Kristiina Vuori, M.D., Ph.D.[La Jolla]
Sanford-Burnham conducts world-class research dedicated to finding cures for human disease. Combining this with clinical science and their large patient network, we will have opportunities to translate scientific discoveries into important new diagnostic and therapeutic medical advances.
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Research
Dr. Vuori's laboratory is working to identify the molecular mechanisms of adhesion-dependent survival and motility in normal cells.
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Biography
Dr. Vuori earned her M.D. and Ph.D. at University of Oulu, Finland.
Sceptrin, a marine natural compound, inhibits cell motility in a variety of cancer cell lines.
Cipres A, O'Malley DP, Li K, Finlay D, Baran PS, Vuori K
ACS Chem Biol. 2010 Feb 19;5(2):195-202
Critical role for caspase-8 in epidermal growth factor signaling.
Finlay D, Howes A, Vuori K
Cancer Res. 2009 Jun 15;69(12):5023-9
Cell biology. Two lipids that give direction.
Côté JF, Vuori K
Science. 2009 Apr 17;324(5925):346-7
The atypical Rac activator Dock180 (Dock1) regulates myoblast fusion in vivo.
Laurin M, Fradet N, Blangy A, Hall A, Vuori K, Côté JF
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Oct 7;105(40):15446-51
Novel noncatalytic role for caspase-8 in promoting SRC-mediated adhesion and Erk signaling in neuroblastoma cells.
Finlay D, Vuori K
Cancer Res. 2007 Dec 15;67(24):11704-11
A novel and evolutionarily conserved PtdIns(3,4,5)P3-binding domain is necessary for DOCK180 signalling.
Côté JF, Motoyama AB, Bush JA, Vuori K
Nat Cell Biol. 2005 Aug;7(8):797-807
Recent Options
Design, synthesis and evaluation of inhibitor of apoptosis protein (IAP) antagonists that are highly selective for the BIR2 domain of XIAP.
Ardecky RJ, Welsh K, Finlay D, Lee PS, González-López M, Ganji SR, Ravanan P, Mace PD, Riedl SJ, Vuori K, Reed JC, Cosford ND
Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2013 May 14;
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Kristiina Vuori's Research Focus
Cancer, Brain Cancer, Breast Cancer, Leukemia/Lymphoma, Lung Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Prostate Cancer
 Watch Dr. Vuori describe her research
Dr. Vuori's research is aimed at unraveling the cell mechanisms of the most life-threatening aspect of cancer, which is cancer metastasis. Metastasis is responsible for nearly all deaths in cancer patients, and understanding of the mechanisms that turn a cancer from a locally growing tumor into highly metastatic cancer cells will provide clues how to prevent this step in cancer progression. All cells in our body body stick to one another and to the packaging material, or extracellular matrix, around them. This adhesion is essential for cell survival; if cells become detached from their microenvironment, they will die through a process known as apoptosis. This phenomenon, which is called adhesion dependency of survival, is one of the safeguards that maintain the integrity and normal function of tissues, and prevent cells from becoming cancerous. Normal cells cannot detach from their tissue and establish themselves somewhere else, because they will die on the way. Yet cancer cells somehow get around this requirement; they trespass aggressively into other tissues and metastasize to distant sites in the body without dying. Dr. Vuori’s work is aimed at identifying the molecular mechanisms that in normal cells makes them adhesion-dependent; false action of the very same mechanisms is likely to be the key step in allowing cancer cells to metastasize.
About Kristiina Vuori
Experience
Kristiina Vuori earned her M.D. and Ph.D. at University of Oulu, Finland. After completion of internship and residency, she received postdoctoral training at Sanford-Burnham and was appointed to faculty in 1996. Dr. Vuori was selected as a PEW Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences in 1997. She has been co-Director of the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, housed at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, since its inception in 2005. She was appointed Deputy Director of the Institute's NCI-designated Cancer Center in 2003, and Director of the Cancer Center in 2006. In 2008, she was appointed Executive Vice President for Scientific Affairs at Sanford-Burnham. She has been President of the Institute since April 2010.
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