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 cancer metastasis. Metastasis, the migration of cancer cells away from the primary tumor to other parts of the body, is by far the major cause of death from cancer. Yet, most anti-cancer drugs inhibit only cancer cell proliferation. One main reason for the lack of efficient anti-metastasis therapy is our lack of understanding of what promotes tumor cell migration and invasion. Our goal is to identify key, conserved intracellular signaling pathways and molecular mechanisms that control cell migration to guide the development of therapeutic strategies preventing the spread of cancer. For this, we work with the model organism Dictyostelium discoideum as well as normal and transformed human cells, and we use collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches that include cellular, molecular, biochemical, biophysical, omics, and computational methods.
Charest Lab News
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May 2025
Graduation time! Congratulations to our beloved graduates: Douglas Swango, B.Sc. Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, with Honors. Douglas is heading to graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh. Olivia Hajdys, B.Sc. Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology, with Honors, as well as Army Cadet graduate. Olivia is starting medical school at the Utah Army National Guard Medical Corps to follow her dream of becoming a military trauma surgeon. Katie Jennings, Tanque Verde High School graduate. Katie is heading to the University of Virginia to pursue a degree in Biology. We are extremely proud of you and cannot wait to see what you will all accomplish in the future! And we will miss you!!! To celebrate their graduation as well as a great year in the Charest Lab, we had a climbing party at The Bloc followed by a nice pizza dinner, it was so much fun! |
Olivia, Katie, and Douglas
Douglas, Dr. Charest, and Olivia at the CBC commencement ceremony.
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April 2025
Congratulations to Isaiah Toth, awarded a Galileo Circle award, and Caleb Konecek, awarded an Excellence Award in Biochemistry! Well deserved! Undergraduate students from the Charest lab represented the group proudly at the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry poster fair: |
Left to right: Caleb Konecek, Olivia Hajdys, Douglas Swango
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March 2025
We are welcoming two new graduate students to the Charest lab: Maniza Muni (Dep. Chemistry & Biochemistry; Biological Chemistry Program, Biochemistry track) and Meena Khan (Dep. Molecular and Cellular Biology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cellular Biology program). Both Maniza and Meena will conduct research to understand the role and regulation of chemoattractant receptor dynamics in chemotaxis.
We are welcoming two new graduate students to the Charest lab: Maniza Muni (Dep. Chemistry & Biochemistry; Biological Chemistry Program, Biochemistry track) and Meena Khan (Dep. Molecular and Cellular Biology; Biochemistry, Molecular & Cellular Biology program). Both Maniza and Meena will conduct research to understand the role and regulation of chemoattractant receptor dynamics in chemotaxis.
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November 2024
Undergraduate student and MARC scholar Caleb Konecek attended and presented his research work at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minoritized Scientists (ABRCMS), and was awarded a poster presentation award! Well done Caleb! |
Caleb at his poster at the ABRCMS, Pittsburgh, Nov 2024
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August 2024
The Charest lab receives new funding from the National Science Foundation to study the role of receptor dynamics in eukaryotic chemotaxis, in collaboration with Wouter-Jan Rappel at UCSD. We are excited to start working on this research project!
The Charest lab receives new funding from the National Science Foundation to study the role of receptor dynamics in eukaryotic chemotaxis, in collaboration with Wouter-Jan Rappel at UCSD. We are excited to start working on this research project!
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June-July 2024
This summer we hosted one high school KEYS intern, Katie Jennings. Katie worked with undergraduate student and Beckman Scholar Douglas Swango, a former KEYS intern himself. Way to give back! In addition, undergraduate student Caleb Konecek was awarded a Dr Thomas M. and Candace C. Grogan Scholarship from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Congratulations! |
Dr Charest, Katie, and Douglas at Katie's poster presentation on July 19.
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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 and Kate Santiago.
