Projects

The liquid phase nature of intracellular condensates has implications not only for physiological function, but also for its dysregulation in disease. Neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimers, and Huntington’s disease are associated with solid-like protein inclusions comprised of semi-crystalline amyloid fibers.…

Our work on intracellular organization spans biology, engineering, and physics, and we believe that thes efforts have the potential to uncover entirely new physics. For example, although our work has revealed that the thermodynamic concept of liquid-liquid phase equilibrium is…

Membrane-less condensates can play roles within the cell comparable to those described for conventional membrane-bound organelles, including molecular sequestration, facilitating metabolic reactions, and channeling and amplifying intracellular signaling. The name organelle, comes from the fact that these structures are to…

Of the dozens of liquid phase membrane-less bodies in the cell, nuclear bodies are particularly interesting, since they directly interact with and regulate the genome (Fig. 1). Our work to date has focused on nucleoli, the most prominent nuclear body…