How do cells within plant roots respond to the multitude of stresses they face in the world?  From cell type molecular signatures to networks – Siobhan Brady tries to understand and harness these adaptive responses to help tackle current and future environmental challenges. Research in the Brady lab focuses on understanding how a network of transcriptional interactions regulates tissue development and function. Projects in the lab range from characterizing xylem and cortex cell development  in response to the environment in Arabidopsis thaliana, Sorghum bicolor, Solanum lycopersicum and the drought-adapted Solanum pennelii to determining regulatory networks underlying various components of central and specialized metabolism.

Julie Bossuyt studies the molecular mechanisms that drive activation and function of the related kinases, protein kinase D and calmodulin dependent protein kinase in healthy and failing hearts. Her lab focuses on understanding the local regulatory mechanisms that control the myriad cellular outcomes for these multifunctional kinases. Tools in the lab include cutting-edge high resolution fluorescence imaging techniques (such as FRET, TIRF, FRAP and confocal) and novel biosensors to obtain unique insight into the spatiotemporal dynamics of signaling in cardiac cells.

Mitch Singer focuses on understanding how Myxococcus xanthus senses nutrient limitation and how this event initiates the developmental program. We have previously proposed a model whereby M. xanthus cells use their protein synthetic capacity to measure their nutritional status.  A signaling molecule known to couple amino acid availability with a variety of cellular processes in E. coli acts as a second messenger in this process by activating a variety of starvation responses.

Richard McKenney is interested in the fascinating world of molecular movement. His lab studies how cells internally organize using molecular motor proteins. In particular, they focus on the microtubule cytoskeleton and the motor proteins that use this filament system for transport (kinesins and dyneins). They are interested in allosteric regulation of motor protein movement, how motor activity is balanced and coordinated, and how dysfunction in motor activity leads to human diseases such as cancer and neurodegeneration. The lab combines advanced molecular biology, biochemistry and single-molecule TIRF microscopy to address these problems