Research

The LusKing lab takes a multi-disciplinary and multi-model approach to tackle fundamental and disease-relevant problems related to the cell biology, biochemistry and biophysics of the nucleus and the nuclear envelope. Our team pursues big questions including those focused on:

1. Communication: What are the molecular mechanisms that control the biochemical (through nuclear pores), mechanical (through LINC complexes) and systems level (scaling) modes of communication across the nuclear envelope?How are these mechanisms altered in disease?
2. Nuclear Integrity: What are the biochemical, mechanical and membrane-remodeling mechanisms that ensure nuclear shape and integrity?
3. Nuclear Organization: What are the underlying principles that define chromatin structure and dynamics and how does this organization contribute to nuclear mechanics and genome integrity mechanisms?
4. Quality control: What are the quality control mechanisms that ensure the biochemical identity (proteins, nucleic acids and lipids) of the nuclear envelope in the context of changing environments, aging and disease?