I hold BS in Biology, MS in Molecular Biology & Biotechnology and PhD/DSc doctorate in Biochemistry academic degrees from Vytautas Magnus University (Kaunas, Lithuania) and have completed 6 year NIH-funded post-doctoral research training in the field of Cell Biology and Signal Transduction in the Department of Pathology, Anatomy & Cell Biology at Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, PA, USA). I am a member of the ASBMB, ASIP, APS and WHS societies. My expertise is quantitative and qualitative biological molecule (protein, gene) expression, activation, translocation, interaction and function analysis in normal and pathophysiological conditions that simulate clinically relevant situations, diseases or disorders either in vitro or in vivo settings. The main focus of my research is:

• Architecture, systems-level interactions, context-dependent cross-talk and signaling dynamics of RTK signaling networks
• Molecular mechanisms of intrinsic and acquired tumor chemoresistance
• Adaptor proteins as drug targets
• Diagnostic, prognostic and predictive biomarkers of failing tissue regeneration and wound healing
• Naturally-derived or synthetic compounds as well as biologics that improve the ischemic tolerance, angiogenesis and survival of soft tissues and solid organs destined for tissue transfer or transplantation
• Reproducibility of animal models, tissue sampling and protein detection dechniques

Quantitative comparative analysis of human growth factor, hormone and cytokine receptor signaling networks and their interactions in normal and cancer cells, benign and malignant tumors as well as between different types of metastatic adenocarcinomas may lead to discovery of subtle and more pronounced differences in signaling circuitry, fragility points amenable to therapeutic intervention and elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of cancer resistance to chemotherapy drugs, small molecule inhibitors and natural dietary compounds with anti-cancer potential. One of my objectives is to understand the mechanistic basis of cancer development and to translate the findings into new improved combinatory treatments for cancer patients. In addition, our knowledge is limited about the pleiotropic wound healing and regeneration processes under both normal and pathological conditions. Thus, my long-term research goal is to decipher unique, complementary and redundant molecular and cellular mechanisms in elicitation, maintenance and timely termination of reparative and regenerative composite tissue responses to injury as well as to identify specific and sensitive molecular cues that can predict or diagnose the pathological conditions of surgically transferred tissue healing, known to affect patient well-being and health-related quality of life.

Goal of Website

Herewith, I would like to share my research experience & insights into Cell Signaling, which would fill a key NIH mandate for making published data and results available to the scientific community. Also, I feel an urge to acknowledge the work of my mentors and many other great scientists all over the World who have introduced me to the magical world of the Cell and inspired to explore the intricate molecular mechanisms controlling cell fate decisions and underlying various human diseases. Any questions and suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Together, we can make the World a better place.

Work philosophy

I consider myself lucky, because I really love my job and feel genuine enthusiasm when performing both routine and novel challenging procedures. Being a scientist is self-rewarding profession. There is an element of surprise in every obtained experimental result, an element of patience, struggle and persistence when something does not work at once as expected, an element of poetry in writing the papers, an element of hope in writing the grants, an element of art in creating the figures and drawing the schemes, an element of quest in tracking the literature, using search engines and browsing the databases, an element of responsibility to meet the requirements and perform the tasks that fit into the project's time-frame, an element of freedom in designing the experiments, and element of Sherlock Holmes deduction when analyzing data, and last, but not the least, an element of humbleness when you approach the Cell and realize that there are so many things unknown and yet to be discovered...

I have a chance to constantly grow, gain and share knowledge. And it never gets boring, so one does not need to count hours until the end of the work day (I love working at nights when it is so calm! Sometimes I loose myself in the flow and may come back home after 2 days..) What amazes me is that the signaling mechanisms seem to be conservative, but in fact they are so diverse! The signal flow via intracellular pathways differs in cells from the same tissue origin even upon stimulation with the same type of the ligand, depending on the repertoire of expressed proteins... This is why there is no Universal Signaling Model for each given signaling network, just as there is no the Theory of Everything. Nevertheless, the tremendous efforts are put to analyze the growth factor, cytokine and hormone-mediated signaling networks in order to find the crucial differences between normal and malignant cells. And for a noble reason...

Metastasized pancreatic cancer took my grandmother's life away, whereas a stroke soon thereafter carried away my grandfather - them, whom I love and remain grateful the most, because they have raised me, educated, tought to love the nature and its inhabitants, encouraged me to study Biology, selflessly supported my decision to go abroad, patiently waited and joyfully greeted when I returned for vacations, being proud and excited about my acomplishments... The life-shaking loss just strengthened my motivation to further study and help conquer the Cancer. I remember and I create my music for them (even if our musical taste may be separated by generation gap and abyss of death).

Teaching/Training philosophy

As learners make their way through individual theoretical courses, core topics across disciplines and hands-on training techniques, each has a personalized experience with specific learning curve. My priority is to teach sustainable research, GLP compliance and instill strategies how to detect and reduce the risk of recurrent experimental errors with balanced preventative and self-corrective actions. In this way the trainee obtains highly valued quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) skills, improve his/her focus to details and setting priorities. Teaching styles should accommodate those who differ in auditory, visual and kinesthetic/tactile learning perception. For better retention of information, laboratory skill teaching workflow should include timely distribution of pre-requisite reading material & hand-outs; visual demonstration of technique addressing critical points and providing tips; observation of technique execution by the trainee using a) intensive and thereafter b) limited verbal guidance; making the trainee self-evaluate autonomous experiment and its outcomes as well as provide root-cause analysis of errors or inconsistencies. An emphasis should be put on the accuracy of data entry and analysis, research ethics and verbal as well as written project presentation esthetics. Finally, each trainee should be complimented on his/her achievements, encouraged to continue self-education and provided with further guidance as needed. After objective evaluation or assessment of trainee's skills, he/she should be asked to provide a feedback so it can be considered and incorporated to improve prospective educational or training activities

Thank You for taking your time to visit my Website!