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Our research is driven by a desire to understand how these microscopic machines both replicate themselves and, at the same time, manage to evade, manipulate, and counter a myriad of host defenses. 

The Tagliabracci Lab studies the phosphorylation of extracellular proteins by a novel family of secreted kinases. This kinase family is so different from canonical kinases that it was not included as a branch on the human kinome tree.

Huen Lab studies how metabolic adaption promotes survival during sepsis and how the kidneys contribute to systemic metabolism during inflammation.

O'Donnell Lab investigates mechanisms of tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis using molecular and biochemical studies and animal models.

Pouratian Lab's primary mission is to explore basic human neuroscientific principles as well as identify brain mapping biomarkers of disease that can drive innovative approaches to restore function to patients with neurological and psychiatric diseases.

Goldsmith Lab combines drug discovery and mechanistic analysis to understanding protein kinases. 

Orchard Lab at UT Southwestern Medical Center

The Osborne Lab focuses on how regulation of miRNA and mRNA controls the branching of developing cells, and how disregulation of these pathways contributes to aggressive tumor behavior.

Oz Lab combines imaging, interventional radiology, radiotracers (novel and known), and animal models to study physiology and disease pathophysiology. 

The Pan laboratory uses Drosophila and mice as model systems to investigate size-control mechanisms in normal development and their pathological roles in cancer.

Our lab focuses on the use of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in pediatric and congenital heart disease.

Corey Lab is using nucleic acids or nucleic acid mimics to explore important cellular processes, develop novel therapeutic tools and strategies.

The primary goal of Henkemeyer laboratory is to understand the biochemical signals that regulate cell-cell interactions during embryonic development. 

The research interests of the Lux Lab lie in the development of novel nanomedicine platforms to diagnose and treat disease in vivo noninvasively.

We do difficult experiments at the frontier of cell physiology, often with our own methods and always with our own hands.

In the Zhang Lab, we seek to understand the molecular mechanisms of metabolic diseases, with the long-term goal of creating novel therapeutic strategies.

The Pfeiffer Lab is interested in how the brain forms neural representations of experience, how those representations are consolidated into long-term memory, and how those representations can be later recalled to inform behavior.

We are developing inhibitors of pyrimidine biosynthesis and polyamine biosynthesis to treat malaria and African sleeping sickness. We study polyamine and nucleotide metabolism in African trypanosomes to learn about novel metabolism and regulation.

Our lab uses tractable model viruses to learn about niche-specific factors that influence viral infection and evolution.

The broad research interest of Fei Wang lab is in dissecting molecular mechanisms of essential cellular events in eukaryotic cell development. Currently, my laboratory investigates how cells preserve the fidelity of gametogenesis under environmental and physiological stress. Gametogenesis, the process by which diploid precursors undergo meiosis and differentiation to produce haploid gametes, is remarkably sensitive to temperature and other stressors. Even mild perturbations tolerated by mitotically dividing cells can disrupt meiosis, leading to infertility or defective gametes. This heightened sensitivity reflects the competing demands faced by germ cells: they must complete complex developmental transitions while responding flexibly to environmental challenges. The mechanisms that safeguard meiotic integrity under such conditions have long remained poorly understood. In somatic cells, two conserved pathways—stress granules (SGs) and autophagy—serve as major quality-control systems under stress. SGs sequester untranslated mRNAs and RNA-binding proteins to pause translation and preserve key transcripts, while autophagy recycles damaged or unneeded components through autophagosome-mediated degradation, restoring proteostasis and energy balance. How these systems cooperate during meiosis, when transcriptional and translational reprogramming, organelle remodeling, and proteome renewal occur simultaneously, has remained largely unexplored.

Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae (budding yeast) as a powerful model, my group integrates genetics, biochemistry, live-cell imaging, proteomics, and computational approaches to uncover how autophagy and RNA regulation ensure gamete quality under stress. Supported by Welch and NIGMS(R01 and R35) fundings and an endowed scholarship to Dr. Fei Wang (Nancy Cain and Jeffrey A. Marcus Scholar in Medical Research, in Honor of Dr. Bill S. Vowell), our research has defined a unified quality-control network that integrates autophagy, RNA regulation, and stress response to preserve reproductive fidelity.