Du Laboratory

Our Research Focus

The major objective of the research conducted in our lab is to understand the cellular processes by which healthy cells become cancerous. More specifically, our work focuses on mechanism of apoptosis, DNA damage response, autophagy and energy metabolism. We use a combination of biochemistry, molecular biology, mouse genetics and bioinformatics to achieve our goals. Our long-term objective is to utilize the knowledge for novel therapies to combat cancer and metabolic diseases.

Among possible lines of investigations, we chose to focus primarily on BRUCE, an ubiquitin ligase and inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP), and Smac/Diablo, a mitochondrial pro-apoptotic protein and an IAP antagonist, because BRUCE and Smac carry a great deal of promise in regulation of apoptosis, cancer, and metabolic diseases, which are outlined below.