Curtis A Thorne, PhD

Cancer Biology Program
Curtis A Thorne, PhD

Biography

Curtis A. Thorne received his B.S. in Biology from Baylor University in 2000. He worked for two years at Baylor College of Medicine under Dr. Adrian Lee studying breast cancer. He did graduate studies under Dr. Ethan Lee in Wnt signaling at Vanderbilt University, receiving a Ph.D. in 2010. He conducted postdoctoral studies as an American Cancer Society Fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dr. Steven Altschuler and Dr. Lani Wu’s laboratories studying intestinal stem cells and colon cancer. In 2017, Curtis moved to the University of Arizona as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and member of the Cancer Center. 

Cancer Focus

My laboratory investigates the signaling mechanisms controlling cell fate of the gut. We address fundamental questions in cancer biology: How do cells identify, measure, and respond to each other and to their environment? What signals control the renewal and regeneration of epithelial tissues? How do these signals malfunction in colorectal cancer? Our goal is to uncover an underlying circuit theory behind these behaviors – a set of predictive principles revealing how complex functionality arises from simpler biological components. We focus on kinase networks that regulate healthy tissues and are dis-regulated in cancer. Through quantitative imaging and drug discovery, we are finding ways to understand and repair these networks.