Washington University in St. Louis (WU)
The Wang lab is interested in understanding how subcellular compartments are organized to create functional molecular machines.
Our work is driven by fundamental cell biological questions: How are the micron-scale functions of organelles determined by the assembly of nanometer-scale proteins? How do complex structures grow and duplicate? How are non-membrane-bound organelles differentiated from the cytoplasm?
The Wang lab studies these questions in the context of the mammalian centrosome-cilium complex. This highly conserved structure is involved in cell division, signaling and motility. We use CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, high resolution microscopy, and biochemical techniques to investigate how this organelle is created, organized, and functions.