Research Program: Genetic Mechanisms of Cancer
Professor and Director, The Developmental Biology Center
Martin Lenz Harrison Land Grant Chair in Pediatrics

selle011@umn.edu
612-624-4659 — office
612-624-5673 — lab
Preferred method of contact: E-mail or contact my administrative assistant, Amelie Hyams (612-624-4981).

Dr. Selleck received his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees through the Medical Scientist Training Program at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis in 1989. He conducted his postdoctoral training in the laboratories of Hermann Steller (Massachussetts Institute of Technology) and Kalpana White (Brandeis University). He joined the faculty of the Molecular & Cellular Biology Department at the University of Arizona in 1993, and became Director of the Molecular Genetics Program at the Arizona Cancer Center in 1999. He joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota in 2002 as Professor of Pediatrics and Genetics, Cell Biology and Development and Director of the Developmental Biology Center.

Research Interests

Role of proteoglycans in growth factor and morphogen signaling. Heparan sulfate proteoglycans are abundant molecules of both the cell surface and the extracellular matrix. Using genetic approaches in the fruitfly Drosophila, we have shown that heparan sulfate proteoglycans control both cellular responses to growth factors, and their distributions in the matrix during tissue patterning.

Recent work has explored the functions of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in vascular development in the zebrafish, and the identification of small molecules that interfere with heparan sulfate modifications. We see the potential of these molecules as anti-angiogenic agents.

Selected Publications

Nakato, H., Fox, B., and Selleck, S.B. (2002). Dally, a Drosophila member of the glypican family of integral membrane proteoglycans, affects cell cycle progression and morphogenesis via a Cyclin A-mediated process. J. Cell Sci. 115: 123-130.

Selleck, S.B., and Esko, J. (2002). Order Out of Chaos: Assembly of Ligand Binding Sites in Heparan Sulfate. Ann. Rev. Biochem. 71:435-471.

Kirkpatrick, C . Dimitroff, B,. Rawson, J. and Selleck, S.B. (2004) Spatial regulation of Wingless morphogen distribution and signaling by Dally-like protein. Dev. Cell. 7(4): 513-523.

Chen, E., Stringer, S.E, Rusch2, M.A., Selleck, S.B. and Ekker, S.E. (2005). A Unique Role for 6-O Sulfation Modification in Zebrafish Vascular Development. Dev Biol. 15;284(2):364-76.

Selleck SB. Signaling from across the way: transactivation of VEGF receptors by HSPGs. (2006) Mol Cell. ;22:431-432. Review.

Selleck SB. Shedding light on the distinct functions of proteoglycans. (2006) Sci STKE. 4;2006(329):pe17.