Our Mission
The Department of Cell Biology at UT Southwestern is dedicated to advancing the understanding of cell processes and their roles in health and disease. Our mission is to uncover the fundamental cellular mechanisms that regulate cell function, development, and disease, with the goal of applying this knowledge to improve human health outcomes. We conduct innovative research that drives new insights into biomedical science while providing an environment that fosters collaboration and mentorship for the next generation of cell biologists.
Advanced Research in Cell Biology
Our state-of-the-art research facilities on UT Southwestern's North Campus support a dynamic, collaborative environment that enables researchers to push the boundaries of cell biology and biomedical research. Using diverse in-vitro and in-vivo research models extending to human clinical trials, we focus on the cellular mechanisms that govern complex human conditions like cancer, kidney disease, and neurodegenerative disorders. Access to wide-ranging core facilities from genomics and metabolomics to quantitative light microscopy and cryo-electron microcopy, makes possible research at molecular, organelle, cellular, tissue, and whole organism levels of biological organization. The insights gained from these models help to provide a deeper understanding of disease mechanisms and to identify potential targets for new therapies.
Training the Next Generation of Biomedical Leaders
The Department of Cell Biology offers a rigorous and intellectually stimulating environment for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. Trainees work closely with faculty to gain hands-on experience in cutting-edge research. Through mentorship, collaboration, and opportunities to present seminars about their research work, our students and fellows are exposed to a wide range of research areas and prepared to become themselves leaders in biomedical science. They graduate with the expertise necessary to advance the field of cell biology and drive innovation in academic, industry, and clinical research and knowledge combined with the skills needed to develop independent scientific investigations and successful research careers.
By the Numbers
10
Endowments
- Southwestern Medical Foundation Scholar in Biomedical Research
- Nancy Cain and Jeffrey A. Marcus Scholar in Medical Research, in Honor of Dr. Bill S. Vowell
- E.E. and Greer Garson Fogelson Scholar in Medical Research
- Virginia Murchison Linthicum Scholar in Medical Research
- Ruth S. Harrell Professorship in Medical Research
- Robert McLemore Professorship in Medical Science
- Virginia and Edward Linthicum Distinguished University Chair in Biomedical Science
- The Southland Financial Corporation Distinguished Chair in Geriatrics
- John P. Perkins, Ph.D. Distinguished Professorship in Biomedical Science
- R. Bacon Distinguished Professorship in Medical Science and Education
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Ph.D. Programs Open to Cell Biology Graduate Students Offered by the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
Recent Publication Highlights
- 2024 Articles
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Tld1 is a regulator of triglyceride lipolysis that demarcates a lipid droplet subpopulation
Natalie Ortiz Speer, R. Jay Braun, Emma Grace Reynolds, Alicja Brudnicka, Jessica M.J. Swanson, Mike Henne. Journal of Cell Biology -
Making the connection: How membrane contact sites have changed our view of organelle biology
G.K. Voeltz, E. M. Sawyer, G. Hajnoczky, W. A. Prinz. Cell -
Spatial proteomics of ER tubules reveals CLMN, an ER-actin tether at focal adhesions that promotes cell migration
