Nearly every biological process depends on a cell’s ability to accurately detect and appropriately respond to cues from its environment and from other cells. While these cues are incredibly diverse, ranging from photons to chemicals to peptides and proteins, information processing within the cell is achieved using a limited number of common signal transduction pathways. How these processes are regulated in space and time to encode stimulus-specific responses remains poorly understood.
The overarching goal of our lab is to investigate how the biochemical organization of the cell precisely regulates signal transduction. Our research focuses on signaling mediated by G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), the largest and most diverse family of transmembrane receptors. Upon activation at the plasma membrane, many GPCRs undergo endocytosis, and this trafficking has profound effects on downstream cellular responses. Using a combination of biochemistry, cell biology, and proteomics approaches, we aim to characterize the molecular mechanisms by which GPCRs and their associated proteins translocate during signaling and explore how this dynamic organization encodes the appropriate physiological responses to stimuli.
