Welcome
to the the Rogers Lab Website. We are a part of the
Department of Biology
and
the Carolina Center for
Genome Sciences at
the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill.
The
research in our lab is centered on understanding the
mechanisms and principles of cellular movement.
Cytoskeletal filaments - composed of actin and microtubules
- serve as a structural scaffolding that defines the
architecture of the cytoplasm and give cells the ability to
divide, crawl, and change their shape. We are interested in
understanding how cells regulate cytoskeletal dynamics to
produce movement. Our primary model system is the fruit
fly, Drosophila
melanogaster as it
allows us to use functional genomic tools and classical
genetic techniques to study gene function at the level of
individual cells and during development.
Current
projects in the lab address crosstalk between the
cytoskeletal networks by microtubule tip-associated
proteins, the regulation of centrosome duplication, and the
role of actin dynamics in cellular protrusion.
The
laboratory is currently supported by funding from
the NIH,
the American Heart
Association,
the Consortium for Cell
Migration, and
the Beckman Foundation.