RESEARCH
Our lab is largely interested in working at the interface of biology, optics, and biophysics to answer fundamental questions in cellular trafficking and its regulation. We resolve these fundamental questions using a home-built super-resolution microscope based on a single-molecule localization approach (Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy (STORM) and Photo-Activated Localization Microscopy (PALM).
Live cell imaging of Microtubule-associated Proteins
My project aims to understand how cells employ tiny molecular motors for the long-range transport of mitochondria along the microtubule tracks. Certain features of neurons like highly polarised microtubule architecture and axonal length ranging in meters make regulation of motor-based transport uniquely complex. Adding to this complexity, mitochondrial transport is tightly coordinated in response to mitochondrial fission-fusion dynamics, which maintains a healthy mitochondrial pool in the cells. Dissecting the mechanistic regulation of how, when and why these ‘power packs of the cells’ move is of great interest due to a strong correlation between abnormal spatiotemporal positioning of mitochondria and neurodegenerative disorders like ALS, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s. The interplay of Mitochondrial fission-fusion dynamics and transport in mitochondrial positioning & Implications in neurodegeneration.
Conventional vs Superresolution image