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Why Study Membrane Trafficking?

Our lab is interested in the regulation of membrane trafficking, in particular the mechanistic basis for the regulation of spatial and temporal specificity. Many questions remain to be answered regarding how membrane-bound vesicles containing specific cargo arrive at the correct location. For example, what marks the site of vesicle fusion on the target membrane and what checks to make sure that the correct vesicle docks at the right place? How are the membrane fusion proteins regulated to ensure that the wrong vesicle does not fuse? Our aim is to answer questions like these through a multifaceted approach that combines biochemistry, structural biology, cell biology, and biophysical techniques in a variety of model organisms.

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Research Areas

                                                       Control of Exocytosis by the Exocyst Complex

We study how SNARE-mediated fusion of transport vesicles at the plasma membrane is temporally and spatially controlled by the exocyst, a large multisubunit tethering complex, in collaboration with the SNARE-regulator Sec1.

Mutations in VPS45 That Lead To Severe Congenital Neutropenia 

We utilize biochemistry and structural biology methods to probe the effect of dysfunctional point mutations on the structure of VPS45 and its ability to interact with known binding partners. We apply these insights towards understanding human VPS45, and how mutations lead to severe congenital neutropenia, bone marrow defects, and myelofibrosis in children.