We study motility and metastatic growth of prostate and breast cancer cells, and especially how these processes are regulated via phosphorylation by PIM family kinases. The group is led by Adjunct Professor Päivi Koskinen.

Our aim is to elucidate the pro-metastatic mechanisms of PIM kinases, to identify and validate their critical substrates, and to evaluate the efficacy of PIM-targeted chemical inhibitors developed by our collaborators. In our studies, we use both pharmacological and genetic approaches together with functional assays, where we analyse and manipulate metastatic movements of cancer cells not only in cell-based assays, but also using microfluidistic chips and in vivo xenografts.

Read more: https://sites.utu.fi/intracell/