Juliet M. Daniel Ph.D. was born in Bridgetown, Barbados.She was awarded her Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of British Columbia (UBC).In 1994, to further develop and strengthen her research skills, Dr. Daniel accepted a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship with Dr. Albert Reynolds at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee to study the role of the Src kinase substrate, p120ctn, in cancer.

In the summer of 1996, Dr. Daniel assisted Dr. Reynolds in relocatingthe laboratory to the Cell Biology Department at Vanderbilt Universityin Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to her scientific researchcontributions, Dr. Daniel also found the time to initiate and co-foundthe Vanderbilt Association of Postdoctoral Fellows.

Throughout her career, Dr. Daniel has published in several top scientific journals (Nature Cell Biology, Oncogene, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Journal of Cell Biology).

• African Canadian Achievement Award of Excellence in Science (2008)
• Barbados American Cancer Association Scientific Achievement Award (2006)
• John C. Holland Black History Month Professional Achievement Award (2005)
• American Association for Cancer Research Minority Scholar Travel Award (2004, 2005)
• Ontario Premier�s Research Excellence Award (PREA) (2001-2006)
• The James H. Rattray Memorial Scholarship (Queen's University)
• The Canadian NSERC Predoctoral Fellowship (UBC)
• NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship (St. Jude Children's Research Hospital).

In November 1999, Dr. Daniel joined the Department of Biology atMcMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Daniel's cancer research interests focus on understanding the fundamentals of cell growth and cell adhesion, and elucidating howmalfunction of these processes promotes tumor development.

As a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Reynolds, Dr. Daniel was part of theresearch team who first reported that the Src kinase substrate p120ctnwas a novel component of the E-cadherin-catenin cell adhesion complex.This was an exciting discovery since in 50% of metastatic and invasivetumors, the primary epithelial cell-cell adhesion system is perturbedand the defect is attributed to malfunction of the E-cadherin-catenincomplex.

Dr. Daniel's most significant discovery to date however, and one thatsparked great interest in the cadherin-catenin cell adhesion field, hasbeen her cloning and identification of a novel transcription factor,Kaiso (named after the Caribbean calypso music!), which bindsspecifically to p120ctn. Kaiso has been implicated in breast, ovarian and colon cancer.

As an independent researcher, Dr. Daniel's research goal is to elucidatethe mechanism of action of Kaiso and determine its role in signaltransduction and cancer. The identification of Kaiso target genes whosederegulation correlates with cell adhesion defects and tumor malignancywill further our understanding of cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesionand tumor metastasis, and provide insights for future therapeutics.