|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Namiko Abe
Neurosciences
Bio-X Paul Berg Biomedical Graduate Student Fellowship
Professor Tobias Meyer (Chemical & Systems Biology)
Graduated 2007
Although phosphoinositides (PIs) represent a minor fraction of cellular lipids, they are integral components of cell membranes. Recent evidence suggests that PIs not only have a structural role but may also act as important second messengers during membrane trafficking events. The Meyer laboratory in collaboration with Tom Wandless's group developed a chemically-inducible translocation strategy to rapidly synthesize or degrade specific PIs at the plasma membrane. Namiko planned to make improvements upon this chemical strategy while developing new bioengineered probes to manipulate levels of different PIs in specific membrane compartments. She then used these tools to investigate the role of specific PI species in various steps of receptor-mediated endocytosis as well as the synaptic vesicle cycle. |
 |
|
 |
|
|
