Description of Research Expertise

Research Interests: cell division, intracellular signaling

Keywords: mitosis, meiosis, chromosome segregation, centromere, kinetochore, kinase signaling, cytoskeleton, microscopy

Research Details:

Our research focuses on cell division in several contexts. Currently there are two main research areas in the lab. The first is regulation of kinetochore-microtubule interactions, which are crucial for accurate chromosome segregation and maintenance of genome integrity. We use a variety of experimental approaches to manipulate enzymatic activities, such as kinases, at kinetochores and to measure the effects of these perturbations in living cells. Examples include chemically-induced dimerization to recruit activities to kinetochores with precise temporal control, FRET-based biosensors that report on phosphorylation changes with high temporal and spatial resolution in live cells, and photoactivatable fluorescent proteins to measure protein dynamics. We are also reconstituting a diffusion based signaling mechanism for a key mitotic kinase, Aurora B, from purified components in vitro. We exploit these experimental tools to develop and test mathematical models for kinase signaling and microtubule dynamics.

A second research area is nonrandom chromosome segregation in meiosis, also known as meiotic drive. Because of the inherent asymmetry of female meiosis, only chromosomes that segregate to the egg go into a gamete. Any bias away from random segregation, in violation of Mendel’s First Law, is therefore under strong positive selection and has significant consequences for centromere and karyotype evolution and for speciation. Despite the importance of the phenomenon, the mechanistic basis for nonrandom segregation is mysterious. We are using Robertsonian fusions in mouse oocytes as a model to understand the cell biological mechanisms underlying meiotic drive, how the direction of drive is determined, and (most intriguingly) how it can switch, leading to dramatic changes in karyotype.

Rotation Projects:
Please contact Dr. Lampson to discuss potential rotation projects.

Lab Personnel:
Ed Ballister, graduate student
Maomao Zhang, graduate student
Olga Davydenko, graduate student
Lukas Chmatal, graduate student
Evan Smoak, graduate student (co-mentored with Dr. Ben Black)
Dario Segura-Pena, postdoc
Muyi Li, undergraduate
Priyanka Kothari, undergraduate