Understanding the role of mitophagy in colon cancer iron regulation, and investigating metabolic regulations of ER-mitochondria contact sites in cancer.
Using optogenetics, investigate the spatiotemporal regulation of small GTPase RhoA and how it orchestrates actin cytoskeletal dynamics responsible for junctional remodeling and cytokinesis in vertebrate epithelial tissues.
Understanding the role of NETs in neutrophil-mediated immune functions as well as the intercellular signaling cascade surrounding this process.
I am studying the H. pylori virulence factor vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA). Using single-particle cryo-EM, I am determining VacA's pore-form and characterizing its membrane interactions.
I study the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Niemann-pick type C disease, an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder
I study the biosynthetic trafficking of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). GPCR localization to the the cell surface is critical for functional coupling to both extracellular agonists and G-protein effectors on the plasma membrane. Despite the functional importance of GPCR localization to the plasma membrane, relatively little is known about the biosynthetic trafficking of these receptors to the cell surface. I would like to understand how the trafficking of these receptors to the cell surface is regulated and how we can target receptors to the surface to increase signaling.