Office
(631) 444-6064
Email
daniel.canals@stonybrookmedicine.edu
Stony Brook University
Department of Medicine
Health Science Center, T15, 023
Stony Brook, NY 11794
Daniel Canals, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine,
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
Research Program
Lipid Signaling and Metabolism in CancerDepartment
Department of MedicineResearch Interest
My research is focused on the molecular mechanism of sphingolipids in cancer progression and metastasis. In my first postdoctoral position (Spanish National Research Council/University of Barcelona), I initiated my work in the sphingolipid field, designing and testing compounds as sphingolipid enzyme inhibitors with implications in cancer cell death by apoptosis and autophagy. I expanded my sphingolipid research with 4 years of postdoctoral training in sphingolipid and cancer research. I have focused on protein phosphatases and kinases as the downstream targets of the two major bioactive sphingolipids, ceramide and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), and the effects on cytoskeleton reorganization during cancer progression. These studies have led to several peer-reviewed publications, including the regulation of the cytoskeletal ezrin protein by ceramide and S1P, and defining its molecular mechanism. Currently, as Research Assistant Professor, I am studying deeply the previous molecular mechanism of sphingolipids enzymes. Specifically, I am studying the direct molecular mechanism of activation of protein phosphatase 1 by sphingolipids and its implications in cytoskeleton re-organization during cell invasion.
Education
BS: Biochemistry, Universitat Autonoma de BarcelonaPhD: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 2004