Timothy Hla, PhD

Boston Children's Hospital

Academic Titles

Patricia K. Donahoe Professor, Surgery, Harvard Medical School

Research Program Affiliation

Member, Cancer Cell Biology

Member, Angiogenesis, Invasion and Metastasis

Research Abstract

Our laboratory has studied the role of lipid mediators in vascular system, inflammation, and cancer. We cloned the human cyclooxyrgenase-2 (COX-2) cDNA and showed that this gene is correlated with chronic inflammatory conditions and various cancers. We also developed a mouse model in which COX-2 is over expressed and showed that the induction of COX-2 is a major progression factor in tumorigenesis. A second area of research that we contributed is the area of sphingolipid signaling. My laboratory cloned and characterized the first sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor and characterized the biology of this signaling system in vascular development, angiogenesis, inflammation, and vascular homeostasis. This receptor is critical for adaptive immune cell trafficking and inhibitors of this receptor have entered the clinic to treat autoimmune diseases. We are exploring the biology of this lipid mediator in vascular and immune systems, and developing novel therapeutic strategies based on the S1P pathway.