Faculty Spotlight: Anton Bennett, PhD

Dr. Bennett's recently published research paper: An allosteric site on MKP5 reveals a strategy for small-molecule inhibition

The broad interest of the Bennett laboratory is signal transduction by protein tyrosine phosphatases. This research provides insight into the signaling pathways regulated by protein tyrosine phosphorylation, which serves as a fundamental mechanism for the control of virtually all biological processes.

Their investigations focus on understanding how protein tyrosine phosphatases function in the  control of normal cellular physiology, with a goal of establishing whether protein tyrosine  phosphatases participate in such disease processes as cancer, diabetes, and neuromuscular diseases. 

Recently, the laboratory has focused on developing small molecule inhibitors to a group of protein tyrosine phosphatases involved in tissue fibrosis, a devastating disease that has much unmet need.