Dr. Michael H. Nathanson, newly named as the Gladys Phillips Crofoot Professor of Internal Medicine, focuses his research on the mechanisms and effects of calcium signals in polarized epithelia.
Dr. Michael NathansonOne aspect of Nathanson’s work is to define how calcium signals are differentially regulated in the nucleus and cytoplasm. This involves identification of distinct calcium stores and release mechanisms in the nucleus, and his lab is examining whether and how these are activated selectively by growth factors. This nuclear signaling pathway is important for both regeneration of normal liver after injury and development of liver cancer. The second aspect of Nathanson’s work is to examine how calcium waves and other calcium signals regulate secretion in polarized epithelia. Calcium waves preferentially begin in the apical region of most secretory epithelia, and he is in the process of defining the mechanisms responsible for this. This signaling pathway is impaired in a variety of disease states that are characterized by impaired secretion. Another major focus is to examine intercellular communication of second messenger signals in order to understand how these signals are integrated among single cells to result in an organ-level response to stimuli.
Nathanson received his B.S. from the University of California-Berkeley and his M.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was awarded his Ph.D. and M.D. from Case Western Reserve University. Nathanson joined the Yale faculty in 1990 as an instructor of medicine; prior to his appointment as the Crofoot Professor he was professor of medicine and cell biology. He is also chief of the Section of Digestive Diseases, director of the Yale Liver Center, and director of the Center for Cell and Molecular Imaging.
The Yale professor has contributed scores of articles, chapters, and reviews to edited volumes and journals. He is editor-in-chief of Hepatology, associate editor of the Journal of Investigative Medicine, and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and the American Journal of Physiology/Gastrointestinal & Liver Physiology, among other publications.
Nathanson’s honors include the FAPESP-Fulbright Scholar Award, the Howard M. Spiro Teaching Award, and the Martin Wahl Memorial Fund Award. He has served on numerous study sections and special emphasis panels of the National Institutes of Health.
Nathanson is a member of the Association of American Physicians, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the American Gastroenterological Association, and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, among other associations.
