We use a variety of molecular, biochemical and biophysical techniques to understand how microtubules assemble, how motor proteins recognize cellular cargo, and how microtubule assembly and motor activity are regulated. We are also interested in cytoskeletal adaptations in extremophiles and identification of cytoskeletal-directed drugs. We are using the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway of Arabidopsis thaliana to examine the assembly and regulation of multienzyme complexes. We also collaborate with the Dean laboratory in the Department of Biochemistry on characterizing iron-sulfur cluster assembly in plants. We have recently uncovered an important role in entrosome replication for the Slimb protein in Drosophila neuroblasts.
Centrosomes help organize microtubules to form mitotic spindle poles.
Slimb is a putative targeting factor for the protein degradation pathway. Work is currently underway in my laboratory to identify the targets for Slimb binding and subsequent degradation that operate in the centrosome replication pathway.