Signal Transduction and Human Disease - by Toren Finkel & J Silvio Gutkind (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

This book uniquely relates the broad impact of signal transduction research on the understanding and treatment of human disease. There have been significant advances in the area of signaling in disease processes, yet no resource presently connects these advances with understanding of disease processes and applications for novel therapeutics. Given the emphasis on translational research and biological relevance in biotechnology, and, conversely, the importance of molecular approaches for clinical research, it is evident that a single resource bridging signaling research and human disease will be invaluable.

From the Back Cover

The past few years have witnessed rapid progress in the characterization of mechanisms that underlie the generation and processing of inter- and intracellular signals. While there have been significant corollary advances in the area of signaling in disease processes, there is as yet no single resource that connects these advances with an understanding of disease processes and applications for novel therapeutics. Collecting chapters from the leading experts in their respective fields, editors Toren Finkel and Silvio Gutkind deliver a much-needed introduction to signaling and a fruitful discussion of promising directions for future research.

Signal Transduction and Human Disease capitalizes on the current emphasis on translational research and biological relevance in biotechnology and, conversely, the importance of molecular approaches for clinical research. Each chapter conveys the sense of a disease process, what it affects, how it presents, how common it is, and what the treatments are. Clinical descriptions are not exhaustive but rather serve as an outline regarding the disease's manifestations and current treatment options. Following this introduction, the authors present an in-depth discussion of one or two signal transduction pathways or biological processes relevant to the disease. The editors divide their study into five sections:

• Cardio-Pulmonary Disease
• Oncology
• Endocrinology
• Infectious Disease
• Allergy/Rheumatology
• Neurology/Psychiatry

Biochemists, molecular and cell biologists, immunologists, pharmacologists, and clinical researchers, as well as graduate students in a variety of scientific disciplines, will find Signal Transduction and Human Disease to be an invaluable addition to the literature.

There are several key associations that can make this book successful. These associations include the American Evaluation Association, the Canadian Evaluation Society, the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI), and the Academy of Human Resource Development. Each of these associations includes both practitioners and academics.

Review Quotes

"The book is attractively laid out with clear, well-labeled figures and charts..." (Journal of Natural Products, March 2005)

"...the overall worth of the book is in the excellent job it does of taking readers from the etiology and management of the disease to our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved." (Quarterly Review of Biology, March-May 2005)

"...a successful work...serves as a short summarising overview..." (Signal Transduction, No.1 - 2, 2004)

"...appropriate for a textbook...pathways and their regulation are well explained and there are helpful tables and illustrations. The information is current and is well referenced...Finkel, Gutkind, and their coauthors have put together examples that illustrate the growing depth of understanding the roles of signal transduction in disease..." (Cell, January 9, 2004)

"...provides a sweeping look at current information derived from assessing the role of some kinases and phosphases on human conditions associated with disease...the book contains thoughtful, well-planned chapters...with extensive citations and excellent artwork...extremely valuable." (Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 20, No. 12, December 2003)

About the Author

Dr. Toren Finkel is Chief of the Cardiovascular Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH, DHHS). He received his undergraduate training in physics and then completed a combined M.D./Ph.D. program at Harvard Medical School. Following graduation he pursued an internal medical residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a Cardiology Fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. His laboratory has been interested in the role of oxidants as signaling molecules and the participation of free radicals in human disease.

Dr. J. Silvio Gutkind is Chief of the Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH, DHHS). He received his Ph.D. in pharmacy and biochemistry from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. His laboratory has addressed the molecular basis of cancer by studying normal and aberrant functions of molecules involved in the transduction of proliferative signals. He also leads a multi-institutional effort aimed to elucidate the molecular changes that contribute to the evolution of squamous cell carcinomas.