Faculty
Research Faculty—Cell and Developmental Biology
Program Director/Department Chair: Joseph Sanger, PhD
- Jeffrey Amack, PhD
Associate ProfessorResearch Interests:Genetics and cell biology of organ morphogenesis during embryonic development.
- Marie Bechler, PhD
Assistant ProfessorResearch Interests:Mechanisms that drive central nervous system myelin sheath formation, and how myelin contributes to CNS function in neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative disease
- Scott Blystone, PhD
Associate ProfessorResearch Interests:Actin Cytoskeletal Dynamics in the leukocyte inflammatory phenotype.
- Mira Krendel, PhD
ProfessorResearch Interests:Physiological functions of myosin motors and their roles in diabetic kidney disease and cancer
- Donna Osterhout, PhD
Assistant ProfessorResearch Interests:Biology of oligodendroglia and myelin formation during development, remyelination and repair in spinal cord injury and MS
- David Pruyne, PhD
Associate ProfessorResearch Interests:Understanding how muscle cells organize their actin cytoskeleton into efficient contractile units, using a combination of in vitro biochemistry, and analysis of cultured muscle cells and genetic models C. elegans and zebrafish.
- Jessica Ridilla, PhD
Associate ProfessorResearch Interests:- Regulation of actin filament polymerization
- Mechanisms of actin-microtubule crosstalk
- Role of actin and microtubules in neurodegenerative diseases, particularly amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
- Single-molecule super-resolution microscopy techniques (i.e. TIRF, STED, STORM).
- Jean Sanger, PhD
ProfessorResearch Interests:Analysis of the assembly of the actin/myosin cytoskeleton in muscle and non-muscle cells.
- Joseph Sanger, PhD
ProfessorResearch Interests:Cellular analysis of the formation of myofibrils, stress fibers, and cleavage furrows in living cells.
- Vladimir Sirotkin, PhD
Assistant ProfessorResearch Interests:Mechanisms of the actin cytoskeleton assembly and role of myosin-1 during endocytosis in fission yeast.
- Christopher Turner, PhD
Distinguished ProfessorResearch Interests:Regulation of cell migration by focal adhesion adapter proteins and their role in cancer cell metastasis.