Our research interest focuses on the three-dimensional structures and functions of organelles and macromolecular complexes, with special emphasis on cytoskeletal assemblies and molecular motors.
We aim to understand how proteins interact, work, and are spatially arranged within cells. This research will help uncover fundamental processes underlying cellular functions that are integral to the health of all living organisms.
We use a combination of cutting-edge methods to directly visualize gene products in cells in their living state. These techniques include in situ molecular imaging using cryo-electron tomography combined with sub-tomographic averaging, correlative light and electron microscopy, biochemical and mass spectrometric analyses, integrated structural-genetics approaches, and protein-labeling methods.
Our most recent data provide new insights into the structure of the molecular motor dynein and the structural proteome of cilia and flagella — organelles with important biological roles in cell motility and sensation.
3D visualization of the basic repeat unit of cilia
Neuronal network in the nose of C. elegans
