Anne Vojtek, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Biological Chemistry
Associate Chair for Education and Research, Biological Chemistry
Associate Director, Program in Biomedical Sciences

Office: 5301E MSRB III
1150 W. Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0606
 

(734) 647-6794

Areas of Interest

Our major focus is the biochemical and molecular dissection of signal transduction pathways under normal physiological conditions and in human disease. Aberrant regulation of signaling pathways is a hallmark of many human diseases, including cancer. In one project in the lab, we are studying the signaling pathways activated by human oncogenes, including K-Ras. In a second project, we are studying signaling pathways that regulate neural regeneration and plasticity, with applications to stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. Our studies are leading to new insights into how signals are transmitted through receptor-mediated pathways to regulate cell growth and differentiation. These studies are also leading to the identification of potential new therapeutic targets for treatment of human diseases.

We employ a variety of biochemical and molecular genetic approaches, such as high throughput screening methods to identify chemical compounds that block specific steps of signaling pathways as well as RNA interference and CRISPR methods to analyze gene function. Our long term objective is a comprehensive and integrated understanding of signaling pathways in human disease with the goal of identifying intervention points for new directions for medical research.

Honors & Awards

American Chemical Society Research Scholar, 2001–2005

Published Articles or Reviews

Recent Publications

BAP1 regulation of the key adaptor protein NCoR1 is critical for γ-globin gene repression.
Yu L, Jearawiriyapaisarn N, Lee MP, Hosoya T, Wu Q, Myers G, Lim KC, Kurita R, Nakamura Y, Vojtek AB, Rual JF, Engel JD.
Genes Dev. 2018; 32: 1537–49.

Targeted inhibition of the Shroom3-Rho kinase protein-protein interaction circumvents Nogo66 to promote axon outgrowth.
Dickson HM, Wilbur A, Reinke AA, Young MA, Vojtek AB.
BMC Neurosci. 2015; 16: 34.

Retinal injury, growth factors, and cytokines converge on β-catenin and pStat3 signaling to stimulate retina regeneration.
Wan J, Zhao XF, Vojtek A, Goldman D.
Cell Rep. 2014; 9: 285–97.

POSH is an intracellular signal transducer for the axon outgrowth inhibitor Nogo66.
Dickson HM, Zurawski J, Zhang H, Turner DL, Vojtek AB.
J Neurosci. 2010; 30: 13319–25.

The scaffold protein POSH regulates axon outgrowth.
Taylor J, Chung KH, Figueroa C, Zurawski J, Dickson HM, Brace EJ, Avery AW, Turner DL, Vojtek AB.
Mol Biol Cell. 2008; 19: 5181–92.

For a list of publications from PubMed, click HERE