THE STRUCTURE OF EUKARYOTIC MEMBRANES

My primary research interests are the physical principles and biological manifestations of lateral lipid organization in biological membranes.  To study these, I use an exciting and novel tool in membrane biology, phase separation in Giant Plasma Membrane Vesicles (shown at left).  These plasma membranes, isolated directly from live cells, allow independent quantification of protein abundance, partitioning, and activity, and I am using them to study the involvement of plasma membrane lateral heterogeneity in cellular processes, namely immune system signaling.

A PEEK INSIDE THE CORE: THE SECRET LIVES OF PROTEIN TRANSMEMBRANE DOMAINS

Though most research into membrane protein focuses on lumenal ligands or intracellular effectors, there is significant structural and functional information encoded into membrane spanning domains, usually alpha-helices.  I use synthetic biology and protein engineering to elucidate the molecular code behind the microdomain partitioning and function of transmembrane proteins.

The overall goal of my research is to develop strategies to modulate the mechanisms by which lateral membrane structure regulates cell function for potential treatment of human diseases.