
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum
Research Institute
Mount Sinai Hospital
Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Health Complex
600 University Avenue
Toronto Ontario M5G 1X5
Tel: 416-586-4800 ext.8233
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Dr. Jim Dennis
SENIOR
INVESTIGATOR
Dr.
Jim Dennis draws on a broad range of expertise, including structural
biology, biochemistry, genetics and cell biology in his investigation
of the cellular mechanisms involved in cancer, diabetes, autoimmune
disease. These diseases often occur in midlife, and represent a large
loss in productive years and increase in health cost to
Canadians.
Our
knowledge of the genetic factors underlying these conditions is growing
rapidly with recent advances in technology for genome sequencing,
proteomics and systems biology. There is a renewed appreciation that
basic metabolism works intimately with genes to determine normal and
disease process.
In
a groundbreaking study published in the prestigious journal Cell in
2007, Dr. Dennis reported a new role for sugar metabolism in the
modification of proteins on the cell surface. These findings provide an
important mechanism of adaptation at the cell surface, thus
responsiveness to cues outside the cell as conditions change. More
recently the lab is exploring the evolution of this adaptive system to
better understand genetic risk factors in humans. Dr.
Dennis' group has also developed computational models to help
predict disease severity for newly discovered gene variants.
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