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Albert B. Reynolds Professor of Cancer Biology |
Featured Researcher
Albert B. Reynolds, Ph.D.
Dr. Reynolds received his B.A. from Kenyon College and his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. After research positions with the University of Virginia and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, he joined Vanderbilt in 1996. He now is professor of Cancer Biology.
Dr. Reynolds discovered and identified p120 and its association with the cell:cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin. He has focused on understanding the biological function of p120 and its role in carcinogenesis, as p120 is associated with metastasis and poor survival in colon cancer. In addition, Dr. Reynolds' lab discovered that p120 regulates RhoA activity, and thus influences cell motility through modulation of the activity of this small GTPase. He now is recognized worldwide as "the father" of p120 and is leading a field that many laboratories are joining as they recognize the crucial regulatory role p120, E-cadherin, and their associated proteins play in maintaining normal cellular function.
As a postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Reynolds drove discovery of the major Src substrates, key regulators of motility and adhesion. He generated specific monoclonal antibodies to these proteins and was instrumental in their subsequent identification by cDNA cloning. Recently, he addressed the pathological consequence of p120 downregulation in vivo. His laboratory generated conditional-null p120 mice and examined the consequence of p120 ablation in the salivary glands. The phenotype supports his hypothesis that p120 is a tumor suppressor.
Dr. Reynolds has single-handedly identified an essential regulator of cell adhesion and cell motility, determined its molecular mechanism(s), and demonstrated a critical role for p120 function in maintaining physiologic integrity by establishing that loss of p120 can initiate and/or promote tumor progression.
