• New tools for imaging and precise manipulation of protein activity within living cells and animals

• Spatio-temporal dynamics of signaling networks: Adhesion, Rho family and MAPK signaling

Cells contain an essentially continuous network of organized molecules, with large structures such as cytoskeletal “girders” and membrane domains forming a shifting scaffold for the organization of many smaller molecular assemblies.  These structures are highly dynamic; both their position and composition are controlled to regulate cell behavior and integrate information traveling through different signaling pathways.  To understand these dynamic aspects of cell signaling we are developing new tools to visualize and control protein behavior within living cells. We are focusing on interconnected signaling networks that control many different cell behaviors, hoping ultimately to shed light on their role in specific diseases; GTPase, MAP kinase and adhesion signaling networks depend on the transient formation of localized complexes and scaffold interactions to regulate neuronal development, cell movement, and engulfment behaviors such as phagocytosis and macropinocytosis.

Our work is multidisciplinary and collaborative. The tools we develop are the product of close collaboration between molecular biologists, organic chemists, and cell biologists within our lab. We are fortunate to have close friends and collaborators who work with us on protein modeling, high throughput screening, development of novel microscopes, image analysis and cell modeling, robotic screening microscopy and microfluidics, and patterned substrates to precisely control cell migration.

We hope our work will be valuable both by providing easy to use tools and by shedding light on previously inaccessible mechanisms of cell signaling.

Some current research directions: