Projects
Our lab uses biochemical and biophysical techniques, including NMR spectroscopy and cryoelectron microscopy, to gain insight into proteins involved in bacterial antibiotic resistance and cellular signaling.
Efflux Pumps in Antibiotic Resistance
Bacteria gain antibiotic resistance through several mechanisms, including drug efflux, target protein mutations, reduced drug permeability, and drug breakdown. One of the broadest defense mechanisms which we study in the laboratory is through a rather simple mechanism: efflux of the drug out of the cell. The goal of this project is to understand the transport mechanism and to use this knowledge to design inhibitors that block efflux pump function.
Cellular Signaling Through Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
There are 58 receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) genes in humans that regulate essential biological processes, including embryogenesis, adult tissue homeostasis, and metabolism. These genes display differential spatiotemporal expression during development and throughout adulthood. Improper regulation of these proteins leads to human diseases such as cancer and other growth disorders. The goal of this project is to elucidate molecular mechanisms that govern RTK regulation in human health and disease.