Email
jduffy@wpi.edu
Office
Life Science and Bioengineering Center 4015
Phone
+1 (508) 8315000 x5579
Education
BS Cornell University 1987
PhD University of Texas, Houston 1992
Postdoc Harvard Medical School 1995
Postdoc University of Colorado, Boulder 1997

Defining signaling pathways that program cellular diversity is one of the foremost problems in biology and is central to my research interests.  In the lab we use molecular, genetic, and biochemical approaches to characterize the function of these pathways and to gain insight into their role in disease.  To date, the lab has focused on the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor network, a principal therapeutic target for a variety of human cancers.  This work involved the characterization of Kekkon1 (Kek1), an archetypal LIG molecule, as a novel feedback inhibitor of the EGFR network.  More recently, our work has branched out to neurobiology, adhesion/barrier biology, and lipid metabolism. 

At the undergraduate level, I enjoy relating the growing impact of biology in our world through teaching Intro to Biotech, Genetics, and mentoring students in the lab.  At the graduate level, I enjoy working with doctoral and master’s students in the lab and teaching classes on signal transduction, model experimental systems, and grant writing.  Outside of the lab, I enjoy snowshoeing, hiking, photography, and trying to keep up with graduate students on the soccer field.

Scholarly Work

Evans TA, Haridas H, Duffy JB. 2009. Kekkon5 is an extracellular regulator of BMP signaling. Dev Biol. 326:36-46.

Alvarado, D., Evans, T.E., Sharma, R., Lemmon, M.A., and Duffy, J.B. 2006. Mutational analysis of ligand sequestration by Argos. Journal of Biological Chemistry 281:28993-29001.

Brendza, R.P., Serbus, L.R., Saxton, W.M and Duffy, J.B. 2002. Conventional kinesin is required for the establishment of dorsal-ventral polarity during Drosophila oogenesis. Current Biology 12: 1541-1545.

Ghiglione, C., Carraway, K.L., Amundadottir, L.T., Boswell, R.E.,.Perrimon, N. and Duffy, J.B. 1999. The transmembrane molecule Kekkon1 acts in a feedback loop to negatively regulate the activity of the EGF receptor during oogenesis. Cell 96: 847-856.

Professional Highlights & Honors
Damon Runyon Fellow, 1992