Michael Ostap

Professor, Senior Vice Dean and Chief Scientific Officer, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

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215-573-9758
ostap@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

700A Clinical Research Building

415 Curie Boulevard

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Research Description

The goal of our research is to understand the cellular machinery responsible for powering cell movements and shaping the architecture of cells, tissues, and organs.   Our discovery-based research focuses on the role of the cytoskeleton, molecular motors, and signaling pathways in powering cell migration, muscle contraction, and the transport of internal cell compartments.  The pathways investigated in our laboratory are crucial for several normal and pathological processes, including: cell and tissue development, endocytosis, wound healing, immune response, cardiomyopathies, and metastases of tumors.  We use a range of biochemical, cell biological, and biophysical techniques in our research.  These techniques include stopped-flow kinetics, single-molecule fluorescence, optical trapping, and live-cell microscopy. 

Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives

  • Mentor, Penn Summer Undergraduate Internship Program
Degrees & Education

BS, Chemistry, Illinois State University, 1988

PhD, Biochemistry, University of Minnesota, 1993

Honors & Awards

Honorary Fellow, AAAS

MERIT AWARD, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH

Established Investigator, American Heart Association

American Heart Association, Scientist Development Grant

NIH Molecular Biophysics Training Grant

Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Fellow

Mary L. Smith Award for Cardiovascular Research

Other Perelman School of Medicine Affiliations

Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Program

Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program

Pennsylvania Muscle Institute

Professional Affiliations

American Society for Cell Biology

Biophysical Society

Recent Publications
March 19, 2025
Dynamics of β-cardiac myosin between the super-relaxed and disordered-relaxed states
Michael Ostap, Ph.D.
Cail RC, Baez-Cruz FA, Winkelmann DA, Goldman YE, Ostap EM. J Biol Chem. 2025 Mar 19:108412. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2025.108412. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40118457
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March 4, 2025
High-resolution structures of Myosin-IC reveal a unique actin-binding orientation, ADP release pathway, and power stroke trajectory
Michael Ostap, Ph.D.
Chavali SS, Carman PJ, Shuman H, Ostap EM, Sindelar CV. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025 Mar 4;122(9):e2415457122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2415457122. Epub 2025 Feb 27. PMID: 40014570
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September 13, 2024
Myosin-I synergizes with Arp2/3 complex to enhance the pushing forces of branched actin networks
Michael Ostap, Ph.D.
Xu M, Rutkowski DM, Rebowski G, Boczkowska M, Pollard LW, Dominguez R, Vavylonis D, Ostap EM. Sci Adv. 2024 Sep 13;10(37):eado5788. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ado5788. Epub 2024 Sep 13. PMID: 39270022
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July 4, 2024
Myosin-1C differentially displaces tropomyosin isoforms altering their inhibition of motility
Michael Ostap, Ph.D.
Pollard LW, Boczkowska M, Dominguez R, Ostap EM. J Biol Chem. 2024 Jul 4;300(8):107539. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107539.PMID: 38971309
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October 2, 2023
Endocytic myosin-1 is a force-insensitive, power-generating motor
Michael Ostap, Ph.D.
Pedersen RTA, Snoberger A, Pyrpassopoulos S, Safer D, Drubin DG, Ostap EM. - DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202303095
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March 1, 2023
Myo19 tethers mitochondria to endoplasmic reticulum-associated actin to promote mitochondrial fission.
Melike Lakadamyali, Ph.D., Michael Ostap, Ph.D., Erika Holzbaur, Ph.D.
Coscia SM, Thompson CP, Tang Q, Baltrusaitis EE, Rhodenhiser JA, Quintero-Carmona OA, Ostap EM, Lakadamyali M, Holzbaur ELF. J Cell Sci. 2023 Mar 1;136(5):jcs260612. doi: 10.1242/jcs.260612. Epub 2023 Mar 2. PMID: 36744380
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February 1, 2023
Ensembles of human myosin-19 bound to calmodulin and regulatory light chain RLC12B drive multi-micron transport
Roberto Dominguez, Ph.D., Erika Holzbaur, Ph.D., Michael Ostap, Ph.D.
Pollard LW, Coscia SM, Rebowski G, Palmer NJ, Holzbaur ELF, Dominguez R , Ostap EM (2023) J Biol Chem. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.102906
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January 12, 2023
Ensembles of human myosin-19 bound to calmodulin and regulatory light chain RLC12B drive multi-micron transport
Roberto Dominguez, Ph.D., Michael Ostap, Ph.D., Erika Holzbaur, Ph.D.
Pollard LW, Coscia SM, Rebowski G, Palmer NJ, Holzbaur ELF, Dominguez R, Ostap EM. J Biol Chem. 2023 Jan 12:102906. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.102906. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36642185.
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March 1, 2022
Myosin modulators: emerging approaches for the treatment of cardiomyopathies and heart failure
Michael Ostap, Ph.D.
Day SM, Tardiff JC, Ostap EM. DOI: 10.1172/JCI148557
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October 27, 2021
Microtubule dynamics influence the retrograde biased motility of kinesin-4 motor teams in neuronal dendrites
Melike Lakadamyali, Ph.D., Erika Holzbaur, Ph.D., Michael Ostap, Ph.D.
Masucci EM, Relich PK, Lakadamyali M, Ostap EM, Holzbaur ELF.Mol Biol Cell. 2021 Oct 27:mbcE21100480. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E21-10-0480. Online ahead of print. PMID: 34705476
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April 19, 2021
Cega: a single particle segmentation algorithm to identify moving particles in a noisy system
Michael Ostap, Ph.D.
Masucci EM, Relich PK, Ostap EM, Holzbaur ELF, Lakadamyali M. - DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E20-11-0744
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June 22, 2020
The mechanochemistry of the kinesin-2 KIF3AC heterodimer is related to strain-dependent kinetic properties of KIF3A and KIF3C
Michael Ostap, Ph.D.
Bensel BM, Woody MS, Pyrpassopoulos S, Goldman YE, Gilbert SP, Ostap EM - DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1916343117 - PMID: 32571914
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February 19, 2021
Myosin with hypertrophic cardiac mutation R712L has a decreased working stroke which is rescued by omecamtiv mecarbil
Michael Ostap, Ph.D.
Snoberger A, Barua B, Atherton JL, Shuman H, Forgacs E, Goldman YE, Winkelmann DA, Ostap EM - DOI: 10.7554/eLife.63691 - PMID: 33605878
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