Holly Merta, Tadamoto Isogai, Blessy Paul, Gaudenz Danuser, W Mike Henne. BioRxiv – Preprint -
Paraoxonase-like APMAP maintains endoplasmic reticulum-associated lipid and lipoprotein homeostasis
Blessy Paul, Holly Merta, Rupali Ugrankar-Banerjee, Monica Hensley, Son Tran, Goncalo Dias do Vale, Jeffrey G McDonald, Steve A. Farber, W Mike Henne. BioRxiv – Preprint -
The Vps13-like protein BLTP2 is pro-survival and regulates phosphatidylethanolamine levels in the plasma membrane to maintain its fluidity and function
Subhrajit Banerjee, Stephan Daetwyler, Xiaofei Bai, Morgane Michaud, Juliette Jouhet, Shruthi Madhugiri, Emma Johnson, Chao-Wen Wang, Reto Fiolka, Alexandre Toulmay, William A. Prinz. BioRxiv – Preprint -
GPR161 structure uncovers the redundant role of sterol-regulated ciliary cAMP signaling in the Hedgehog pathway
Nicholas Hoppe, Simone Harrison, Sun-Hee Hwang, Ziwei Chen, Masha Karelina, Ishan Deshpande, Carl-Mikael Suomivuori, Vivek R. Palicharla, Samuel P. Berry, Phillipp Tschaikner, Dominik Regele, Douglas F. Covey, Eduard Stefan, Debora S. Marks, Jeremy F. Reiter, Ron O. Dror, Alex S. Evers, Saikat Mukhopadhyay, Aashish Manglik. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology -
Targeting of neuroblastoma cells through Kynurenine-AHR pathway inhibition
Igor Lopes Dos Santos, Michael Mitchell, Pedro A S Nogueira, M Carmen Lafita-Navarro, Lizbeth Perez-Castro, Joyane Eriom, Jessica A Kilgore, Noelle S Williams, Lei Guo, Lin Xu, Maralice Conacci-Sorrell. The FEBS Journal -
STING licensing of type I dendritic cells potentiates antitumor immunity
Jian Wang, Suxin Li, Maggie Wang, Xu Wang, Shuqing Chen, Zhichen Sun, Xiubao Ren, Gang Huang, Baran D. Sumer, Nan Yan, Yang-Xin Fu, Jinming Gao. Science Immunology -
Human CCDC51 and yeast Mdm33 are functionally conserved mitochondrial inner membrane proteins that demarcate a subset of organelle fission events
Alia R. Edington, Olivia M. Connor, Madeleine Marlar-Pavey, Jonathan R. Friedman. BioRxiv – Preprint -
ZNF692 regulates nucleolar morphology by interacting with NPM1 and modifying its self-assembly properties
Isabella N. Brown, Arlene Levario, Chunhui Jiang, Weronika Stachera, Enrique Rodriguez, Yi-Heng Hao, Jeffrey B. Woodruff, M.Carmen Lafita-Navarro, Maralice Conacci-Sorrell. Journal of Biological Chemistry -
Severely polarized extracellular acidity around tumour cells
Qiang Feng, Zachary Bennett, Anthony Grichuk, Raymundo Pantoja, Tongyi Huang, , Gang Huang, Mingyi Chen, Ralph J. DeBerardinis, Baran D. Sumer, & Jinming Gao. Nature Biomedical Engineering -
A dynamin-like pseudoenzyme coordinates with MICOS to promote mitochondrial cristae architecture
Abhishek Kumar, Mehmet Oguz Gok, Kailey N. Nguyen, Olivia M. Connor, Michael L. Reese, Jeremy G. Wideman, Sergio A. Muñoz-Gómez, Jonathan R. Friedman. Current Biology -
Inhibition of mRNA nuclear export promotes SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis
Menghan Mei, Anastasija Cupic, Lisa Miorin, Chengjin Ye, Tolga Cagatay, Ke Zhang, Komal Patel, Natalie Wilson, W. Hayes McDonald, Nicholas A. Crossland, Ming Lo, Magdalena Rutkowska, Sadaf Aslam, Ignacio Mena, Luis Martinez-Sobrido, Yi Ren, Adolfo García-Sastre, and Beatriz M. A. Fontoura. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences -
Permanent deconstruction of intracellular primary cilia in differentiating granule cell neurons
Carolyn M Ott, Sandii Constable, Tri M Nguyen, Kevin White, Wei-Chung Allen Lee, Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, Saikat Mukhopadhyay. Journal of Cell Biology -
Regulation of RIM4 distribution, function, and stability during meiosis by PKA, Cdc14, and 14-3-3
Rudian Zhang, Wenzhi Fent, Suhong Qian, Shunjin Li, Fei Wang. Cell Biology
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