The Gradinaru Lab

SECTIONS
1. STAT protein-specific molecular glue: a new approach against cancer
2. Biophysical studies of thermo-responsive lipid-polymer matrices
3. Structural heterogeneity and dynamics in intrinsically disordered proteins

	STAT protein-specific molecular glue: a new approach against cancer Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins relay extracellular signals to the nucleus, wherein they bind DNA and promote transcription of proteins critical to cellular functions such as growth and survival. In cancers, STAT activity is critically deregulated, leading to uncontrolled tumor cell growth and proliferation. (MORE...)
	Biophysical studies of thermo-responsive lipid-polymer matrices Lipogels are micrometer-sized, lipid-enclosed, thermo-responsive, hydrophobically-modified, pNIPAM/p(NIPAM-co-AA) core-shell hydrogel spheres. They are fabricated in the Macdonald lab at UofT and we have used fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy to characterize them. The lipid coating was shown to consist of a continuous, impermeable lipid bilayer encapsulating and sequestering the hydrogel microsphere. (MORE...)
	Structural heterogeneity and dynamics in intrinsically disordered proteins Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) lack stable globular tertiary folded structure under physiological or non-denaturing conditions. So far, IDPs have not been extensively characterized, although they are abundant in eukaryotic cells and enriched in signalling proteins and proteins linked to cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. (MORE...)