My main research strength is with uncovering new cell signalling mechanisms linked to genetic disorders at the protein level. Such fundamental work is necessary to better understand human disease, and I employ genetic models to do this, such as Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) and Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD). Recently, my findings were translated into the clinical setting for the treatment of TSC patients with the use of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, rapamycin, which looks very promising. I also became very interested in BHD, as the features observed are similar to that seen in TSC patients, but the tumour suppressor function of BHD is unknown. We believe that BHD is necessary for maintaining cell homeostasis, where loss of function of BHD leads to tumour progression. We also believe that BHD is involved in many sporadic cancers. By understanding these fundamental genetic diseases, my research team hopes to uncover new therapeutic strategies that will impact health care for both TSC and BHD, but where these strategies will also be transferable for other human diseases.