Faculty and Research
Our faculty members apply their expertise to study cellular processes as diverse as:
- Aging
- Apoptosis
- Cell mechanics
- Cytoskeletal dynamics
- Differentiation
- Gene regulation
- Pathogenesis
- Signaling
- Stress response
No single lab or department can master and execute these disciplines, so we are pleased to be part of the intellectually stimulating, interactive, and collaborative research community within the Department and across the UT Southwestern Medical Center campus.
We explore tumor suppressive mechanisms that restrain mobile elements, examine how chromatin topology controls gene activity and interrogate molecular networks that control cell death.
Maralice Conacci-Sorrell, Ph.D.
Our Lab Website focuses on how cancer cells develop the ability to survive stress conditions such as nutrient deprivation and chemotherapy. We use animal models and molecular biology approaches to identify molecular switches that control stress response and we investigate how cancer cells exploit these switches to develop survival skills.
Our Lab Websiteoratory studies the cell biology of viral-host interactions. Our main focus is on the interplay between RNA viruses (influenza A viruses, VSV-vesicular stomatitis virus, and SARS-CoV-2) and nuclear processes. We investigate mechanisms of viral interactions with cellular RNA processing and nucleo-cytoplasmic trafficking, which regulate viral replication and antiviral response.
Our lab studies the spatial and functional sub-organization of organelles. We are primarily focused on understanding how mitochondria are dynamically modulated to meet metabolic demand in different tissues, cell types, and at a subcellular level.
My laboratory engages in a multidisciplinary research and teaching program, on one hand doing scientific research and on the other explaining what doing research entails. For many years, we studied the interactions between cells and their extracellular environments to advance the fields of tissue engineering and wound repair. More recently, we began empirical studies aimed at advancing science education.
The Electron Microscopy Core Facility offers TEM of cells and tissues, negative staining, whole-mount SEM, correlative LM and EM, immunogold labeling and sample preparation for vEM.
The Henne lab studies lipid droplets, and how metabolism is spatially organized within cells. We use cell biology, genetics, and biochemistry to deeply understand lipid metabolism and organelle biology.
Our laboratory is interested in the molecular mechanisms governing cytokine receptor signal transduction in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and understanding how deregulation in these mechanisms results in hematological malignancies and cancer.
My research focuses on islet biology and diabetes. Our long term-goal is to uncover mechanisms and processes that contribute to the maintenance of islet cell fitness and function. Currently we are studying ZnT8 in islet cells aiming to understand how Slc30a8 haploinsufficiency protects type 2 diabetes. We are also developing techniques and probes for monitoring islet beta cell mass or function in vitro and in vivo.
The Marciano lab studies organ formation and regeneration using in vivo and in vitro systems to understand how these processes are regulated at the cellular and molecular level. We are also interested in how genetic disorders of kidney development lead to kidney disease in patients.
Our group studies the posttranslational modification of proteins by ubiquitin. While ubiquitin is well known for eliminating aberrant proteins, our research is focused on a new role for this quality control process, namely the regulation of gene expression during development and in disease. Our main goal is to understand how the ubiquitin-proteasome system targets the transcriptional machinery for degradation to facilitate cell fate transitions.
The Quantitative Light Microscopy Core (QLMC) addresses your A-to-Z needs related to optical microscopy. Our services include access to state-of-the-art microscopes, customized microscopy training, optimization of imaging settings, advice on sample preparation, help with image quantification and presentation, establishment of fully automated image analysis workflows and basic microscope maintenance.
Our lab studies the role of adaptor proteins on plasma membrane function in the context of endocytosis and cellular signaling.
Our lab studies why cells utilize primary cilia to organize signaling, and how extracellular inputs are spatio-temporally integrated by these compartments. Studying ciliary signaling also provides a more general paradigm for studying cellular sensory networks in regulating developmental pathways, and disease pathologies.
Our lab studies 3D structures and cell biological functions of macromolecular complexes inside cells, such as molecular motors, microtubules in cilia, and cancer-related nuclear proteins.
Our lab studies organelle biogenesis and intracellular lipid trafficking and homeostasis. There are three related projects in the lab. The first focuses on the biogenesis of lipid droplets and lipoproteins in the ER. The second investigates how specialized domains in the ER facilitate peroxisome biogenesis and function. The third project addresses how membrane contact sites function in intracellular lipid trafficking and metabolism, particularly how they modulate trafficking in response to cellular stresses.
We study the molecular mechanisms governing the function and inheritance of complex cellular organelles. In particular, we are investigating how the single Golgi apparatus is partitioned by the spindle machinery in mitosis as well as the regulatory role of the Golgi in organizing polarity during cell migration.
The Shay Lab studies the role of telomere biology in aging and cancer, the molecular mechanism of telomere replication and telomerase action, and how to translate these into clinical applications.
Our long-term goal is to dissect cell development and differentiation at the molecular level, with a specific focus on how organelles and RNA biology respond to environmental cues. Presently, we aim to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying autophagy functions in eukaryotic gametogenesis—the production of sex cells—and, more broadly, how autophagy regulates crucial aspects of development under both normal and stress conditions.
Animals must store their oocytes for weeks to decades before they are ovulated. A decrease in oocyte quality over time is a major factor in age-related infertility. We study how the oocyte cytoplasm is reorganized to shut down cellular metabolism and protect its precious contents to survive long-term hibernation.