![](https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-web/medschool-wpcontent/sites/24/2018/08/25030927/townsend.png)
Shannon Townsend
Amherst College
Maureen Gannon lab
It has been shown that connective tissue growth factor has promoted the insulin-producing beta cell's proliferation. As of right now, there is no receptor known for which CTGF binds to but a thought is that it might bind to integrins. Therefore, my project is to define whether integrins may be its receptor or possibly something else. Finally, I hope to elucidate the upstream and downstream mechanisms by which CTGF causes this proliferation.