The Shaw lab investigates mechanisms by which carcinoma cells acquire the ability to metastasize, with a focus on breast cancer. We have had a longstanding interest in the Insulin Receptor Substrate (IRS) proteins and the mechanism by which these essential signaling adaptors regulate tumor progression. A current focus in the lab is understanding the structure of the IRS proteins to determine how they regulate tumor cell functions, such as cancer stem cell self-renewal and invasion, that contribute to metastasis.