James E. Bear, Ph.D.

jbear@email.unc.edu

Assistant Professor

• Ph.D., Emory University
• Postdoc, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Joined the Department in 2003

Funding Sources

• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America (Special Fellow)

Research Interests

My lab focuses on actin-based cell motility. Actin-based motility is a key component in many cellular processes relevant to clinical problems such as cancer metastasis, birth defects and compromised immune function. We are using both molecule-based and unbiased genetic/proteomic approaches to understand the fundamental problem of cell migration and other aspects of actin-based motility. We utilize the techniques of high-resolution live cell microscopy, biochemistry, gene silencing/disruption and other molecular manipulations to uncover some of the underlying mechanisms of cell motility.

Selected Publications

• James E. Bear, Tatyana M. Svitkina, Matthias Krause, Dorothy A. Schafer, Joseph J. Loureiro, Geraldine A. Strasser, Ivan V. Maly, Oleg Chaga, John A. Cooper, Gary G. Borisy and Frank B. Gertler. 2002. Antagonism between Ena/VASP Proteins and Actin Filament Capping regulates Fibroblast Motility. (Cell, 109: 509-521).
• James E. Bear, Matthias Krause and Frank B. Gertler. 2001. Regulating cellular actin assembly. (Current Opinion in Cell Biology, 13(2): 158-66).
• James E. Bear, Joseph J. Loureiro, Irina Libova, Reinhard Fässler, Jürgen Wehland and Frank B. Gertler. 2000. Negative regulation of Fibroblast Motility by Ena/VASP Proteins. (Cell, 101: 717-728).
• James E. Bear, John Rawls and Charles L. Saxe III. 1998. SCAR, a WASP-related protein, isolated as a suppressor of receptor defects in late Dictyostelium development. (Journal of Cell Biology, 142(5): 1325-1335).