CDB faculty and research

Signal transduction and antibiotic-induced stress responses in bacteria.

Molecular biology of plant G-proteins and kinases. Phytohormone regulation of signal transduction and RNA processing. Second messenger regulation of ion channels in plant cells.

Regulation of T cell activation, differentiation and allergic asthma induction by ltk (Tec family kinases).

Functional genomics of plant microRNAs and siRNAs.

Cell biology and endocrinology related to growth and differentiation of mammary and intestinal tissues. Hormones and growth factors in milk.

Identification and characterization of the cellular and molecular targets of vitamin D in the immune system.

Regulation of protein synthesis and control of translation initiation of mRNAs in higher eukaryotes and the evolution of tissue specific transcriptional regulation.

Molecular mechanism of synaptogenesis and plasticity.

Regulation of expression of iron-binding proteins in the nervous system.

Mechanism of plant growth. Function and evolution of expansins. Biochemistry and rheology of plant cell walls. Growth responses to light, hormones, and water stress and other stimuli.

Insect biochemistry and physiology; evolutionary development; molecular biology; host/pathogen interactions.

Insect biochemistry and molecular biology; molecular parasitology; medical entomology; host-parasite/pathogen interactions.

Plant cell and developmental biology. Biochemical, genetic, molecular genetic and cell biology of the cytoskeleton. Mitosis, with emphasis on spindle assembly.

Ovarian physiology. Role of SMAD-mediated signaling in follicular and female germ cell (oocyte) development.

Molecular and biochemical studies on iron metabolism. Regulatory pathways of intestinal iron absorption that control iron homeostasis. Cellular and molecular studies on functions of iron transport factor genes using cultured mammalian cells.

The detailed workings of motor proteins and their role in intracellular transport and cell motility.

Regulation of cell-mediated immunity, hematopoiesis, receptor tyrosine kinases, cellular transformation.

Developmental genetics of organogenesis and morphogenesis in C. elegans.

Regulation of gene expression during development.

Interactions between bacterial pathogens (primarily Bordetella spp) and the host immune system, including virulence factors, host immune functions and genomics.

Understanding how paramyxoviruses (SV5) induce and inhibit apoptosis. Using SV5 as a vector for expressing foreign genes and for live vaccine development.

Energy metabolism and mitochondria anomalies. Model and natural biomembranes. Protein dynamics and protein-protein interaction. Theoretical modeling and technique development (biophotonics and biophysics approaches).

Small RNAs and protein localization in bacterial development and antimicrobial drug discovery.

Hepatitis C and related viruses: how their replication interferes with host protein and membrane trafficking.

Signal Transduction, Growth Control, and Cancer Genetics

Microbial Ecology and Evolution

Structural and functional studies of the ribosome and the nucleosome.

Biogenesis and function of cilia in mammalian embryonic development.

Regulation of neuronal cell death and neural differentiation.

Structure, function and regulation of GABA-A receptors and their role in anxiety disorders.

Molecular genetics of plant reproductive development: from early flower regulatory genes to meiosis and pollen development.

Computational studies of metabolism and gene regulation.

Growth factors and receptors in brain and heart development and cancer.

Plant developmental biology; Auxin biosynthesis, transport and signaling; Inflorescence development in maize

Regulation of gene expression during mouse and Drosophila embryogenesis.

Signal transduction in prokaryotes; functional domains of Rhizobium dct genes.

Regulation and application of spermatagonial stem cells.

Human variability in xenobiotic metabolism.

Cellular neurobiology using Drosophila.

Receptor-operated calcium signaling pathways.

Genetic and biochemical analysis of cell signaling and differentiation during hematopoiesis.

Biochemistry and genomics of eukaryotic transcription regulation.

Gene regulation in cell cycle and DNA damage control; regulation of DNA damage-induced transcription.

Subcellular compartmentalization of neurons.

Epithelial cell junction formation and turnover. Intracellular trafficking of adhesion molecules. Small GTPase cascades in the control of cell motility. Cell migration and metastasis.

Regulation and function of membrane transbilayer phospholipid dynamics in blood cells.

Assembly and budding of paramyxovirus particles.

Development of nanofabricated tools for cell biology; spatiotemporal dynamics of cell surface phenomena; signal transduction; membrane structure and dynamics; quantitative fluorescence microscopy.

Structural biology of eukaryotic gene regulatory complexes.

Roles of the cytoskeleton at the cell membrane in epithelial cells, including issues of cell polarity and adhesion, cell signaling, and morphogenesis.

Epigenetic histone modifications in cell differentiation and cancer.

The evolution of complex traits.

Regulation of neuropeptide secretion.

Development and function of gamma/delta T cells.

Signal transduction and functional genomics of biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. Protein-protein interactions at the host-pathogen interface: targeting and recognition of fungal effectors in rice cells.

Peptides and receptors in development, cancer, cell renewal, wound healing, angiogenesis, cornea, neurodegeneration, diabetes and Crohn's Disease.