Systems biology of intracellular signal transduction networks; deregulation of cytokine and growth factor signaling in the liver associated with chronic alcohol consumption; early signaling responses during liver regeneration; bioenergetics and mitochondrial metabolism and its role in intracellular signaling and apoptosis.
Research in my laboratory is focused on the analysis of integrated signaling responses in liver and other tissues and on the adaptive or maladaptive modification of these responses by acute and chronic ethanol exposure. The following project are currently ongoing:
- Analysis of growth factor signaling networks and related gene expression profiles in liver, using a combination of computational modeling and experimental studies;
- Signaling events associated with the onset and progression of liver regeneration, with emphasis on the control of energy metabolism, purinergic signaling and AMP-activated protein kinase;
- Mechanisms of ethanol-associated disturbance of cellular Ca2+ homeostasis and Ca2+ signaling and its role in adaptation and stress-responses in the liver;
- Mechanisms of ethanol-induced susceptibility to apoptotic signals in the liver.