معرفی
Michael J. Eck, MD, PhD is a Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His research focuses on structural biology of cell signaling pathways, particularly tyrosine kinases in cancer and structure-based drug discovery. His lab also studies formin proteins and actin cytoskeleton dynamics. Eck's work combines biochemical and structural methods, including X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM, to understand kinase regulation and develop novel inhibitors for cancer therapy.
Eck received his MD and PhD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in 1991. He trained as a postdoctoral fellow under Dr. Stephen Harrison at Harvard Medical School before joining Dana-Farber in 1996. His research has advanced understanding of Jak-family kinases, EGFR mutations in lung cancer, focal adhesion kinase (FAK), and formin-mediated actin assembly.
Key areas of investigation include:
- Structure-function relationships in Jak-family kinases and their role in hematopoietic cancers
- Mechanisms of EGFR mutations driving drug resistance in lung cancer
- Structural basis for designing mutant-selective EGFR inhibitors (e.g., WZ4002)
- Regulation of FAK in cell migration and metastasis
- Formin architecture and actin filament formation
Awards:
- 1997 Career Award in the Biomedical Sciences, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
- 2002 Scholar Award, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
- 2009 World Class Scholar, Korean Ministry of Science & Technology
- 2010 AACR Team Science Award (DF/HCC Thoracic Oncology Team)
Lab & Collaborations: Eck leads a lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute with active collaborations in structural biology, chemical biology, and translational oncology. Their work has led to clinical advances in kinase inhibitor development for lung cancer and myeloproliferative disorders.
