Cell Adhesion

BIOGRAPHY

ACADEMIC POSITION:
Associate Professor, Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

EDUCATION:
• BA, Magna Cum Laude, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
• PhD, Yale University, 1993 Genetics/Cell Biology
• Postdoctoral Training, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT

POSITIONS AND HONORS:
• Lab Instructor, University of Delaware
• Graduate Student, Dept of Genetics, Yale University
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept of Internal Medicine, Section of Digestive Diseases, Yale School of Medicine.
• The Dr Irwin M Arias Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, American Liver Foundation.
• Associate Research Scientist, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine.
• Associate Professor, Department of Cell and Molecular Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
My research interests are primarily focused on the molecular basis of tight junction assembly and permeability. Tight junctions are the primary barrier to the paracellular transport of ions, macromolecules, and immune cells across an epithelium, and are thus critical to the maintenance of distinct tissue spaces. The protein Zonula Occludens (ZO)-1 is a cytosolic component of the tight junction, and my previous work has suggested that this protein has a key role organizing transmembrane proteins that seal the paracellular space. More recently, I have shown that ZO-1 binds directly to the actin cytoskeleton and have characterized the interaction of ZO-1 with several other actin-binding proteins, including the tyrosine kinase substrate cortactin and the adherens junction protein alpha catenin. These observations suggest that that ZO-1 provides an important functional connection between components of the paracellular seal and the actin cytoskeleton.