LSI Labs
Life Sciences Institute laboratories of 25 principal investigators and 3 core centers inspire interactive collaborations between many disciplines in the life sciences. Faculty interests span not only disciplines, but fields, model systems and disease areas.
Kate Carroll, PhD investigates the role that sulfur-containing metabolites play in the replication and persistence of Mycobacteria. The biosynthetic machinery associated with these critical metabolites may offer new targets for anti-tuberculosis therapy. In addition, Professor Carroll is also developing new chemical tools to identify and study oxidative post-translational modifications (PTMs) associated with age and neurodegenerative diseases.
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Sylvie Garneau-Tsodikova, PhD is investigating the enzyme mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis of nonribosomal/polyketide antibiotics and anticancer agents from marine sources. She will also concentrate her effort on the enzymatic reactions of deoxysugars in the biosynthesis of various natural products.
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Jason E. Gestwicki, PhD develops small molecules that can be used to either prevent or facilitate protein-protein interactions. Protein-protein interactions are of particular importance in neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Gestwicki takes an interdisciplinary approach to these problems by applying aspects of organic chemistry, biochemistry, and cell biology.
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David Ginsburg, MD studies families with bleeding disorders like hemophilia, and mice with genetic “knockouts,” to understand the genes and biomolecules that control the blood-clotting response. Ginsburg’s research reveals some fundamentals about how genes work, alone and in networks.
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Kun-Liang Guan, PhD is a biological chemist who works on the critical protein phosphorylation reactions that regulate cell division, growth and differentiation. His studies focus on kinases that act as molecular
switches to control the activity of other enzymes. Some of his work has
shown how viruses and bacteria interrupt normal cell signals, creating
disease.
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Patrick J. Hu, MD, PhD uses the nematode worm C. elegans, a well-established model system for genetic analysis, to study the function of cancer gene homologs. He plans to generate novel hypotheses about cancer gene function using C. elegans and to test these hypotheses in mouse models of cancer, with the ultimate goal of identifying novel targets for anticancer drugs.
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John K. Kim, PhD studies how microRNAs and other emerging classes of small RNAs regulate fundamental biological processes including heterochromatin formation, neuronal cell patterning, cardiac and skeletal muscle development, germline maintenance, and oncogenic cell proliferation. Using functional genomic, genetic, biochemical, and cell biology strategies, his lab investigates the molecular mechanisms of both the small RNAs and new candidate RNAi factors identified by genome-wide screens.
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Daniel J. Klionsky, PhD uses baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces
cerevisiae) as a model organism to uncover intriguing clues into a variety of human diseases. His work attempts to figure out the inner workings of cells and is helping us understand human diseases like cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
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Alexey Kondrashov, PhD studies genomics illuminated by the evolutionary perspective and applies evolutionary concepts to studying proteins at the genomic scale. He also analyzes human mutation and has prepared a study for large-scale comparison of multiple mammalian genomes. He plans to study fundamental evolutionary problems at the organismal, instead of the population, level, examining the gradual changes of a species, and the relationships among the genetic "blueprints" of a species over time.
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Anuj Kumar, PhD uses functional genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics to investigate highly conserved signaling pathways mediating cell growth in the budding yeast. This "high throughput" approach is helping to determine what each of S. cerevisiae's 6,000 genes might do and how these genes work together to operate the cell.
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Cheng-Yu Lee, PhD uses genomic and bioinformatic approaches to study the biochemistry of Drosophila (fruit fly) neural stem cell self-renewal vs. differentiation. He also performs functional analyses of mutant flies with defective stem cells, with the goal of transferring this knowledge to vertebrate systems in order to understand the role of neural stem cells in birth defects, regenerative medicine, and cancer.
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Jiandie Lin, PhD studies transcriptional regulation of metabolic programs using integrated approaches. His work focuses on understanding the fundamental biology of cellular and systemic energy metabolism, and uncovering pathways important in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases and neurodegeneration.
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Rowena G. Matthews, PhD, in work ranging from organic chemistry to genetics, Matthews investigates the role vitamins play in the chemical reactions in the body. Her detailed structural analysis of the dietary vitamins riboflavin and folic acid contributed to the recommendation that all people should consume more folic acid to prevent heart disease and that women who may become pregnant should consume folate to prevent neural tube birth defects.
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Sean Morrison, PhD is investigating the mechanisms that regulate stem cell function in the nervous and hematopoietic systems, particularly the mechanisms that regulate stem cell self-renewal, aging, and organogenesis.
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Patricia Olynyk, BFA, MFA explores the biology of the natural world by creating miniature landscapes in intricate details on grand scales utilizing printmaking, macro photographs and scanning electron micrographs.
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Noah Rosenberg, PhD focuses on human genetic variation and its role in the search for disease genes, and on the use of genetic markers to investigate human evolutionary history. He is also interested in developing mathematical models and statistical tools for application in population genetics.
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Gabrielle (Gabby) Rudenko, PhD is a biochemist studying a transcription factor whose levels are dramatically increased in the brain after chronic exposure to electroconvulsive seizures (ECS), certain antidepressants, certain antipsychotics and drugs of abuse.
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Alan R. Saltiel, PhD investigates the hormone insulin and its role in regulating cellular sugar levels. This work is now expanding into an investigation of how cells send and receive signals, which may lead to new treatments for diabetes, as well as new understandings of colon cancer, heart disease, and nerve growth.
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David H. Sherman, PhD explores the biochemical pathways of marine microorganisms, with a goal of finding new drug candidates for infectious diseases and cancer. He also directs LSI's new Center for Chemical Genomics.
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Janet L. Smith, PhD examines the three-dimensional shapes of enzymes that are critical to multi-stage chemical reactions in the cell. Her work also examines structures in infectious pathogens including the RNA viruses that cause West Nile, yellow fever and dengue.
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John Tesmer, PhD studies proteins responsible for a vast number of physiological processes, including vision, smell and regulation of heart beat and blood pressure. One such family of proteins, the G protein-coupled receptor kinases, have been shown to play roles in addiction and heart disease. Dr. Tesmer also studies the structure and function of leukemia-associated enzymes.
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Lois Weisman, PhD uses the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to discover how cell structures are delivered to the right place at the right time, which informs understanding of embryonic development and many diseases including cancer and diabetes. She studies organelles and their movement in the cell cycle. Organelles are structures inside cells that perform vital functions, including energy production, storage and transportation of important substances, and removal of waste products. Normal cellular function requires that organelles be positioned in specific locations in a cell.
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Steve Weiss, MD focuses on the mechanisms used by white blood cells, endothelial cells and cancer cells to remodel tissue structure during events ranging from inflammatory disease and angiogenesis to cancer. His work includes the role of metalloproteinases in regulating pathologies and the use of proteases to control cancer cell behavior in vivo.
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X. Z. Shawn Xu, PhD studies neuronal signaling, behavior and drug addiction in the genetic model organism C. elegans. In particular, he is interested in understanding how ion channels, membrane receptors and calcium signaling molecules regulate neural activity and plasticity. To do so, he takes a multidisciplinary approach involving molecular genetics, cell biology, imaging, neurophysiology and genomics.
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Zhaohui Xu, PhD studies molecular “chaperones,” that help proteins fold into the proper shape and get to the right place inside the cell. His work is important for everything from diabetes, high cholesterol and mad cow disease to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
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Yukiko Yamashita, PhD investigates how adult stem cells divide asymmetrically to give rise to one stem cell and one differentiating cell to maintain tissue homeostasis. Her research has implications for cell cycle regulation in cancer and other diseases.
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