Craig B. Thompson, M.D. Medline search
Scientific Director of the Abramson Institute
Chair of the Department of Cancer Biology
Professor of Medicine

Room 450, BRB II/III
421 Curie Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 1910

Phone: 215-746-5515
Fax: 215-746-5511

At present the Thompson laboratory studies a wide range of basic issues concerning cell proliferation, signal transduction, and apoptosis. The laboratory concentrates its studies on the lymphoid immune system focusing on basic aspects of development, cell division, and cell survival. Among the areas under investigation are:

1. Gene conversion as a mechanism to generate diversity within the immune system.
2. Recombination intermediates in the process of immunoglobulin rearrangement.
3. Studies of CD28 as a novel signaling pathway to regulate lymphocyte function.
4. Studies of CTLA-4 as a major negative regulator of lymphocyte cell proliferation.
5. Characterization of Bcl-x, to date the single most potent regulator of cell survival identified in vertebrates.
6. Studies of apoptotic control in the regulation of cancer invasion and metastasis.

Major research programs ongoing in the Thompson laboratory include:

1. Characterizing the biochemical mechanisms by which Bcl-2 proteins promote cell survival.
2. Defining the role of CD28 and CTLA-4 signaling pathways in the regulation of lymphocyte homeostasis.
3. Determining how apoptosis resistance contributes to neoplastic transformation, particularly through the potentiation of genetic instability.

Over the last several years, the Thompson laboratory has also developed several systems to study how alterations in the control of cell metabolism contribute to cancer cell development and survival. In addition, Dr. Thompson’s laboratory is actively involved in the utilization of transgenic and gene knockout technologies to test the importance of individual genes to the development of cancer in animal models. Finally, members of the laboratory continue to work on developing novel biomolecules that might be utilized in the treatment of immunologic and neoplastic disorders.