Abstract: Recent progress in our lab and others illustrates that networks composed of proteins with a high degree of intrinsic disorder may provide the necessary flexibility to facilitate efficient assembly of functional protein complexes at membrane surfaces. We found that a flexible network of disordered proteins helps to catalyze the assembly of endocytic structures at the plasma membrane. Interestingly, the stability of this dynamic network is regulated by ubiquitination of both the endocytic machinery and transmembrane cargo proteins. This understanding provides new insight into the optimal design of therapeutic carriers that harness endocytosis for cellular entry. More broadly, our lab seeks to understand and mimic the ability of biological membranes to spontaneously reorganize in response to diverse cues. This remarkable capacity for self-organization, which is largely absent in man-made materials, holds great promise for the design of active materials and cell-like therapeutic systems.
Department Research Area:
Cellular and Biomolecular Engineering
Molecular, Cellular and Tissue Biomechanics
RESEARCH FOCUS
Biological membranes, biophysics, and drug delivery.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Professor Stachowiak is interested in the biophysical mechanisms that underlie the function of lipid membranes in cells, as well as the opportunity to create bio-inspired materials and systems that borrow these mechanisms. Her laboratory develops new lipid membrane substrates and lipid-encapsulated systems and examines them using advanced microfluidic and fluorescence microscopy tools. By reconstructing membranes from component parts, her work seeks to capture the minimal requirements of specific membrane functions. Themes of her work include: Understanding how proteins and lipid domains modify the fluidity, reactivity, and 3D architecture of membranes, Examining how confinement within a lipid vesicle influences biochemical reactions and spatial organization of biochemical components and Using the organizational principles of the lipid membrane to build functional systems such as assays, drug carriers, and environmentally responsive materials.