Faculty Research: Qian Chen
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Professor Office: WO 4267B Ph.D. University of Texas, Austin Publications |
Research
Actin, a ubiquitous eukaryotic protein, plays an essential role in many biological processes of human cells including muscle contraction, immune response, and cell proliferation. We are interested in understanding how actin-assembled cellular structures drive and regulate cell proliferation. We employ yeast genetics, high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, and computational image analysis in our research.
Two main focuses of our lab are:
1. Regulation of actin structures during cell proliferation. Actin structures undergo
constant turnover during cell division through their interactions with dozens of actin-binding
proteins by unknown mechanisms. We aim to understand this process with quantitative
microscopy.
2. Crosstalk between actin structures and signaling pathways during cell proliferation.
A few kinase cascades serve as the master regulators of cell division but their interaction
with actin is poorly understood. We are studying how such a cascade, the Hippo tumor
suppressor pathway, interacts with actin structures.