Research Categories - Disease Mechanisms

Many HMS laboratories are exploring biological mechanisms of disease processes, applying sophisticated technologies to mechanistic and therapeutic studies. These investigations focus on a wide range of disease entities, from prevalent afflictions such as cancer, to viral diseases of epidemic proportions such as AIDS, to uncommon genetic diseases.

Related Investigators

  1. John Blenis, PhD

    Signal transduction: nutrient and energy sensing; disease; mTOR; PI3-kinase; Ras

    Explore the diverse yet overlapping intracellular transmission signals propagated by cell surface receptors that respond to extracellular growth factors, environmental conditions, and other ...

  2. Ronald Desrosiers, PhD

    HIV and AIDS: vaccine; persistent immune response

    Develop new strategies for blunting viral replication and bolstering the immune system’s ability to eradicate viral-infected T-cell reservoirs. 

  3. Daniel Finley, PhD

    Ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation and the proteasome: mechanisms and coordination; architecture; role in disease

    Study of proteasome activity and its relationship to diseases caused by proteinopathies.

  4. James Hogle, PhD

    Virus structure, mechanism of entry into cells, and replication

    Perform studies on poliovirus infection; investigate the proteomic composition of virus-laden membrane vesicles; study the herpes simplex virus replication complex and nuclear egress ...

  5. Guo-Fu Hu, PhD

    Angiogenin and its role in disease: angiogenesis, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases

    Investigate angiogenin’s mechanism of action and its role in cancer and neurodegenerative disease, with a focus on prostate cancer and ALS.  

  6. Amitinder Kaur, MD

    AIDS pathogenesis and CMV opportunistic infection: SIV; vaccine; AIDS resistance

    AIDS modeling in non-human primates; reactivation of latent CMV in HIV-infected individuals; innate resistance to SIV-related disease progression.  

  7. Xuebin Qin, MD, PhD

    Immune modulation to treat cancer and viral infections

    CD59, the complement cascade, and disease    

  8. Arlene Sharpe, MD, PhD

    T-cell regulation and disease: chronic viral infection; autoimmunity, tumor immunotherapy, peripheral tolerance

    T cell co-stimulation and its immunoregulatory role in controlling the balance between T cell activation and tolerance.  

  9. Roger Spealman, PhD

    CNS disorders: addiction; Parkinson’s disease

    Studies on the mechanisms and efficacy of psychoactive drugs  

  10. Bruce Yankner, MD, PhD

    Molecular mechanisms of aging and aging-related neurodegenerative diseases

    Explore aging at the molecular level, employing a systems biology approach