Current Research
Our lab has two main goals: to understand the regulation of entry into and progression through mitosis and meiosis, and to understand the basic logic of signaling cascades and loops. We often make use of Xenopus laevis oocytes, eggs, and cell-free extracts for both sorts of study.
Research Description | Hysteresis | Oscillators | Etc.
Much
of our research centers on the signal transduction pathways that trigger Xenopus
oocyte maturation. This is an intrinsically important question--it sits at
the heart of understanding fertility and reproduction--with a rich history
of spinning off discoveries with broad implications for our understanding
of the cell cycle (e.g. the discovery of M-phase promoting factor, MPF).
In addition, the signal transduction networks that trigger Xenopus oocyte
maturation--the MAPK cascade and the Cdc2-cyclin B system--are of great importance
in many biological contexts. We are studying how these networks function as
systems. The oocyte provides in vitro and ex vivo experimental systems of
unequaled power for carrying out quantitative biochemical studies, and we
complement these experimental studies with computational approaches.
Under construction
Under construction