Welcome to the Charest Lab!
In the laboratory of Dr. Pascale Charest at the University of Arizona, we study how cells migrate in response to external chemical cues (chemoattractants), a process (chemotaxis) that is important to normal physiology and that is also implicated in the onset and progression of diseases such as immune disorders and cancer metastasis. Our goal is to identify key, conserved intracellular signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms that control cell migration to guide the development of therapeutic strategies to treat immune and inflammatory diseases as well as prevent the spread of cancer. For this, we work with the model organism Dictyostelium discoideum to accelerate discovery and with normal and transformed human cells to determine applicability to human health, and we use collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches that include cellular, molecular, biochemical, biophysical, multi-omics, and computational methods.
The research work performed in the Charest lab is largely driven by terrific students, both graduate and undergraduate students, that are part of diverse U. Arizona academic programs, including Chemistry, Biochemistry, Molecular & Cellular Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Cancer Biology.
The research work performed in the Charest lab is largely driven by terrific students, both graduate and undergraduate students, that are part of diverse U. Arizona academic programs, including Chemistry, Biochemistry, Molecular & Cellular Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Cancer Biology.
Charest Lab News
April 2026
Elizabeth Harper has officially joined the lab to pursue her PhD dissertation work, which will focus on investigating the role of calmodulin in chemotaxis. Welcome back, Liz! :-)
Also, Liz is joining the Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology (BMCB) graduate program, we're happy to have you join the MCB Department!
March 2026
Graduate student Isaiah Toth was awarded a UA College of Science Galileo Circle scholarship. This scholarship recognizes students committed to academic excellence and at the forefront of changing and bettering our world. Congratulations Isaiah!
January 2026
Great news from our two fantastic undergraduate students, who are both pursuing graduate studies:
Caleb Konecek: After graduation, Caleb is traveling to Ireland to pursue an MSc in biotechnology at the University of Galway. Following this program, he plans on returning to the US to work with the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management on the remediation of soil and groundwater contamination from the development of the nuclear bombs.
Kate Santiago: Kate will be moving to Knoxville, Tennessee and attend the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center to pursue her Doctorate of Pharmacy.
Congratulations to both, we're looking forward to see your future accomplishments!
September 2025
Welcome to new Master's student Ria Siddaiah! Ria will investigate how wild-type and oncogenic Ras differently regulate mTORC2.
Congratulations to graduate student Meena Khan who was awarded a BMCB NIH T32 fellowship! Well deserved, Meena!
August 2025
Elizabeth (Liz) Harper successfully defended her MS thesis and graduated from the Accelerated Master's Program in Biochemistry. Congratulation Liz!
Caleb Konecek presented his summer work at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Consortium (UROC) end of summer events. Good work Caleb!
In addition, Caleb was one of six students nationwide to be awarded a ThermoFisher Scholarship award! Congratulations Caleb, we are very proud of you!
Elizabeth Harper has officially joined the lab to pursue her PhD dissertation work, which will focus on investigating the role of calmodulin in chemotaxis. Welcome back, Liz! :-)
Also, Liz is joining the Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology (BMCB) graduate program, we're happy to have you join the MCB Department!
March 2026
Graduate student Isaiah Toth was awarded a UA College of Science Galileo Circle scholarship. This scholarship recognizes students committed to academic excellence and at the forefront of changing and bettering our world. Congratulations Isaiah!
January 2026
Great news from our two fantastic undergraduate students, who are both pursuing graduate studies:
Caleb Konecek: After graduation, Caleb is traveling to Ireland to pursue an MSc in biotechnology at the University of Galway. Following this program, he plans on returning to the US to work with the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management on the remediation of soil and groundwater contamination from the development of the nuclear bombs.
Kate Santiago: Kate will be moving to Knoxville, Tennessee and attend the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center to pursue her Doctorate of Pharmacy.
Congratulations to both, we're looking forward to see your future accomplishments!
September 2025
Welcome to new Master's student Ria Siddaiah! Ria will investigate how wild-type and oncogenic Ras differently regulate mTORC2.
Congratulations to graduate student Meena Khan who was awarded a BMCB NIH T32 fellowship! Well deserved, Meena!
August 2025
Elizabeth (Liz) Harper successfully defended her MS thesis and graduated from the Accelerated Master's Program in Biochemistry. Congratulation Liz!
Caleb Konecek presented his summer work at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Consortium (UROC) end of summer events. Good work Caleb!
In addition, Caleb was one of six students nationwide to be awarded a ThermoFisher Scholarship award! Congratulations Caleb, we are very proud of you!
Celebrating Liz's successful defense. Left to right: Dr. Charest, Helena Woroniecka, Liz Harper, Isaiah Toth, Meena Khan, Maniza Muni.
July 2025 This summer, we hosted KEYS high school intern Finn McGill from Tanque Verde HS. Finn worked with graduate student Isaiah Toth and is seen here presenting his poster at the KEYS showcase. It was really nice having you around this summer Finn, and we look forward to seeing you at UA next year! |
Caleb at the UROC poster presentations, with lab mentor Isaiah Toth.
At the KEYS showcase. Finn, Dr. Charest (with beautiful flowers Finn gave her), and Finn's lab mentor Isaiah.
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Charest lab May 2025. Left to right, back row: Meena Khan, Douglas Swango, Isaiah Toth, Katie Jennings, Megan Dowd, Olivia Hajdys, Maniza Muni. Front row: Helena Woroniecka, Dr. Charest, Liz Harper. Absent: Caleb Konecek, Kate Santiago, and Agata Orlinski.
