Protein sorting and transport

A central requirement for eukaryotic cell growth and function is the ability to transport and sort proteins. Defects in protein trafficking can lead to debilitating diseases such as cystic fibrosis and Alzheimer's disease. Much of protein transport in a cell occurs via coated transport vesicles. My laboratory's research interests focus on the molecular events involved in the formation of transport vesicles, the selection of cargo molecules into vesicles, and the role of the cytoskeleton and molecular motor proteins in vesicle motility . We use the mammalian Golgi apparatus as a model system for these studies. Transport vesicles can be generated from Golgi membranes in a cell-free system, allowing a biochemical dissection of this process. Projects in the lab include the identification and characterization of novel proteins that play roles in cargo selection or vesicle formation, and an analysis of the role of the cytoskeleton in vesicular transport. A longer term goal of the laboratory is to understand how, once cellular components are properly transported and sorted, they can be assembled into complex cellular structures such as the axons and dendrites of neurons and the microvilli of epithelial cells.

PubMed link

Department/Program Affiliations:
Molecular Medicine
Molecular Physiology and Biophysics