The laboratory studies the mechanisms of inter- and intracellular signal transduction and its main goal is to elucidate the functional properties of molecular components involved in the complex regulation of secretion, excitation-contraction coupling, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. All research projects are guided by our desire to understand the relevant clinical context in which the molecular mechanisms operate, whether human disease states are causally linked or impacted, and ultimately how these mechanisms can be modified pharmacologically or genetically to treat patients. Our research primarily concentrates on four clinical areas: immune disorders (autoimmune diseases, allergy, inflammation), metabolic disorders (diabetes), anoxic disorders (stroke), and oncologic disorders (various cancers). The approach to study signaling events is mainly at the single-cell level and employs a variety of biophysical techniques (e.g., electrophysiology and digital imaging) to assess important parameters such as ionic fluxes, membrane potential, intracellular second-messenger and calcium levels. These techniques are complemented by pharmacological, biochemical, molecular biological, and genetical tools to investigate signaling pathways in native systems (cell lines, primary and tissue cultures), in genetically modified systems (transient and/or stable transfections of cells), and in cells derived from transgenic animals. A further research focus involves drug discovery efforts using high-throughput screening aimed at developing experimental therapeutics and translational studies in defined animal models and clinical trials in humans.