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Julie Rhoades (Sterling)

Vanderbilt Center for Bone Biology (VCBB)
Department of Medicine
Department of Clinical Pharmacology
Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME)


We research bone tumors and how they affect the bone microenvironment and immune compartment. Our protein of interest is the Gli2 transcription factor and how it contributes to osteolytic destruction in primary and metastatic bone tumors. We also seek to understand how the bone microenvironment affects cancer cell signaling, and to design novel therapeutics aimed at blocking bone resorption and tumor growth.

We research bone tumors and how they affect the bone microenvironment and immune compartment. Our protein of interest is the Gli2 transcription factor and how it contributes to osteolytic destruction in primary and metastatic bone tumors. We also seek to understand how the bone microenvironment affects cancer cell signaling, and to design novel therapeutics aimed at blocking bone resorption and tumor growth.

Keywords: bone microenvironment , metastasis , cancer cell signaling , immunology , breast cancer , osteosarcoma

Research Area: Gene Regulation , Immunology , Cancer Biology , Cell Signaling