Endoplasmic Reticulum
There has been a recent explosion in the number of identified disorders linked to protein misfolding in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), resulting in ER entrapment of exportable proteins accompanied by the deterioration of cell and tissue function. We are exploring potential therapies including treatments designed to avoid ER protein folding overload, enhance endogenous ER chaperone activities, and promote ER-associated degradation of misfolded mutant proteins. It is intended that such therapies will limit cell stress and cell death, and promote restoration of normal cell and tissue physiology.
Meeting Schedule
The Hub meets on the fourth Wednesday of the month from 1:00 pm until 2:30 pm
September 27, 2023 – Bhattacharyya Lab – 4515 BSRB
October 25, 2023 – Arvan Lab – 4515 BSRB
November 29, 2023 – Lieberman Lab – 4515 BSRB
December 20, 2023 – Tsai Lab – 3515 BSRB
January 24, 2024 – Baldridge Lab – 4515 BSRB
February 28, 2024 – Truttmann Lab – 4515 BSRB
March 27, 2024 – Li Lab – 4515 BSRB
April 24, 2024 – Raghavan Lab – 4515 BSRB
May 22, 2024 – Chang Lab – 4515 BSRB
June 26, 2024 – Emmer Lab – 4515 BSRB
July 24, 2024 – Satin Lab – 4515 BSRB
Co Directors
Peter Arvan, M.D., Ph.D.
Peter Arvan is the William and Delores Brehm Professor of Diabetes Research, and Chief of the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology & Diabetes (Depts. of Internal Medicine, and Molecular & Integrative Physiology). His laboratory uses cellular and mouse models to study protein folding and misfolding in pancreatic beta cells (proinsulin) and thyroid epithelial cells (thyroglobulin), in order to discover new treatments for conformational diseases that affect these cells of the endocrine system.
Billy Tsai, Ph.D.
Billy Tsai is the Corydon Ford Collegiate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology. His laboratory is interested in how pathogens exploit a cellular quality control pathway to cause infection.
Members
Ling Qi, Ph.D.
Ling Qi is the Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology and Internal Medicine. His laboratory is broadly interested in the role of protein folding and degradation in endoplasmic reticulum and inflammation in human health and disease. They have recently generated new animal models recapitulating human obesity, type-1 diabetes and type-2 diabetes. Using cell biological, immunological and physiological tools, they strive to make discoveries and gain novel insights into the pathogenesis of human diseases.
Les Satin, Ph.D.
Les Satin is a Professor of Pharmacology, and Affiliate Professor of Medicine (MEND division). His laboratory uses fluorescence calcium imaging methods, novel optical probes, patch clamp electrophysiology, and mathematical modeling to study the cellular and molecular basis of beta cell metabolic and secretory function and diabetes.
Malini Raghavan, Ph.D.
Malini Raghavan is Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and faculty member in the Immunology, Cellular and Molecular Biology and Biophysics graduate programs. Her laboratory studies human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I polymorphisms and their influences on protein folding and immunity, and the biology of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperones.
Amy Chang, Ph.D.
Amy Chang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology. The Chang lab uses yeast as a model system to understand regulation of lipid homeostasis and the cellular consequences of lipid toxicity.
Stephanie Moon, Ph.D.
Stephanie Moon is Assistant Professor of Human Genetics and a Faculty Scholar of the Center for RNA Biomedicine. Her laboratory is interested in how genes are expressed via the coordinated regulation of messenger RNAs at the levels of translation, localization, and decay. They study mRNA regulation in the context of human disease and stress, with a particular interest in neurological disorders. Their research aims to reveal the underlying principles and mechanisms governing mRNA in both health and disease to elucidate new therapeutic and diagnostic strategies.
Andrew Lieberman, M.D., Ph.D.
Andrew Lieberman is the Gerald Abrams Collegiate Professor of Pathology and Director of Neuropathology. His laboratory uses cellular and mouse models to study inherited forms of neurodegeneration in hopes of identifying targets for therapeutic intervention.
Jianming Li, Ph.D.
JIanming Li is a Professor in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the Academic Program Director of the UM-PKU Joint Institute. His laboratory is using Arabidopsis as a genetic model organism to investigate the molecular mechanism of plant steroid signaling.
Qing Li, M.D., Ph.D.
Qing Li is an Associate Professor in Internal Medicine and Cell & Developmental Biology. The focus of her research is to identify the signaling mechanisms that regulate hematopoietic stem cell functions, under normal and diseased conditions. Some areas of research interests include: ER stress signaling and protein quality control in HSCs, metabolic reprogramming in leukemic stem cells, Ras signaling in HSC dysregulations, fatty acid metabolism in HSCs and the role of CDX2 in leukemogenesis.
Ryan Baldridge, Ph.D.
Ryan Baldridge is an Assistant Professor in Biological Chemistry. His laboratory is interested in the basic mechanisms of membrane-bound protein-quality control systems. We plan to determine how membrane-bound systems select substrates to identify cellular pathways regulated by these systems (including ERAD).
Matthias Truttmann, Ph.D.
Matthias Truttmann is an Assistant Professor in Molecular and Integrative Physiology and a Research Assistant Professor in the Institute of Gerontology. His lab studies how post-translational protein modifications regulate chaperone function. In particular, they are interested in a novel modification, called AMPylation, which recently emerged as a key regulator of HSP70 chaperone activity.
Brian Emmer, M.D.
Brian Emmer is an Assistant Professor in Internal Medicine. His lab is interested in functional genomics and has applied high-throughput CRISPR technology to identify genetic modifiers of various cellular pathways, including ER-Golgi trafficking, lipoprotein metabolism, and SARS-CoV-2 host interactions.