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Our laboratory is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for the generation and maintenance of intra-cellular membrane-bounded compartments. In all eukaryotic cells intracellular membrane trafficking is critical for a range of important cellular functions including protein secretion, post-translational modifications, cell signalling, cell polarization, and cell maintenance. Defects in membrane trafficking can underline, or even exacerbate, a number of human diseases including cancer, diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer’s, cystic fibrosis, Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome and Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation.
Our research directed towards the understanding of the basic mechanisms of intracellular vesicular trafficking using both yeast and mammalian tissue culture cell model systems. Our lab played a principal role in the discovery of a novel vesicle tethering factors, published more than 60 original papers in high-profile journals, including Journal of Cell Biology, PNAS, Science, Journal of Neuroscience, Molecular Biology of Cell and Nature Communications. My current research has been continuously supported by grants from both NSF and NIH.
We have pioneered the functional analysis of the Conserved Oligomeric Golgi (COG), an evolutionarily conserved complex of eight gene products, each of which is critical for the membrane trafficking and protein modifications in the Golgi apparatus. The COG complex interacts with core fusion machinery components including SNAREs, SM proteins, Rabs, coiled-coil tethers and COPI coat to organize specific docking and fusion of transport intermediates with their acceptor membrane. By using state of the art biochemical, genetic and microscopy approaches (including mass-spectrometry, electron and super-resolution microscopy, CRISPR directed gene editing techniques) we would like to determine how the key components of intracellular membrane trafficking machinery work together to direct efficient protein trafficking in human cells in health and disease.
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