Michael Rosen (UT Southwestern / HHMI): Cell Organization on Micron Length Scales

www.ibiology.org/cell-biology/cell-organization/

Talk Overview: Michael Rosen argues that we have considerable insight into the mechanisms of cellular structures at the smallest and largest scales (e.g., proteins and organelles, respectively). However, we know little about intermediate-sized structures, such as lamellipodia, focal adhesions, and budding vesicles, which exist at the micron length scale. He considers the need for new tools, approaches, and ways of thinking to investigate the mechanisms of these structures and understand their functionality.

Speaker Biography: Michael Rosen is Chair of the Department of Biophysics at University of Texas Southwestern and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He studies the assembly and disassembly of actin filaments, a major component of the cytoskeletal network in cells, and how these filaments organize into higher-order assemblies.