A big welcome to our new Summer Scholar Arushi Katyal!

A big welcome to our new Summer Scholar Arushi Katyal!
Arushi is a sophomore at Boston College, and is joining the lab for 2 months as part of the WU Pediatric Center of Excellence in Nephrology (PCEN) Summer Scholar program. She will be investigating how defects in centrosome biogenesis affect the immune response during embryonic kidney development. Welcome to the lab!

Ewa’s new preprint about the effects of Cep120/centrosome loss in the kidney stromal progenitors is now on bioRxiv

Ewa’s new preprint about the effects of Cep120/centrosome loss in the kidney stromal progenitors is now on bioRxiv
Reciprocal signaling between progenitor cells of the stromal mesenchyme (SM), metanephric mesenchyme and ureteric bud is critical for proper mammalian kidney morphogenesis. Several of these signaling pathways are regulated by the centrosome, and its associated structure the primary cilium. Mutations in genes that disrupt centrosome biogenesis or function cause congenital kidney developmental defects and lead […]

Tao’s new preprint on the consequences of Cep120/centrosome loss in nephron progenitors during kidney development is now on bioRxiv

Tao’s new preprint on the consequences of Cep120/centrosome loss in nephron progenitors during kidney development is now on bioRxiv
Mutations that disrupt centrosome structure or function cause congenital kidney developmental defects and fibrocystic pathologies. Yet, it remains unclear how mutations in proteins essential for centrosome biogenesis impact embryonic kidney development. Here, we examined the consequences of conditional deletion of a ciliopathy gene, Cep120, in the two nephron progenitor niches of the embryonic kidney. Cep120 loss led to […]

Our collaboration on roles of GEMC1/MCIDAS during multiciliogenesis is published in Cell Death and Disease

Our collaboration on roles of GEMC1/MCIDAS during multiciliogenesis is published in Cell Death and Disease
Multiciliated cells (MCCs) project dozens to hundreds of motile cilia from their apical surface to promote the movement of fluids or gametes in the mammalian brain, airway or reproductive organs. Differentiation of MCCs requires the sequential action of the Geminin family transcriptional activators, GEMC1 and MCIDAS, that both interact with E2F4/5-DP1. How these factors activate […]

Our collaboration on the role of Cep120 in  axon development is published in Cell Reports

Our collaboration on the role of Cep120 in  axon development is published in Cell Reports
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 […]

Welcome to our new research assistant Chidera Agwu!

Welcome to our new research assistant Chidera Agwu!
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!

Welcome to our new graduate rotation student DeHaven McCrary!

Welcome to our new graduate rotation student DeHaven McCrary!
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!

Welcome our new postdoc Dr. Maneesha Pandey!

Welcome our new postdoc Dr. Maneesha Pandey!
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!