Richard H. Goodman

My major focus has been to determine how extracellular and intracellular signals are integrated to regulate gene expression. The cAMP regulated enhancer (CRE), initially identified in my laboratory, is now recognized as a critical control element in the regulation of many cellular and viral genes. Signals transduced by the CRE depend upon the transcription factor CREB, which is activated through cAMP, calcium, and growth factor pathways. CREB phosphorylation through these pathways leads to the recruitment of the CREB binding protein (CBP), which was also identified in my laboratory. CBP, the first example of a transcriptional coactivator in metazoans, interacts with a large number of transcription factors in addition to CREB. Consequently, alterations in CBP expression have profound effects on cell growth and differentiation.