Roberto Dominguez, Ph.D.
Roberto Dominguez
Professor of Physiology
Department: Physiology
Graduate Group Affiliations
Contact information
A507 Richards Bldg
3700 Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6085
3700 Hamilton Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6085
Office: 215-573-4559
Fax: 215-573-5851
Fax: 215-573-5851
Email:
droberto@mail.med.upenn.edu
droberto@mail.med.upenn.edu
Publications
Education:
M.S. (Theoretical Physics & Mathematics)
Faculty of Physics, Odessa University, former USSR, 1987.
Ph.D. (Protein Crystallography and Biochemistry)
Pasteur Institute and Paris-Sud University, Paris, France, 1996.
Permanent linkM.S. (Theoretical Physics & Mathematics)
Faculty of Physics, Odessa University, former USSR, 1987.
Ph.D. (Protein Crystallography and Biochemistry)
Pasteur Institute and Paris-Sud University, Paris, France, 1996.
Description of Research Expertise
Structural Biology of the Actin CytoskeletonThe actin cytoskeleton plays an essential role in multiple cellular functions, including cytokinesis, vesicular trafficking and the maintenance of cell shape and polarity. To accomplish these functions, the actin cytoskeleton undergoes dynamic remodeling into various forms of structural and functional networks, such as lamellipodia, filopodia, stress fibers and focal adhesions. Remodeling of the cytoskeleton is a tightly regulated process, involving hundreds of actin-binding and signaling proteins. The main focus of the research in our lab is to understand the molecular basis for how protein-protein interaction networks bring together cytoskeleton scaffolding, nucleation, elongation, and signaling proteins to accomplish specific cellular functions. Our primary research tool is protein X-ray crystallography, but we also use a host of other approaches, including mutagenesis, bio-informatics, biophysical and biochemical methods.