Research Summary
Our group studies the mechanism of eukaryotic transcriptional regulation by understanding the function and action of transcription factors namely nuclear receptors. Nuclear receptors are zinc finger containing proteins targeting specific genes connected to nearly all biological processes in human such as development, energy homeostasis and metabolism. Their control is linked to recognition of small lipophilic compounds, ligands, that serve as signaling switches to activate or repress specific target genes. The dysregulation of nuclear receptor-directed transcription has functional consequences that lead to various maladies such as cancer or metabolic diseases. The deep understanding of molecular action of these proteins may provide new remedies for many disorders.
We aim to test well established and identify new ligands as potential drug candidates that can be used to target metabolic diseases and cancer via modulation of nuclear receptor signaling, to understand their mechanism of action in healthy and disease states to use this knowledge for early diagnostics or prevention of disease development.
Ferdinand Molnar E-mail: ferdinand.molnar@nu.edu.kz
