Dr. Nelson in the Rudy J. and Daphne Donohue Munzer Professor in the School of Medicine and Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology.
Our research seeks to understand how cell interactions specify the correct cellular organization of complex tissues, and how structurally and functionally different plasma membrane domains are assembled and tailored to specific tissue and organ functions. We take multi-faceted experimental approaches to these problems including: biophysical methods using single molecules; in vitro reconstitution with purified proteins; state-of-the art live cell fluorescence microscopy; and analysis of abnormalities in cellular and subcellular organization in disease states. We focus on experimentally tractable model cell systems that can be examined mechanistically by biochemical and cell biological approaches, although we are now working with more complex developmental systems including Zebrafish and Dictyostelium. Our research has provided detailed molecular insights into protein-protein interactions and mechanisms that link cell-cell adhesion to the functional differentiation of cells.
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