Chad G. Pearson, Ph.D.
- Title
- Assistant Professor
- Department
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
- Institution
- University of Colorado, Denver
- Address
-
RC1 South, MS 8108
12801 E. 17th Ave. Room 12104 - City, State, ZIP
- Aurora, CO 80045
- Phone
- (303) 724-5742
- [email protected]
- Website
- http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicalschool/departments/CellDevelopmentalBiology/facultyresearch/Pages/ChadPearson.aspx
- Research field
- Cell biology
- Award year
- 2011
Research
Microtubules are responsible for diverse cellular functions, ranging from trafficking and force generation to structural platforms for cellular sensation. Variations in microtubule function are achieved because their structure and dynamics can be modulated by different microtubule organizing centers (MTOC) and regulatory events. Integral to microtubule organization is the centriole, the core structure around which vertebrate centrosomes and cilia are assembled. Increasingly appreciated in human disease, defects in centrioles, centrosomes, and cilia contribute to both human cancer and ciliary diseases, or ciliopathies, that exhibit an array of pathologies including polydactyly, situs inversus, kidney cysts, blindness, respiratory illness, and mental retardation. Our lab focuses on the structural and molecular events for centriole biogenesis. Electron microscopy studies performed a half a century ago defined the morphological events leading to a mature centriole. Now with a large inventory of centriole components, we explore how these molecules collaborate to assemble the nine-fold radially symmetric centriole structure. To do so, we use molecular-genetic strategies in the ciliate, Tetrahymena thermophila, combined with quantitative fluorescence and electron microscopy. Our lab is focused on several projects: 1) What are the early assembly stages leading to new centriole assembly? 2) How do centrioles resist mechanical forces? and 3) What are the dynamic localization patterns of proteins within the centriole architecture?
Scholar Keywords
2011 Search Pew Scholars
- Christine M. Dunham, Ph.D.
- Thomas G. Fazzio, Ph.D.
- Max L. Fletcher, Ph.D.
- Hunter B. Fraser, Ph.D.
- Melissa K. Gardner, Ph.D.
- Mary Gehring, Ph.D.
- Jeff Gore, Ph.D.
- Takaki Komiyama, Ph.D.
- Mei Kong, Ph.D.
- Michael S. Kuhns, Ph.D.
- Erica Larschan, Ph.D.
- Eros Lazzerini Denchi, Ph.D.
- Ann C. Morris, Ph.D.
- James B. Moseley, Ph.D.
- Suzanne M. Noble, M.D., Ph.D.
- Brad J. Nolen, Ph.D.
- Chad G. Pearson, Ph.D.
- Sharad Ramanathan, Ph.D.
- Anthony R. Richardson, Ph.D.
- Niels Ringstad, Ph.D.
- Georgios Skiniotis, Ph.D.
- Liang Zhou, M.D., Ph.D.