Lab research signals and effectors necessary to establish regional and cellular differences in the regions of the forebrain. Human diseases are a starting point for identifying novel genes that may participate in normal forebrain development.
Dr. Lange’s primary research interests are in the development and application of statistical methods to genetic data. His methodological work has focused on developing techniques for haplotype-based association analyses, linkage analysis, and genetic power analyses.
We study protein structure and dynamics as they relate to protein function and energetics. We are currently using NMR spectroscopy (e.g. spin relaxation), computation, and a variety of other biophysical techniques to gain a deeper understanding of proteins at atomic level resolution. Of specific interest is the general phenomenon of long-range communication within protein structures, such as observed in allostery and conformational change. A. Lee is a member of the Molecular & Cellular Biophysics Training Program.
The regulatory role of platelet membrane phosphatidylserine in blood coagulation; mechanism of protein-mediated membrane fusion in secretory processes and virus infection. Director of the Molecular & Cellular Biophysics Training Program.
We use high-throughput DNA sequencing, microarrays, and other technologies to study how and where proteins interact with the genome, and how these interactions affect the biology of living cells. We use three systems: yeast, C. elegans and human. Our C. elegans studies focus on developmental processes, and we use human cell lines and clinical samples to study diseases like cancer and diabetes. All of our projects focus on chromatin and DNA-binding proteins.
Specialized cell types allow plants to shed their structures-such as leaves, flowers and fruit-through the carefully orchestrated process of cell separation. The research focus of the Liljegren lab is to investigate the molecular mechanisms that control cell separation using the Arabidopsis flower as a model system. As in many other higher plants, Arabidopsis flowers contain pattern elements which allow distinct separation events such as floral organ shedding, fruit opening, pollen dehiscence, and seed dispersal to take place during their life cycle. Currently, we are characterizing the functions of key regulators of floral organ separation, including NEVERSHED, LOVES-ME-NOT and STAMENSTAY. We have discovered that NEVERSHED regulates vesicle trafficking during flower development and are using sensitized genetic screens to identify additional components of a signaling pathway, such as the receptor-like kinase EVERSHED, that likely control the movement and secretion of specific molecules during the shedding process.
Our lab group is interested in the behavior, sensory ecology, neuroethology, and conservation biology of animals, particularly those that live in the ocean. Research focuses include: (1) physiology and ecology of animals that migrate long distances; (2) navigational mechanisms of sea turtles, spiny lobsters, monarch butterflies, and salmon; (3) neuroethology and behavioral physiology of invertebrate animals; (4) use of the Earth’s magnetic field in animal navigation; (5) technoethology (the use of novel computer and electronic technology to study behavior).
We study the blood clotting protein fibrinogen, its biochemistry and its role in disease (Curr Opin Hematol. 14:236, 2007). We synthesize variant fibrinogens to correlate structure and function using crystallographic and biochemical analyses (Biochemistry 46:5114, 2007). We examine the mechnical properties of fibrin fibers using atomic force microscopy (Science 313:634. 2006). We explore the interactions of fibrinogen with biomaterials (Acta Biomaterialia 3:663, 2007). We use patient samples and mouse models to examine the links between fibrinogen and disease (J Thromb Haemost. 2:1484, 2004). Member of the Molecular & Cellular Biophysics Training Program.
Molecular, cellular and in vivo approaches in intestine to define mechanisms by which hormones and growth factors regulate normal growth and cancer. Uses model cell lines, mutant mice, mouse models of disease, translational approaches to growth factor action and signal transduction, gut immune interactions in obesity.
