Overview
Senior Investigator
The Cutaneous Development and Carcinogenesis Section studies the signaling pathways such as Hedgehog signaling that regulate the development and maintenance of normal skin and the changes in these signals that occur during the formation of skin cancer. Our investigations include studying the specification and maintenance of cell lineages in the skin, studying the regulation of stem cells in the skin, and using mouse genetics to model carcinogenesis in the skin.
A current focus for our research is investigating the neuro-cutaneous interface and the regulation of neuroendocrine cells (Merkel cells) in the skin. We are also analyzing Merkel cell carcinomas and are developing pre-clinical mouse models for this uncommon but aggressive skin cancer.
Ongoing Clinical Trials
The following studies are currently active. Further details are available following the links to the respective pages on the clinicaltrials.gov web site.
A Phase II, Open-Label, Multicenter Trial to Investigate the Clinical Activity and Safety of MSB0010718C in Subjects with Merkel Cell Carcinoma
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02155647
This is a multicenter, international, single-arm, open-label, Phase 2 trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of avelumab in participants with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC).
Scientific Advances
Core Research Facilities
Labs at the NIAMS are supported by the following state-of-the-art facilities and services: