Mammalian cells

We are interested in discovering the key molecular sensors and regulators of acute cellular stress responses, including the heat shock response, oxidative stress response, and UV stress response. We study the mechanistic details of stress responses in human cells with a particular emphasis on the “protein folding” disorders characteristic of the majority of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s diseases. Using a combination of high-end NGS and proteomics with traditional cell biology and biochemistry, we investigate the molecular pathways of activation and deployment of cellular responses to exogenous proteotoxic and genotoxic stressors. We also use mammalian cells to determine whether the new models and concepts of cellular damage detection we established in bacteria and nematodes also apply in higher eukaryotes.