Molecular Biology is a fundamental area of investigative research in Biology that employs new technologies and experimental approaches to examine fundamental processes in all living organisms. In the course of these investigations, we use wide variety of model organisms, including mice, guinea pigs, human tissue cell cultures, the nematode species Caenorhabditis elegans, the plant Arabidopsis thaliana, model bacteria and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The research is of immediate relevance to human health in many areas including cancer, inherited genetic diseases and disease resistance, DNA repair, and neurosystem development and function. We welcome strong applicants as undergraduate researchers, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
Research in my laboratory is centered on the study of cell proliferation and cell transformation. The control of gene expression in quiescent primary chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEF) is the focus of our current research program. In particular, we recently uncovered a novel response to the conditions of limited oxygen concentrations experienced by contact inhibited CEF and showed that this response is critical for the maintenance of lipid/membrane homeostasis and cell survival. Current investigations have for objective to characterize the cellular processes regulated by the lipid/membrane damage response promoting reversible growth arrest and survival of quiescent cells. To do this work we employ basic techniques of cell and molecular biology as well as genomic, proteomic and lipidomic approaches.
Cell and Developmental Biology; Genetics & Molecular Biology
