Our intellectual focus is on identifying determinants of cell shape that function during development and wound healing.
We utilize novel biophysical strategies in concert with modern molecular and reverse genetic approaches in Drosophila to explore the forces that are responsible for cell shape change and movements during morphogenesis. Read more...
We are pursuing the morphogenesis of actin-cytoskeleton based projections that are a key feature of a variety of cells, including those that are specialized for sensory reception in human vision and hearing. Read more...
Myosin VIIa
We have begun to characterize myosin VIIA structurally using NMR of purified protein domains. With Jim Seller's lab at the NIH we have used fast time course kinetics and single molecule assas to anayze molecular function and show that this myosin VIIA is a processive motor. Read more...
Human mutations in actomyosin molecular motors result in deafness and blindness but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unresolved. Current research on the role of these motors in the auditory system has focused on their function in cytoplasmic compartments of hair cells (stereocilia) Read more...
Together, our experiments promise to reveal the nature of cytoskeletal function in cell shape determination for cell division and morphogenesis throughout development and organismal homeostasis.