DF/HCC Program Affiliation

Cancer Cell Biology

Research Abstract

My laboratory uses the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to understand basic aspects of cell biology. The research in my lab focuses on the process of sporulation (the yeast cell's version of gametogenesis which involves meiosis followed by spore morphogenesis) to ask questions about the regulation of developmental processes. In particular, we are interested in examining questions such as how cell signaling affects cellular architecture and how the appropriate timing of developmental events is regulated. Our studies employ biochemical, cell biological, genetic, and genomic techniques. Research projects in the lab include studies on how the MAP kinase Smk1 coordinates transitions in spore wall formation and how the PH-domain containing protein Spo71 regulates spore morphogenesis.

Publications

• Huang LS, Doherty HK, Herskowitz I.The Smk1p MAP kinase negatively regulates Gsc2p, a 1,3-beta-glucan synthase, during spore wall morphogenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005 Aug 30;102(35):12431-6.
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