Erik Martinez-Hackert

Background

About Erik Martinez-Hackert

My laboratory works on secreted, human TGF-beta family growth factors. Our goals are to understand at a molecular level how these growth factors are regulated and how they elicit both physiological and pathological responses. To determine the mechanism of action of TGF-beta family growth factors and to identify functional inhibitors, we use molecular approaches, including * protein expression using mammalian cell culture,* protein purification from mammalian cell supernatants,* surface plasmon resonance (SPR),* and X-ray crystallography. To determine the roles of TGF-beta family growth factors and their inhibitors in physiological and pathological contexts we use cell-based approaches, including * reporter gene assays,* Western blots,* cancer cell assays,* adipocyte differentiation assays, and *qRT-PCR. We have tested in vivo several new biologic TGF-beta family growth factor inhibitors that we identified and produced in the lab. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to hear more about our research.