The Louros Lab uses a hybrid approach combining molecular biophysics, structural biology, and bioinformatics to investigate protein stability, misfolding, and aggregation, with a particular interest in neurodegenerative diseases.
We are investigating how protein homeostasis (the maturation and turnover of enzymes) interacts with lipid homeostasis.
Our lab is creating better experimental models that reveal how cancer cells metastasize and evade our immune system. We use these models to develop new drugs that engage our immune system to kill cancer cells.
The Dermatology Foundation, which funds innovative research in skin biology with the potential to lead to new treatments and cures, has awarded Benjamin Nanes a Physician Scientist Career Development Award. Dr. Nanes is a practicing dermatologist and joined the Danuser laboratory in 2019 to conduct research into the mechanics behind skin remodeling during wound repair or in diseases.
Our skin’s outermost layer, called the epidermis, is made up of cells called keratinocytes. The strength of our skin barrier can be largely attributed to the keratin intermediate filaments within keratinocytes. Dr. Nanes is investigating how these filaments tune cellular mechanical properties to influence skin architecture during remodeling of the epidermis. Keratin filaments allow keratinocytes in the epidermis to resist mechanical stress, thus maintaining the stability of the skin barrier. However, in situations such as wound healing, epidermal stability must be balanced with plasticity to allow remodeling to occur. How keratin filaments balance the competing needs for tissue stability and plasticity remains poorly understood.
By combining live-cell imaging, computer vision, and organoid culture approaches, Dr. Nanes is unraveling the functions of keratin filaments at the subcellular scale. Through his research, Dr. Nanes hopes to better understand the mechanisms balancing epidermal stability and plasticity. These insights could reveal targets for designing novel treatment approaches for diseases where epidermal remodeling is disordered, such as non-healing wounds, eczema, and many different ichthyoses.
Dr. Benjamin Nanes awarded a Physician Scientist Career Development Award
Elizabeth Chen Lab focuses research on cell-cell fusion, drosophila myoblast fusion, invasive membrane protrusions, actin binding and bundling proteins, and mechanoresponsive proteins.
Yu Lab is interested in the molecular and cellular basis of Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, and related neurodegenerative disorders.
The Rosen Lab seeks to understand the formation, regulation, functions and internal structures of membraneless cellular compartments termed biomolecular condensates.
