Victoria is interested in determining the role of novel endothelial expressed genes in endothelial cell biology and angiogenesis. Angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels, plays a critical role in tumour growth and metastasis as well as in diseases such as atherosclerosis. A current interest of our group is to determine the biological role of RhoJ, a small Rho GTPase, in endothelial cells. This gene, which is closely related to Cdc42, is highly and specifically expressed in endothelial cells and is involved in regulating endothelial cell movement and in vitro tube formation. We have identified the binding partners of RhoJ and are continuing to explore the molecular regulation of this Rho GTPase and its role in various models of angiogenesis in vivo.