The CMBL pursues a number of projects aimed at investigating the mechanics of sub-cellular structures at the nanometer scale, in addition to developing tools to enable such studies. Below, you'll find a list of projects and links to relevant poster presentations, publications, and additional data or computer code. The graduate students affiliated with each project are identified. We have divided our projects into those related to Basic Research & Modeling and Tools & Techniques. Also, a full list of publications related to the CMBL's work can be found here. Basic Research & Modeling Microtubule Assembly Dynamics at the Nanoscale Dr. Henry T. Schek, III Link to the article Schek HT, Gardner MK, Cheng J, Odde DJ, Hunt AJ, "Microtubule Assembly Dynamics at the Nanoscale", Current Biology, 17, 1445-1455, 2007. A Mechanistic Model for Mitosis Dr. Ajit Joglekar We have developed a quantitative computer model for mitosis, which accurately predicts the observed motions of chromosomes in vivo. MatLab Source Code Link to the article Joglekar AP, Hunt AJ, "A simple, mechanistic model for directional instability during mitotic chromosome movements", Biophysical Journal, 83, 42-58, 2002. Optical Tweezers-Based Study of Isolated Mitotic Chromosomes Dr. Gary Brouhard This project uses optical tweezers to bring individual microtubules into contact with isolated mitotic chromosomes, in order to study the behavior of motor proteins localized to the chromosome during mitosis. Poster presented at the 2002 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting Link to the article Brouhard GJ, Hunt AJ, "Microtubule movements on the arms of mitotic chromosomes: Polar ejection forces quantified in vitro", PNAS, 102, 13903-13908, 2005. Optical Tweezers-Based Study of Microtubule Polymerization Dynamics Dr. Henry T. Schek, III In this study, microtubules are attached to glass beads held by the optical tweezers, and the microtubules polymerize into rigid barriers. Poster presented at the 2007 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting Microtubule Motility on Doublet Microtubules Isolated From Bull Sperm David Lorch In this study, microtubules glide along active dynein on axonemal doublet microtubules. Poster presented at the 2005 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting Stem Cell Regulation During Ageing Dr. Jun Cheng Asymmetric division of adult stem cells generates one self-renewing stem cell and one differentiating cell, thereby maintaining tissue homeostasis. We found that changes in the stem cell orientation with respect to the niche during ageing contribute to the decline in spermatogenesis in the male germ line of Drosophila. Link to the article Cheng J, Turkel N, Hemati N, Fuller MT, Hunt AJ, and Yamashita YM, "Centrosome misorientation reduces stem cell division during ageing", Nature, 456, 599-604, 2008. The Study of Chromosome Directional Instability by Ultrafast Laser Microsurgery Dr. Kevin Ke By taking advantage of extremely precise femtosecond pulsed laser microsurgery, we abruptly alter the magnitude of polar ejection forces (PEFs) by severing vertebrate chromosome arms to directly study the role of PEFs. We found that PEFs' reduction increases the amplitude of directional instability. Based on the relation between the change in oscillation amplitude and the amount a chromosome arm is shortened, we discovered the distribution of PEFs is surprisingly different from previously assumed distributions. Link to the article Ke K, Cheng J, and Hunt AJ, "The distribution of polar ejection forces determines amplitude of chromosome directional instability", Current Biology, 19, 807-815, 2009. Tools & Techniques Advanced Optical Tweezers for the Study of Cellular and Molecular Biomechanics Drs. Gary Brouhard and Henry T. Schek, III Poster presented at BMES 2001 Link to the article Brouhard GJ, Schek HT, Hunt AJ, "Advanced optical tweezers for the study of cellular and molecular biomechanics", IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng., 50, 121-125, 2003. Cellular Microsurgery with Ultrafast Infrared Lasers Dr. Ajit Joglekar This project uses ultrafast infrared lasers to selectively ablate intracellular structures, with minimum collateral damage to other areas of the cell. Poster presented at the 2002 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting Nanoscale Protein Patterning Via Nano-Imprint Lithography Dr. Damon Hoff Poster presented at the 2004 Biophysical Society Annual Meeting Link to the article Hoff JD, Cheng L-J, Meyhofer E, Guo LJ, Hunt AJ, "Nanoscale Protein Patterning by Imprint Lithography", Nano Letters, 4, 853-857, 2004. Micropatterned Structures for Studying the Mechanics of Biological Polymers Dr. Henry T. Schek, III Link to the article Schek HT, Hunt AJ, "Micropatterned structures for studying the mechanics of biological polymers", Biomedical Microdevices, 7, 41-46, 2005. Nanofabrication Using Femtosecond Pulsed Lasers Dr. Kevin Ke Poster presented in 2004 at the 11th Annual Cellular Biotechnology Training Program (CBTP) Spring Symposium and in 2004 at the 2nd Annual Ann Arbor High Intensity Ultrafast Laser Symposium Poster presented in 2005 at the 5th Annual Emerging Industry Symposium and in 2005 at the 12th Annual CBTP Spring Symposium Link to the article Ke K, Hasselbrink EF Jr, and Hunt AJ, "Rapidly prototyped three-dimensional nanofluidic channel networks in glass substrates", Analytical Chemistry, 77, 5083-5088, 2005.
Copyright © 2002. Gary Brouhard. Maintained by David Lorch.