My lab is interested in the basic mechanisms of nuclear signaling and gene regulation by small molecules and how these signaling pathways relate to human diseases, including cancers. We have focused our efforts on two distinct, but likely related, nuclear signaling pathways controlled by estrogens and NAD+, a metabolic cofactor whose signaling actions in the nucleus are only just beginning to be understood. My lab is combining the most powerful techniques from modern biology, as well as the physical and computational sciences, to address specific mechanistic questions that will yield an in depth understanding of the molecular basis of signal-regulated gene expression. Our interdisciplinary approach has led to new information about the connections between hormone-regulated gene expression and the gene-regulating effects of chromatin, which has implications for understanding and treating breast cancers. Furthermore, our most recent work has led to some surprising new conclusions about the activity of an NAD+-regulated nuclear factor, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), connecting cellular NAD+ levels to nuclear signaling, chromatin structure, and gene expression.


Lee Kraus, Ph.D.
467 Biotechnology Building
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
Phone: 607-255-4743
Fax: 607-255-6249