The focus of our research is to illuminate the mechanisms that regulate genome duplication during mammalian development. To this end, we are learning how mammalian cells initiate DNA replication, how they restrict genome duplication to once per cell division, and how specialized cells undergo multiple rounds of genome duplication without cell division and without triggering apoptosis. This research has led to a novel strategy for selectively killing cancer cells without interfering with the proliferation of normal cells. This strategy targets geminin, a protein that prevents excess DNA replication, using siRNA or other small molecules that have been identified in high throughput screens.
Books edited or authored by MLD (click on cover to view table of contents).
Last Updated: 3/15/13