This is a past event
Science Center, Lipton Lecture Hall, E110

Magdalena Bezanilla, PhD
E.E. Just Professor of Biology, Dartmouth College

The Bezanilla lab has pioneered the use of the moss Physcomitrium patens as a model system to interrogate how proteins within the cell direct and regulate extracellular matrix deposition, ultimately impacting cell growth and morphogenesis. The lab has particularly focused on the regulation of the cytoskeleton and the intersection between actin and microtubules. In the process, the laboratory has developed such tools as RNA interference (RNAi), quantitative complementation analyses, rapid quantitative growth assays, CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing and advanced imaging for use in P. patens to characterize cell growth and development. Using a multidisciplinary approach, recent work has led to detailed models for polarized cell expansion, the influence of calcium and the integration of cytoskeletal systems for directional persistence in growth. Current and future work aims to bring together multiple cell biological fields to determine how the extracellular matrix is patterned culminating in understanding how single cells shape organisms.

Additional Info

The Bezanilla Lab

Contact Info

Leah Davis
(413) 542-2097
Please call the college operator at 413-542-2000 or e-mail info@amherst.edu if you require contact info @amherst.edu