Protein Acrobats 2024
Sivaraj (Shiv) Sivaramakrishnan
Principal Investigator (P.I.)
Professor
Department of Genetics, Cell and Developmental Biology
Director of Graduate Studies- MCDBG Graduate Program
[email protected]
To read more about Shiv please visit his page.
Morrhyssey Benz
Graduate Student
University of Oregon B.S.
[email protected]
Nisha Patel
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Illinois-Chicago B.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison M.S., Indian Institute of Technology-Gandhinagar Ph.D.
[email protected]
I am interested in protein-protein interactions that govern GPCR function. My background in cytoskeletal motors puts me in a unique position to dissect the role of myosin VI in regulation of GPCR trafficking and signaling. Overall, I aim to identify interacting partners of GPCRs and uncover unconventional regulatory pathways of GPCRs.
Fredrik Sadler
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Minnesota Ph.D.
St. Olaf College, B.A.
[email protected]
GPCR signaling is a fundamental concept in physiology and disease, but how GPCRs relay signals is highly convoluted. I aim to better define the mechanisms by which GPCRs receive, process, and transduce stimuli.
Duha Vang
Graduate Student
[email protected]
Edgardo J. Sánchez Rivas
Graduate Student
University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, B.S.
[email protected]
Ianna Debrunner
Graduate Student
Colorado State University, B.S.
[email protected]
I am working to use DNA nanotechnology to model and understand multi-motor protein ensembles. I am studying both endocytic vesicle transport through the molecular motor Myosin VI and its adapter proteins, and the interactions of motor proteins and accessory proteins within heart muscle.
Michael Ritt
Scientist / Lab Manager
Michigan State University, B.S.
[email protected]
GPCRs are integral membrane receptors, a fact which complicates their study in vitro. Giant Plasma Membrane Vesicles (GPMVs) allow us to express and work with these receptors similar to purified protein. I’m using GPMVs to explore the interactions of GPCRs with G proteins and the effects of different ligands and allosteric modulators on those interactions.