Bio/Research
The Baird laboratory employs a broad range of biophysico-chemical methods to investigate the structure and molecular mechanisms of cell surface receptors that operate in immunological and other responses. How are complex cellular responses controlled in time and space? Our biophysical characteriz...
Click to Expand >>
Click to Expand >>
Bio/Research
The Baird laboratory employs a broad range of biophysico-chemical methods to investigate the structure and molecular mechanisms of cell surface receptors that operate in immunological and other responses. How are complex cellular responses controlled in time and space? Our biophysical characterization is carried out in conjunction with extensive measurements of cellular activities to determine the features critical for the initiation and regulation of signal transduction. A particular area of interest is the role of cellular membranes in targeting these responses. Many of our current studies focus on signaling pathways initiated by the receptor (FceRI) for immunoglobulin E (IgE) that plays a central role in allergic and inflammatory responses and serves as a model for other types of immune receptors. We apply similar methods to other receptors, currently including growth factor receptors involved in cancer. The goal of our integrated studies is to elucidate complex biological systems on a molecular level; the information obtained also has important biomedical applications in drug design and clinical therapies.
Click to Shrink <<
Click to Shrink <<