Tao Cheng gave a wonderful talk titled “Developmental defects caused by centrosome dysfunction during kidney morphogenesis”.
Moe, Megan and Tao attend the FASEB Cilia 2022 conference

Department of Medicine (Nephrology Division) & Department of Cell Biology and Physiology
Tao Cheng gave a wonderful talk titled “Developmental defects caused by centrosome dysfunction during kidney morphogenesis”.
Multiciliated cells (MCC) are evolutionary conserved, highly specialized cell types that contain dozens to hundreds of motile cilia that they use to propel fluid directionally. To template these cilia, each MCC produces between 30 and 500 basal bodies via a process termed centriole amplification. Much progress has been made in recent years in understanding the […]
Microtubule (MT) modifications are critical during axon development, with stable MTs populating the axon. How these modifications are spatially coordinated is unclear. Here, via high-resolution microscopy, we show that early developing neurons have fewer somatic acetylated MTs restricted near the centrosome. At later stages, however, acetylated MTs spread out in soma and concentrate in growing […]
Chidera did his undergraduate studies at Saint Louis University (MO), receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Neuroscience. He will be investigating how defects in centrosome biogenesis and structure affect embryonic kidney development. Welcome to the lab!
DeHaven did his undergraduate studies at Westminster College (MO). He then completed a Master of Science degree in Physiological Sciences at the University of Arizona, where he studied the role of microtubule associated proteins in GLUT4 translocation during insulin stimulation . He will be investigating microtubule dynamics and reorganization during stem cell differentiation. Welcome to the lab!
Maneesha did her graduate studies with Dr. Cynthia He at the National University of Singapore. She studied the role of an arginine kinase and the lipidated protein intraflagellar transport (LIFT) pathway in cilia of Trypanosoma brucei. She will be studying cellular pathways that regulate centrosome-cilia protein trafficking. Welcome to the lab!
We are looking for postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and research assistants interested in the biology of microtubules, centrosomes and cilia. Our lab investigates how mutations in centrosomal and ciliary genes disrupt normal cell physiology, leading to human disease syndromes called “Ciliopathies”. These include cystic-fibrotic kidney diseases, and respiratory/airway defects such as Primary Cilia Dyskinesia. Multiple […]
The Mahjoub lab has received a 3-year, $1.83M Investigator-Initiated Research Award from the Department of Defense – Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. The project is titled “Targeting Centrosome Clustering as a Novel Therapy for Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease“. This project focuses on the preclinical evaluation of small molecule inhibitors that target centrosome clustering as a […]
This grant involves a close collaboration with Dr. Susan Dutcher, Professor of Genetics, Cell Biology and Physiology, and Dr. Steven Brody, the Dorothy R. and Hubert C. Moog Professor of Pulmonary Medicine. We received a four-year, $3.14 million RO1 renewal grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to study the “Regulation of Motile Cilia […]
Jennysue will be using cutting-edge imaging techniques, including expansion and superresolution microscopy, to study mechanisms that regulate centriole biogenesis and ciliogenesis in multiciliated cells. Welcome to the lab!
Ewa received a Bekker Programme postdoctoral fellowship from the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange, and will be studying metabolic changes in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease. Welcome to the lab!
Congratulations to first author Rashmi Nanjundappa, as well as former lab member Kyuhwan Shim, for their recent publication. This was a wonderful collaboration with Jadranka Loncarek (NIH) and her postdoc Dong Kong, as well as Steve Brody (Washington University) and Tim Stearns (Stanford). The study, “Regulation of Cilia Abundance in Multiciliated cells” can be found […]
This study was led by Jadranka Loncarek’s group (NIH). They used correlative super-resolution (STORM) microscopy and TEM tomography to characterize the organization of centriole distal appendages in various ciliated cells. The study, titled “High-resolution characterization of centriole distal appendage morphology and dynamics by correlative STORM and electron microscopy” is available online at Nature Communications.
An NIH (T32)-funded postdoctoral position is available in the Mahjoub Lab (Division of Nephrology, Washington University in St. Louis) to study the consequences of centrosomal defects during kidney development and homeostasis. Our group investigates how mutations in centrosomal and ciliary genes disrupt embryonic kidney development and cause renal Ciliopathies including Polycystic Kidney Disease and Nephronophthisis. […]
This was a reunion with the very first member of my lab, Erica Silva. She was an undergrad in Tim Stearns’ lab when I was a postdoc, and joined me when I moved to Washington University. She helped me setup the lab, start experiments, and train the first crew. We published the very first paper from the lab, […]
This study was a large collaboration between labs at UC Davis, Kansas University, University of Colorado and Washington University in St Louis. The project discovered that arginine auxotrophy is a key feature of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The results suggest that dietary arginine depletion, or targeting of the arginine metabolic pathway, may be a new therapeutic avenue in […]
This was a great collaboration with the labs of F. Sessions Cole III (Dept. of Pediatrics), Susan Dutcher (Genetics) and Thomas Ferkol (Pediatrics). The study titled “Functional characterization of biallelic RTTN variants identified in an infant with microcephaly, simplified gyral pattern, pontocerebellar hypoplasia, and seizures” can be found here.
Elif is Moe’s former lab-mate from Stanford, when they were both postdocs in Tim Stearns’ lab. She is now an Assistant Professor at Koc University in Istanbul (Turkey), working on deciphering the functions of centrioles satellites in mammalian cells. She will be spending a month with us here at WashU. You can visit here lab […]
Congratulations to co-first authors Lai Kuan Dionne and Kyuhwan Shim, as well as Tao Cheng, for their recent paper. It was a lot of hard work and the project took over 3 years to complete. This was a wonderful collaboration with Sanjay Jain (WU Nephrology) and his lab members Masato Hoshi and Amanda Knoten, as […]
Ewelina’s paper is now online at eLife. The study shows the presence of an active mechanism that regulates centrosome homeostasis during quiescence, mediated by Cep120.(https://elifesciences.org/articles/35439 ).
It was very nostalgic to go back to Simon Fraser University, and walk the hallways again. Plus, it’s always great to see my old graduate mentor Lynne Quarmby.
This project was led by Dr. Didier Hodzic in the Opthalmology Department at Washington University. The manuscript was published in Neurobiology of Disease and can be found here.
Thanks to the ICTS for their generous support.
This project was led by Dr. Didier Hodzic in the Opthalmology Department at Washington University. The study defined a novel function for the nuclear envelope-associated protein Nesprin1 at centriolar rootlets of various ciliated cell types. The manuscript was published in Current Biology and can be found here.
This was a large collaboration between labs at UC Davis, China Medical University, University of Kansas, Washington University in St Louis, and Karyopharm Therapeutics. This study characterized a new small molecule inhibitor of PAK4 that specifically kills cystic renal epithelial cells, and is now being evaluated in a clinical trial. The manuscript was published in Kidney International and […]
Thanks to the CDI for their generous support.
Thanks to the Washington University Nephrology Division for their generous support.