Dominique Alfandari
My research areas include craniofacial development, metalloproteases, nuclear, membrane and extracellular matrix proteins, cell adhesion and migration, embryogenesis, gastrulation, and neural crest cell migration.
Current Research
My research focus is on understanding how cell migration is controlled during the development of an embryo and how similar mechanisms are used again during Cancer cell metastasis. We use the frog embryo to test how mutated proteins can function in a complex, biologically relevant, environment. We use protein modeling to perform mutagenesis and test proteins at the subcellular, cellular and whole organism level. We were the first to show that membrane anchored ADAM contributed to cell migration and could regulate gene expression via the translocation of their cytoplasmic domain into the nucleus.
Learn more at people.umass.edu/alfandar
Academic Background:
- BS 1989, University of Pierre and Marie Curie
- MS 1990, University of Pierre and Marie Curie, Biochemistry
- PhD 1994, University of Pierre and Marie Curie, Developmental Biology
- Postdoctoral Fellow 1994-1996, University of Virginia Cell Biology
- Maitre de Conference 1996-2003, University of Pierre and Marie Curie
