The spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) ensures accurate chromosome segregation.  Defects in this system cause chromosome instability that can lead to aneuploidy, a hallmark of many cancers.  Therefore, studies of the genes that regulate SAC activity are directly relevant to research on cancer and many genetic diseases.  Dr. Kitagawa’s research focuses on the characterization of Mad1, a conserved SAC component, and its genetic or physical interactors, using the roundworm C. elegans as a model.

Her research addresses the central hypothesis that CeMAD1 is involved in the initial step of the SAC-signaling pathway and that CeMAD1 activity is regulated by multiple pathways that mediate various developmental or environmental cues. Her lab’s goals are to identify and characterize proteins that regulate SAC activity in multicellular organisms and to elucidate the molecular mechanism by which SAC activity is temporally and spatially regulated during development.  She is also investigating a molecular link between DNA damage checkpoint and spindle assembly checkpoint.

Assistant Member, Department of Molecu,lar Pharmacology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee

Research Fellow, National Institute of Health Science, Division of Bio-Chem Informatics, Tokyo, Japan