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. George Church, PhD

    Personal Genome Project

    Genomic DNA Sequencing Technologies; Gene Synthesis; Biofuel

  3. Jon Clardy, PhD

    Isolation and characterization of small molecule natural products; high-throughput screening for novel therapeutics

    Discovering small molecule, natural products and their biology; high throughput screening for small molecule chemicals that interfere with microbial and mammalian cell processes.  

  4. 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. 

  5. Marcia Haigis, PhD

    Mitochondrial dysfunction in aging and disease: bioenergetics, metabolomics, and cell stress

    Study the role of  the sirtuins in metabolism, aging, and disease

  6. Peter Howley, MD

    Papillomavirus biology

    Investigate the activities of papillomavirus-encoded proteins, including the E6-mediated degradation of p53 and E2-mediated regulation of viral transcription and genome replication

  7. Antoine Van Oijen, PhD

    Single molecule imaging for uncovering molecular mechanisms of action: biologic and therapeutic analysis

    Dr. van Oijen’s research utilizes single molecule imaging for uncovering molecular mechanisms of action pertaining to cell fusion of enveloped viruses, DNA replication fork dynamics, and ...

  8. Charles Weitz, MD, PhD

    Biological mechanisms of circadian clocks and their roles in metabolic processes

    Investigate molecular mechanisms of circadian clocks in the brain, retina, and peripheral tissues  

  9. Wei-Dong Yao, PhD

    Dopamine signaling; synaptic plasticity; neurobiology of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders

  10. Ulrich von Andrian, MD, PhD

    Adaptive immunity and leukocyte trafficking: lymphocyte activation; lymphatic system; intravital microscopy

    Study how immunological memory is produced through the orchestration of the adaptive immune response, including initiation, regulatory mechanisms, and immune cell homing to organs; harnessing of this ...