Diseases of protein biogenesis and trafficking affecting epithelial cells

Description of projects available to graduate students:
Our group studies protein folding and degradation mechanisms in epithelial cells and the genetic diseases where defects in these processes are manifest. Our goal is to understand the basic mechanisms responsible for failure of protein trafficking and to invent and evaluate therapies for their correction.

Techniques graduate student will learn:
Protein interaction assays; protein localization and function assays using cellular imaging and electrical measurements; model gene expression systems and native, polarized human epithelia, including primary culture models of human airways.