Ian Macara, Ph.D.
- Co-Leader, Signal Transduction and Chemical Biology Research Program
- Louise B. McGavock Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
- Chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
Phone
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
465 21st Avenue S., U 3209 MRB III
Nashville, TN 37232-8240
Ian Macara, Ph.D.
- Co-Leader, Signal Transduction and Chemical Biology Research Program
- Louise B. McGavock Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology
- Chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
615-875-5565
ian.g.macara@vanderbilt.edu
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
465 21st Avenue S., U 3209 MRB III
Nashville, TN 37232-8240
Research Program
Departments/Affiliations
Profile
Dr. Macara studies the development of the ducts that form breast tissue, and the mechanisms that can result in the initiation and spread of breast cancer. Most types of cancer arise from epithelial cells. These cells form many of the organs in the body, and arrange themselves into either sheets (such as the skin) or branching ducts (such as kidney, or mammary glands). Epithelial cells are polarized - they have a top and bottom, which differ from one another in form and function. Dr. Macara is studying how polarization occurs, how this process might be disrupted in breast cancer, and how defects in polarization contribute to invasive behavior and metastasis.
Education
- BSc - University of Sheffield, UK
- PhD - University of Sheffield, UK
- Postdoctoral training - Harvard University, MA
Research Emphasis
Cell imaging; breast cancer; stem cells; progenitors; morphogenesis; cell polarity; epithelia; tumor promoters; development; mammary gland; organoids; biophysics.
Research Description
Epithelia form the majority of tissues in your body, and are the source of 90% of human cancers. Epithelial structures form sheets and tubes and are highly polarized. They arise from stem cells or progenitors.
Our lab is deeply interested in how epithelial cells make collective decisions and maintain homeostasis; and how these processes are disrupted in response to damage, and during cancer initiation. We use mouse mammary gland and skin, plus human breast organoids, as model epithelial systems. We develop novel transgenic mouse models, genome-wide CRISPR screens, and quantitative, single-molecule imaging modalities to address fundamental questions about epithelial function.
We have openings for students interested in cell and developmental biology, cancer biology, and biophysics/computational methods.
Publications
- Ahmed SM, Nishida-Fukuda H, Li Y, McDonald WH, Gradinaru CC, Macara IG. Exocyst dynamics during vesicle tethering and fusion. Nat Commun. 2018 Dec 12/3/2018; 9(1): 5140. PMID: 30510181, PMCID: PMC6277416, PII: 10.1038/s41467-018-07467-5, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07467-5, ISSN: 2041-1723.
- Andrews AM, McCartney HJ, Errington TM, D'Andrea AD, Macara IG. A senataxin-associated exonuclease SAN1 is required for resistance to DNA interstrand cross-links. Nat Commun. 2018 Jul 7/3/2018; 9(1): 2592. PMID: 29968717, PMCID: PMC6030175, PII: 10.1038/s41467-018-05008-8, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05008-8, ISSN: 2041-1723.
- Seldin L, Le Guelte A, Macara IG. Epithelial plasticity in the mammary gland. Curr. Opin. Cell Biol [print-electronic]. 2017 Dec; 49: 59-63. PMID: 29232628, PMCID: PMC6028232, PII: S0955-0674(17)30139-4, DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2017.11.012, ISSN: 1879-0410.
- Ahmed SM, Macara IG. The Par3 polarity protein is an exocyst receptor essential for mammary cell survival. Nat Commun. 2017 Mar 3/30/2017; 8: 14867. PMID: 28358000, PMCID: PMC5379108, PII: ncomms14867, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14867, ISSN: 2041-1723.
- Huo Y, Su T, Cai Q, Macara IG. An In Vivo Gain-of-Function Screen Identifies the Williams-Beuren Syndrome Gene GTF2IRD1 as a Mammary Tumor Promoter. Cell Rep [print-electronic]. 2016 Jun 6/7/2016; 15(10): 2089-96. PMID: 27239038, PMCID: PMC5412078, PII: S2211-1247(16)30578-2, DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.05.011, ISSN: 2211-1247.
- Guyer RA, Macara IG. Loss of the polarity protein PAR3 activates STAT3 signaling via an atypical protein kinase C (aPKC)/NF-¿B/interleukin-6 (IL-6) axis in mouse mammary cells. J. Biol. Chem [print-electronic]. 2015 Mar 3/27/2015; 290(13): 8457-68. PMID: 25657002, PMCID: PMC4375497, PII: M114.621011, DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M114.621011, ISSN: 1083-351X.
- Huo Y, Macara IG. The Par3-like polarity protein Par3L is essential for mammary stem cell maintenance. Nat. Cell Biol [print-electronic]. 2014 Jun; 16(6): 529-37. PMID: 24859006, PMCID: PMC4083567, PII: ncb2969, DOI: 10.1038/ncb2969, ISSN: 1476-4679.
- Baschieri F, Confalonieri S, Bertalot G, Di Fiore PP, Dietmaier W, Leist M, Crespo P, Macara IG, Farhan H. Spatial control of Cdc42 signalling by a GM130-RasGRF complex regulates polarity and tumorigenesis. Nat Commun. 2014 May; 5: 4839. PMID: 25208761, PMCID: PMC4449154, PII: ncomms5839, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5839, ISSN: 2041-1723.
- Rodriguez-Boulan E, Macara IG. Organization and execution of the epithelial polarity programme. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 2014 Apr; 15(4): 225-42. PMID: 24651541, PMCID: PMC4211427, PII: nrm3775, DOI: 10.1038/nrm3775, ISSN: 1471-0080.
- McCaffrey LM, Montalbano J, Mihai C, Macara IG.. Loss of the Par3 polarity protein promotes breast tumorigenesis and metastasis. Cancer Cell. 2012 Nov; 22: 601-14.
