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Professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Past President, International Cytokine & Interferon Society (ICIS)
Fellow of The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
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E-mail: |
nancy.reich@stonybrook.edu |
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Research |
Cytokine Signaling, Gene Expression, Immune Defense, Cancer Immune defense, differentiation, programmed cell death, and malignancy are all influenced by extracellular cytokines. Our research centers on the action of a subset of cytokines that stimulate Janus tyrosine kinases (JAKs) and signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs). Activated JAK-STAT pathways rapidly transduce signals from outside the cell into the nucleus to regulate gene expression. Although the JAK-STAT cytokines use similar signal transduction pathways, their biological effects are quite diverse. For example, interferons confer resistance to viral infections, whereas interleukin-6 promotes inflammation and malignancy. We are currently exploring mouse models of viral infection and pancreatic cancer to identify molecular mechanisms that can be used to combat these diseases.
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