Our Science – Parent Website

Carole A. Parent, Ph.D.

Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology Senior Investigator Building 37, Room 2066 37 Convent Drive, MSC 4256 Bethesda, MD 20892-4256 Phone:   301-435-3701 Fax:   301-496-8479 E-Mail:   parentc@helix.nih.gov

Biography

Dr. Parent obtained B.Pharm. and M.Sc. degrees from the Universite of Montreal in 1985 and 1987, respectively. She received a Ph.D. degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1992. She then joined the laboratory of Dr. Peter N. Devreotes in the Department of Biological Chemistry of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for postdoctoral training. In 1996, she was promoted to the rank of Instructor in the same Department. She joined the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the NCI in May 2000.

Research

Signal transduction events involved in the control of directed cell migration

This laboratory is interested in studying how specific G protein-coupled signaling events translate into complex cellular responses. We are particularly interested in investigating the role of cAMP in directed cell migration. Using biochemical, cell biological and genetic analyses, our goal is to identify the components involved in the spatial control of signaling. By tagging various signaling proteins with the green fluorescent protein (GFP) we have been able to visualize in live cells where and when various cascades are activated. This has led us to propose a novel mechanism that could explain how chemotactic gradients are amplified. We are currently designing experiments that will allow us to understand how signaling components become asymmetrically distributed upon cellular polarization. In addition to exploiting the genetically tractable model system Dictyostelium, we carry out experiments on human neutrophils. This gives us the opportunity to simultaneously develop signal transduction pathways in both systems. Collectively, our research projects are designed to provide insight on the role of various signaling cascades in chemotaxis and will have direct bearing on the understanding of clinically important processes as such leukocyte migration to sites of inflammation as well as cancer metastasis.

This page was last updated on 6/12/2008.