He is interested in cell motility, division and muscle contraction. In other words, he seeks to understand what makes life go. Jr. Lecture, sponsored by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The lecture, part of the NIH Director's Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series, will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium, Bldg. Each system enables them to examine different aspects of myosin's functioning.
Skeletal muscle is the most highly organized contractile apparatus of any cell type.
To study muscle contraction at a molecular level, Spudich's group developed in vitro assays for ATP-dependent movement of purified myosin on actin filaments. But most of Spudich's work is done using the slime mold Dictyostelium , a soil amoeba that is an expert shape-shifter. It also exhibits all the behavior of nonmuscle mammalian cells. By studying Dictyostelium , Spudich was able to provide genetic proof that myosin is required for cell morphogenesis and cytokinesis. Spudich has published more than 180 articles in scientific journals and has served as editor on a number of these journals.