Bob (Xaralabos) Varelas

Assistant Professor

Boston University School of Medicine
Silvio Conte Building, K-620
72 E. Concord Street
Boston, MA 02118

Phone: 617-638-4182
Lab Phone: 617-638-4184
Fax: 617-638-5339

Education:

PhD, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
Postdoctoral Training: Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Toronto, Canada

People

Samantha Hiemer Student	Erin Smith Postdoc	Aleks Szymaniak Student

Research Interests:

“The research objective of our lab is to understand the molecular mechanisms by which cells coordinate growth with cell fate during animal development and the onset of disease. We are particularly interested in the role of the Hippo tumor suppressor pathway in controlling these processes. The Hippo pathway has emerged as a major regulator of tissue growth and organ size, and has a crucial role in directing signals that are transmitted by secreted growth factors, such those initiated by TGFβ and Wnt. Deregulation of the Hippo pathway is linked to many diseases, including several forms of cancer. We are incorporating both directed and systems-based approaches to understand the roles and regulation of the Hippo pathway, with an emphasis on defining deregulated events that impact on tumor initiation and progression.”

Research Themes:

Signal Transduction and Cancer
Development

Representative Publications:

Pubmed

Hiemer SE, Varelas X. Stem cell regulation by the Hippo pathway. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2012. Jul 20.

Varelas X, Wrana JL. Coordinating developmental signaling: novel roles for the Hippo pathway. Trends in Cell Biology. 2012. Feb; 22(2):88-96. Epub 2011 Dec 5. Review.
Mauviel A, Nallet-Staub F, Varelas X. Integrating developmental signals, a Hippo in the (path) way. Oncogene. 2012 Apr 5;31(14):1743-56. doi:10.1038/onc.2011.363. Epub 2011 Aug 29. Review.
Varelas X, Samavarchi-Tehrani P, Narimatsu M, Weiss A, Cockburn K, Larsen B, Rossant J, Wrana JL. The Crumbs Complex Couples Cell Density Sensing to Hippo Dependent Control of the TGFb-Smad Pathway. Developmental Cell. 2010 Dec 14;19(6):831-844.
Varelas X, Miller BW, Sopko R, Song S, Gregorieff A, Fellouse FA, Sakuma R, Pawson T, Hunziker W, McNeill H, Wrana JL, Attisano L. The Hippo Pathway Regulates Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling. Developmental Cell. 2010 Apr;18(4)579-591.
Sopko R, Silva E, Clayton L, Gardano L, Barrios-Rodiles M, Wrana JL, Varelas X, Arbouzova NI, Shaw S, Saburi S, Matakatsu H, Blair S, McNeill H. Phosphorylation of the Tumor Suppressor Fat Is Regulated by Its Ligand Dachsous and the Kinase Discs Overgrown. Current Biology. 2009 Jul 14;19(13):1112-7
Varelas X, Sakuma R, Samavarchi-Tehrani P, Peerani R, Dembowy J, Rao B, Yaffe MB, Zandstra PW, Wrana JL. TAZ controls Smad nucleocytoplasmic shuttling and human embryonic stem cell self-renewal. Nature Cell Biology. 2008 Jul;10(7):837-48