309A Weiskotten Hall
766 Irving Ave.
Syracuse, NY 13210

315 464-8569

Current Appointments

• Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology

Hospital Campus

Education & Fellowships

• PhD: Cornell University, 1999, Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology
• BS: Cornell University, 1993, Biochemistry

Associations/Memberships

• American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)

Publications

Link to PubMed (Opens new window. Close the PubMed window to return to this page.)

Research

The actin cytoskeleton is a network of filaments composed of the protein actin that populate the cell's cytoplasm. In a given cell, this network can be organized into a large number of distinct substructures that may range form from simple cable-like bundles through complex, repetitive arrays. These cytoskeletal structures give cells their proper shape, control the distribution of organelles, and allow cells to move. Our primary goal is to understand at the molecular level how distinct actin filament structures assemble, and how they perform their functions. Our focus is on the family of actin-organizing proteins called Formins. Formins are conserved proteins with homologs in nearly every type of eukaryotic organism, including animals, plants, and fungi. Among animals, seven distinct subclasses of Formins exist, but their precise functions are not clear. We are probing the functions of these Formin subclasses through a combination of biochemical assays using purified proteins, and genetic and microscopic studies using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. Our current work focuses on the relationship between one Formin subclass and muscle development.