Dr. Lynn Cornelius' laboratory focuses upon signaling pathways important in melanoma tumorigenesis. Recently, our work has centered upon a specific signaling molecule, Rap-1, a member of the Ras superfamily of small GTPases, that functions in the MAPK pathway and integrin regulation. Our laboratory has recently shown that activation of Rap-1 contributes to activation of ERK, melanoma cell migration and integrin activation in melanoma. We are continuing these investigations to elucidate potential mechanisms of Rap-1 regulation.

An additional research focus is in vivo melanoma imaging in collaboration with Dr. LiHong Wang, Department of Biomedical Engineering using novel imaging techniques, including functional photoacoustic microscopy.

Finally, our clinical translational studies in melanoma include the establishment of a melanoma database that includes tissue and DNA from melanoma patients that is banked in Siteman Cancer Center Tissue Procurement Core.

General dermatology, melanoma, mole mapping, skin cancer, cutaneous oncology

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