Detailed Biography:

Mechanism of Signal Transduction Mediated by G Proteins The long term goal of our research program is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which signals are transduced and processed by cells. One major research effort is directed toward understanding how GTP-binding regulatory proteins (G proteins) interact with receptors and effectors to produce intracellular signals in retinal photoreceptors and neurons. A second major project focuses on studying the role of small G proteins in intracellular targeting and in phagocytosis. To tackle these two intricate problems, we employ a combination of biochemical, biophysical and genetic approaches. These include 1) biochemical characterization of the transduction pathways by reconstitution using purified receptors, G proteins and effectors, 2) localization of key proteins involved in signaling in cells with specific antibodies and confocal microscopy, 3) investigation of the structures of recombinant signal transducing proteins by site-directed mutagenesis and fluorescence spectroscopy, and 4) determination of the biosynthetic pathways involved in the posttranslation modification of transduction proteins.