משתמש:DanielNachman

Hi to all Wiki fans like myself!

I look forward to participating in Wiki entries concerned with the molecular biology of all forms of life. I am an Emeritus Professor from the Faculty of Life Sciences at Tel Aviv University, and would like to define myself as a very enthusiastic molecular biologist. I am interested in all life forms, especially of vertebrates, with a special fascination in their gene-make up.  I revel in discovering new genes, and have had the privilege to be the first to discover several new genes both in mice and in humans.

Following the completion of my doctoral (PhD) studies in Molecular Biology, I carried out research at two premier biological research institutions in London, the National Institute of Medical Research at Mill Hill, and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF), investigating the molecular mechanisms of interferon, a molecule closely associated with tumor growth. The results emanating from these studies were published in leading journals and included two Nature publications.

Subsequent to those post-doctoral studies, I completed an MD degree at the Tel Aviv University School of Medicine and a medical internship at the Sheba-Tel Hashomer Medical Center.

I then embarked on molecular biology research related to human cancer-associated molecules, and was the first to clone the very important cancer-associated human gene called MUC1

Several of my important ‘firsts’ in the field of MUC1 biology including the cloning of the MUC1 cDNAs and gene, the discovery that MUC1 is tyrosine phosphorylated protein and that it participates in key cell-signaling pathways, the discovery of alternative MUC1 splice forms and the elucidation of the self-cleavage of the MUC1 protein. These seminal findings led to a deeper understanding of the MUC1 protein and in turn stimulated scientific research in these areas of MUC1 biology.

I then used my expertise in the self-cleavage reaction of MUC1 and in alternate MUC1 protein isoforms to generate monoclonal antibodies that are specifically directed at a MUC1 cell-tethered epitope, the MUC1-SEA domain, that is located close to the cell membrane. These studies were published in leading journals including Cancer Research, International Journal of Cancer, Journal of Biological Chemistry and Experimental Hematology. Using mice models, I have shown that these anti-MUC1 monoclonal antibodies can, as immunotoxins, ablate human tumors. As such, they are likely to have much clinical significance for the targeting and ablation of MUC1-expressing cancers, such as human breast cancer.

Additional human genes that I discovered include a group of genes called the Prostate and Testis Expressed (PATE) genes. The most recent human gene that I discovered has been designated by Human Gene Nomenclature Committee as LY6S, which is the human counterpart to the mouse Ly6a-subfamily gene cluster. The discovery of this human gene has given me much satisfaction as it has, till now, eluded detection, despite the complete sequencing of the human genome. The manuscript describing the discovery of LY6S has just recently been accepted for publication in “Immunohorizons”.