Curtis A Thorne, PhD

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Assistant Professor, Cellular & Molecular Medicine
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.
Selected Publications
Sanman, L. E., I. W. Chen, J. M. Bieber, C. A. Thorne, L. F. Wu, and S. J. Altschuler, "Generation and Quantitative Imaging of Enteroid Monolayers.", Methods Mol Biol, vol. 2171, pp. 99-113, 2020. PMID: 32705637
Pond, K. W., K. Doubrovinski, and C. A. Thorne, "Wnt/β-catenin Signaling in Tissue Self-Organization.", Genes (Basel), vol. 11, issue 8, 2020 Aug 14. PMCID: PMC7464740 PMID: 32823838
Cabel, C. R., E. Alizadeh, D. J. Robbins, Y. Ahmed, E. Lee, and C. A. Thorne, "Single-Cell Analyses Confirm the Critical Role of LRP6 for Wnt Signaling in APC-Deficient Cells.", Dev Cell, vol. 49, issue 6, pp. 827-828, 2019 06 17. PMCID: PMC6613640 PMID: 31211991
Thorne, C. A., I. W. Chen, L. E. Sanman, M. H. Cobb, L. F. Wu, and S. J. Altschuler, "Enteroid Monolayers Reveal an Autonomous WNT and BMP Circuit Controlling Intestinal Epithelial Growth and Organization.", Dev Cell, vol. 44, issue 5, pp. 624-633.e4, 2018 03 12. PMCID: PMC5849535 PMID: 29503158
Thorne, C. A., C. Wichaidit, A. D. Coster, B. A. Posner, L. F. Wu, and S. J. Altschuler, "GSK-3 modulates cellular responses to a broad spectrum of kinase inhibitors.", Nat Chem Biol, vol. 11, issue 1, pp. 58-63, 2015 Jan. PMCID: PMC4270937 PMID: 25402767
Thorne, C. A., A. J. Hanson, J. Schneider, E. Tahinci, D. Orton, C. S. Cselenyi, K. K. Jernigan, K. C. Meyers, B. I. Hang, A. G. Waterson, et al., "Small-molecule inhibition of Wnt signaling through activation of casein kinase 1α.", Nat Chem Biol, vol. 6, issue 11, pp. 829-36, 2010 Nov. PMCID: PMC3681608 PMID: 20890287