are pursuing several lines of investigations by modeling cancers in Drosophila, besides cancer therapeutics. Some of these questions, which we are currently examining, include:

• Why do oncogenic mutations affect only certain cell types in an organ and not others?

• How does a growing tumor cross-talk with a distant organ?

• How does a host respond to a growing tumor within?

• Can human cancers, like prostate cancer (PCa), be modeled in the fly?  

• Can the Drosophila model be exploited for cancer therapeutics?  

• What cellular and developmental functions are carried out by the tumor suppressor genes such as Fat, a protocadherin?