Investigating the molecular mechanisms of membrane trafficking

Our Research

Eukaryotes have a complex and dynamic endomembrane system, and transport of protein and membrane components throughout the cell is generally called membrane trafficking. Trafficking at the most basic level is accomplished by budding a vesicle from a donor membrane and fusing it with a target membrane.

We are interested in the mechanisms that cells deploy to bud and fuse membranes.

OUR TOOLS

The main research tool we employ is cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM), which allows us to visualize protein and membrane complexes in atomic-resolution detail. We use nanodiscs and liposomes to image protein complexes bound to membranes, in order to best mimic their cellular localization with the membrane.