- Department
- Email Address
- [email protected]
- Research Areas
- Research Keywords
- Research Description
My research studies plant cells. More specifically, I look at the processes that underlie oil production in seeds; the capacity of viruses to infect plant cells and the consequences of such infections; and, the structure and role of proteins that exist embedded in the membrane of plant cells.
- Research Summary
My research focuses on three main areas of plant cell biology:
1) Characterization of enzymes involved in seed oil biosynthesis.
2) Understanding various aspects of the biogenesis of peroxisomes, including how membrane proteins are targeted to this organelle, and what role the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) serves in the formation of peroxisomes.
3) Identification and characterization of a unique class of integral membrane proteins known as "Tail-Anchored" (TA) proteins.- Techniques Used
My research takes advantage of a wide range of cellular and molecular technologies, as well as biochemical and microscopic approaches. We also routinely carry out heterologous expression of plant genes in yeast and mammalian cells as a means to provide insights to different aspects of the processes being examined.
- Locations of international collaborators
U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of California-Davis, University of Florida, University of Minnesota, University of North Texas, Boston University School of Medicine, Ohio University, East Tennessee State University, Metabolon Inc. (USA); University of Göttingen, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology (Germany); Nicolaus Copernicus University (Poland); Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sweden); CSIRO Agriculture and Food (Australia); Seoul National University of Science and Technology (South Korea).
- Links