We are a cell biology research group in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Washington's School of Medicine. Our goal (and that of many other labs) is to understand the fundamental, evolutionarily conserved mechanisms of membrane organization in eukaryotic cells – ultimately in sufficient detail that this aspect of biology will morph into an engineering discipline. We focus on mechanisms of membrane docking, fusion, and repair in living cells and intact organelles. Technologies that we will use include:
- microscale device fabrication (patterned surfaces, supported membranes; with the UW Center for Nanotechnology)
- yeast genetics & high-throughput genomics
- cell-freee biochemical assays
- protein biochemistry
- fluorescence spectroscopy
- ultrasensitive fluorescence microscopy
- Cryo electron microscopy (with Tamir Gonen's group)
Molecules that we study include SNAREs, Rab/Ypt GTPases (Ypt7p is depicted below), lipid-binding proteins, and calcium signaling molecules. More information is posted on the People page.
