The DeCaprio Lab focuses on understanding the cooperative interactions between DNA tumor viruses and cellular host proteins that conspire to transform cells. We have made numerous fundamental discoveries that form major parts of our current molecular understanding of the role of tumor suppressor genes in malignant transformation and the still complex and incompletely understood transforming mechanism of the polyoma family of viruses including SV40 and Merkel cell polyomavirus. The DeCaprio Lab’s overall strategy has been to identify cellular factors that bind specifically to the viral oncoproteins, determine their normal function, and gain insight into the biologic consequences that occur when they become mutated or perturbed by viruses.