Biography

Studies in Dr. Sumagin’s laboratory are focused on determining the contributions of innate immune cell-mediated inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract to epithelial injury and to the development/progression of colorectal cancers. Immune cells are critical for host defense, however, immune cell infiltration of mucosal surfaces under the conditions of inflammation leads to significant alteration of the tissue homeostasis. This includes restructuring of the extracellular matrix, alterations in cell-to-cell adhesions and facilitation of genomic instability due to accumulation of DNA damage. While genomic instability induced by the activity of immune cells can lead to increased mutagenesis and inactivation of tumor suppressor genes, disruption of junctional adhesion complexes, impairs the regulation of epithelial cell polarity, migration and proliferation, contributing to carcinogenesis. Our research thus, focuses on understanding the mechanisms governing leukocyte tissue infiltration and the resulting disruption of epithelial function as potential risk factors for tumor formation, growth and dissemination.