Martin McMahon’s laboratory in the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at Mission Bay is focused on a mechanistic understanding of the initiation, progression and treatment of cancers associated with mutational activation of KRAS, its key signaling effectors BRAF and PI3’-kinase and additional pro-tumorigenic pathways such as WNT®b-catenin®c-MYC signaling.  To pursue these aims, we utilize complementary biochemical, molecular and cell biological techniques to examine the consequences of RAS pathway activation in genetically engineered mouse (GEM) models of human cancer or in cultures of normal or cancer-derived cells.  Our long-term goal is to collaborate in the design and evaluation of new treatments for cancer patients in which constitutive RAS pathway signaling contributes to the aberrant behavior of the tumor cell.