Seed Grant Committee, Scientific Leadership Council Member
The Cyert lab studies Ca2+-dependent signal transduction mediated by calcineurin, the conserved Ca2+/calmodulin-regulated protein phosphatase. Calcineurin, the target of immunosuppressants FK506 and cyclosporin A, regulates many processes in mammals, including T-cell activation, heart valve development, cardiac hypertrophy and some aspects of learning and memory. In several pathogenic fungi, calcineurin is required for virulence. In baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, calcineurin promotes cell survival during environmental stress.
Research in the Cyert lab has three major goals:
- Elaborate calcineurin signaling networks;
- Elucidate calcineurin function;
- Define how calcineurin recognizes and dephosphorylates substrates.