Saint Louis University (SLU)
I am interested in the mechanisms by which the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) controls cellular functions in health and disease, as part of protein quality control (abnormal protein clearance, proteostasis, proteotoxicity) and signaling (cell growth & division, differentiation & life span progression, transcriptional regulation, generation of immunogenic peptides for MHC-I molecules). My independent research has initially focused on SCF, the founding member of Cullin-based E3 ubiquitin ligases. The current clinically-related interests focus on the roles of UPS in type 1 diabetes onset, pediatric alpha1 liver disease, and FSHD muscle degeneration. Each of these projects, while developed relatively recently, benefits from my long-term experience with analysis of: 1) protein ubiquitination, E3 ubiquitin ligases, and the proteasome function and regulation; 2) molecular chaperones, protein folding and aggregation; and 3) diverse models, from in vitro systems to yeast, mouse and human cells. Highly collaborative multi-disciplinary approaches are the hallmark of my research.