Functional Modeling of CLL in the Zebrafish:

This project is aimed at functionally dissecting the role of critical genes in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL), the most common form of leukemia in the western world. The emphasis is on the 11q critical region deleted in more aggressive forms of this disease. I plan to use the zebrafish to apply gene expression array and proteomics to functionally investigate novel genes and their interacting pathways for potential involvement in the pathogenesis of CLL. Ultimately this can be applied to investigate novel therapies for this currently incurable disease.