Michael K. Rosen, Ph.D. UT Southwestern Medical Center
Biomolecular condensates are two- and three-dimensional compartments in eukaryotic cells that concentrate specific collections of proteins and nucleic acids without an encapsulating membrane. Many condensates behave as dynamic liquids and are believed to form through liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) driven by interactions between multivalent constituents. While we understand much about the physical mechanisms that promote and regulate LLPS, we know less about the biochemical functions that arise from this process, and many roles of LLPS in biology remain to be discovered.
Social interactions are essential for animals to survive, reproduce, raise their young. Over the years, my lab has attempted to decipher the unique characteristics of social recognition: what are the unique cues that trigger distinct social behaviors, what is the nature and identity of social behavior circuits, how is the function of these circuits different in males and females and how are they modulated by the animal physiological status?
Recent discoveries have led to a resurgence of interest in neutrophils as shapers of immune dysregulation and as triggers of organ damage in chronic inflammatory diseases. These important advances have emphasized that neutrophils are significantly more versatile and heterogenous than was previously thought and that they may play fundamental roles in the pathogenesis of systemic autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, as well as in the development of vascular damage.
This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 10, 2021
