Mark A. Peifer Research Group

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

How does the cell adhesion–cytoskeleton machinery coordinate tissue architecture during development and tumor formation? The lab uses Drosophila genetics and cultured human colon cells to dissect how APC regulates Wnt signaling and the cytoskeleton. Researchers combine confocal live-imaging and fluorescently-tagged proteins to visualize junction–cytoskeleton dynamics during morphogenetic events such as dorsal closure. The group interrogates destruction-complex assembly and APC’s catalytic cycle to explain regulated ß-catenin stability in Wnt signaling. They investigate centrosome functions, mitotic fidelity regulators, checkpoints and apoptosis to understand genome stability mechanisms in epithelial cells.