Research

Postdoctoral Research

To be updated soon!

PhD Research

Proteins play an integral role in nearly all cellular processes. Most proteins do not work alone. Instead they form and function as intricate nanomachines. To understand which proteins assemble into these machines, many proteome-wide studies have been conducted to determine the composition of proteins in complex. Additionally, we require the 3D structure of these protein complexes to understand how they perform their function.

Electron cryo-microscopy (cryoEM) has become an indispensable tool for structural studies of biological macromolecules. One of the key advantages of cryoEM over other methods is the ability to take images of many single particles in parallel. Critically, these particles do not need to be homogenous or locked in a single conformation. The two predominant methods of cryoEM are single-particle analysis and tomography of whole cells or cell sections.

My current research interests are at the interface of proteomics, single particle cryoEM and image processing. In contrast to traditional structural approaches, I am developing methods to study protein complexes directly from extracts of cells. To improve this “shotgun” approach to cryoEM, I am also developing new algorithms for processing extremely heterogeneous data. This approach can elucidate novel structures and bypass purification of challenging proteins from diverse cellular systems.