Obara Lab @ UC San Diego Integrating technology and biology to link the scales of life.

Projects

Our lab is interested in the way that single macromolecules, experiencing only the laws of physics in their local environment, are collectively orchestrated to give rise to living, self-maintaining systems. We primarily work on the dynamic, structurally complex membranes of subcellular organelles, which host crucial machinery for the regulation and coordination of nearly every major process of life in both health and disease.

<u>ER structure</u>
ER structure Effects of nanoscale ER topology

Can local membrane shape affect ER protein behavior and function?

<u>ER-associated degradation</u>
ER-associated degradation Retrotranslocation and degradation

How are damaged proteins removed from the ER and degraded?

<u>Mechanisms of secretion</u>
Mechanisms of secretion Quality control of membrane and secreted proteins

How does a cell know when a protein is safe to secrete?

<u>Mechanisms of autophagosome biogenesis</u>
Mechanisms of autophagosome biogenesis Synthesis of growing autophagosome membranes

How are lipids shuttled to a growing autophagic crescent?

<u>Organelle Communication</u>
Organelle Communication Signaling through membrane contact sites

How do cells coordinate reactions in physically separate compartments?

<u>Nanoscale cellular signaling</u>
Nanoscale cellular signaling Directly visualizing individual signaling events

How do cells compute signals to make functional decisions?