Cell Biology, Development & Physiology
Faculty of the Division of Cell Biology, Development & Physiology (CDP) pursue research aimed at detailed understanding of: the structure and function of cellular components, such as membranes, organelles, chromosomes and the cytoskeleton; cellular processes, such as epithelial transport, cell motility, mitosis, protein targeting and secretion, stem cell plasticity, and eukaryotic cell cycle control; tumor biology; cellular physiology; the origin of cell polarity; and the molecular and cellular basis for axis formation, morphogenetic movements, fate determination, and gene regulation during embryogenesis and cellular differentiation. These issues are being addressed in systems as diverse as yeast, fruit flies, worms, sea urchins, frogs, mice and mammalian cells in culture, and these studies exploit techniques ranging from molecular biology and microinjection to digital imaging and mathematical modeling. Specialized equipment for confocal fluorescence microscopy, video imaging, and computer simulations are available in shared core facilities in Weill Hall where many of the faculty are housed.
Faculty
The following is an alphabetical list of active MCB faculty members in the division and brief descriptions of their research. Additional faculty lists are available using the following links:
Emeriti and Professors of the Graduate School | Secondary Divisional Affiliates
Anna Arruda
Professor, Affiliated of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Diana Bautista
Howard Hughes Investigator and Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Molecular mechanisms of transduction in touch and pain receptors
Eric Betzig
Howard Hughes Investigator and Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Development of new tools for imaging and image analysis to enable biological discovery
David Bilder
Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Genetics of cell and tissue architecture
Gloria Brar
Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Regulation of meiotic translation, the roles of pervasive short translation products, and the co-option of stress responses for cellular differentiation through meiosis
Abby Dernburg
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Chromosome organization and dynamics during meiosis
David G. Drubin
Ernette Comby Chair in Microbiology Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Actin and microtubule cytoskeletons in yeast and mammalian cells
Gary Firestone
Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Molecular endocrinology; tumor biology
Daniel A. Fletcher
Professor (Affiliated) of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Mechanics and dynamics of cell movements on the purified protein, single cell, and tissue levels
Meng-meng Fu
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Cytoskeleton and transport in glia
Iswar Hariharan
Department Co-Chair and Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Mechanisms of control of growth and cell proliferation. Regulation of regenerative growth.
Lin He
Associate Professor and Thomas and Stacey Siebel Distinguished Chair in Stem Cell Research Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
microRNA functions in cancer development, mouse tumor models
Rebecca Heald
Department Co-Chair and Flora Lamson Hewlett Chair and Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Mitotic spindle assembly and function in Xenopus laevis
Dirk Hockemeyer
Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Telomere biology of human stem cells
James Hurley
Kirsch Springer Chair in Biological Sciences and Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Structural membrane biology
Gary Karpen
Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Chromosome structure and function
Arash Komeili
Professor (Affiliated) of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Assembly and Subcellular Organization of Bacterial Organelles
Samantha Lewis
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Mitochondrial biology; mitochondrial genome integrity in health and disease
Ellen Lumpkin
Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Molecular mechanisms in somatosensory decoding
Kunxin Luo
Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Signal transduction pathways mediated by receptors and the mechanisms controlling the activity of the receptor kinases
James Olzmann
Associate Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Regulation of cellular lipid homeostasis: lipid droplets, lipotoxicity, and ferroptosis
Michael Rape
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Protein ubiquitination, degradation and the control of cell division and differentiation
Randy Schekman
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Organelle assembly; protein transport
Ian Swinburne
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Multi-scale mechanisms of organ form and function
Denis Titov
Assistant Professor (Affiliated) of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Metabolism and mechanisms of aging
Srigokul Upadhyayula (Gokul)
Assistant Professor in Residence of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Multifunctional adaptive optical microscopy; 3D subcellular dynamics; computational tools for tera- to petabyte-scale projects.
Matthew Welch
Professor of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Cytoskeletal function in cell migration, membrane trafficking and microbial pathogenesis
Emeriti and Professors of the Graduate School
Beth Burnside
Professor Emerita of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Cell biology of the photoreceptor cytoskeleton
W. Zacheus Cande
Professor Emeritus of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Cell and developmental biology
John Gerhart
Professor of the Graduate School Division of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Developmental biology
Terry Machen
Professor of the Graduate School Division of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Epithelial transport; cellular and membrane physiology
G. Steven Martin
Professor Emeritus of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Cell biology; tumor virology
Howard Mel
Professor Emeritus of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
David Weisblat
Professor of the Graduate School Division of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Developmental biology
Fred Wilt
Professor of the Graduate School Division of Cell Biology, Development and Physiology
Molecular embryology; cell biology
Secondary Divisional Affiliates
The following faculty have a secondary affiliation with the Cell & Developmental Biology division.
Georjana Barnes
Judy Chandler Webb Endowed Chair and Professor of Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development
Microtubule cytoskeleton and cell cycle controls
Greg Barton
Howard Hughes Investigator and Professor of Immunology and Molecular Medicine
Innate immune system
Jeffery Cox
C.H. Li Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Endocrinology, Professor of Immunology and Molecular Medicine
Molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis and immune evasion in mycobacteria
Michel DuPage
Assistant Professor of Immunology and Molecular Medicine
Epigenetic control of the functional plasticity of T cells in disease
Nicole King
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development
Choanoflagellates, animal origins, and the evolution of host-microbe interactions
Doug Koshland
Richard and Rhoda Goldman Distinguished Chair in the Biological Sciences & Professor of Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development
Mechanisms and principles that mediate desiccation tolerance and the structure, integrity, and evolution of chromosomes
Eva Nogales
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology
Structure-function of macromolecular assemblies: cytoskeleton self-assembly and nucleic acid transactions
Ellen Robey
Professor of Immunology and Molecular Medicine
Fate determination in the T-lymphocyte lineage
Jeremy Thorner
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology
Signal transduction mechanisms; biochemistry; molecular genetics; cell biology
Elçin Ünal
Associate Professor of Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development
Molecular basis of cellular rejuvenation, gene regulation during cellular differentiation
Roberto Zoncu
Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology
How organelles sense nutrients and regulate cellular growth