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I study communication between cells and its relationship to disease. Progranulin is a protein that is secreted by cells and instructs nearby cells聽to divide and to move. It also inhibits cell death caused by challenges such聽as starvation or chemotherapeutic drugs. There are many important roles for聽this molecule.

It is over expressed in many cancers and renders cancer cells much more聽aggressive. Blocking progranulin may be a route to cancer therapy.

Progranulin keeps nerve cells alive. Losing only one half of the brain鈥檚聽progranulin levels by mutation causes frontotemporal dementia, a devastating聽degenerative brain disease. I wish to understand how progranulin protects the聽brain.聽

Progranulin reduces inflammation. Its levels increase rapidly in injured聽tissues. We have shown that progranulin helps the wound repair process. This聽may help diabetics and others with chronic wounds that fail to heal properly