Edward L. Schwartz, Ph.D.

The formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) is a critical process in the growth of tumors and provides a means by which they can spread to distant sites. My laboratory explores the mechanisms by which certain angiogenic factors stimulate blood vessel-forming endothelial cells, studies the molecular actions of experimental and established cancer chemotherapeutic drugs which inhibit the angiogenic process, and participates in the design and testing of new agents which could provide novel clinical approaches to inhibit angiogenesis in cancer. Among our current interests are the understanding of signal transduction pathways which mediate migration in the endothelial cell, including the formation of focal adhesions, the activation of cell surface integrins, the phosphorylation and activation of regulatory proteins, and the interaction of these components with microtubules and the cell cytoskeleton.