Shvartsman Lab
Principal Investigator: Stanislav Y. Shvartsman
Institution: Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)
Primary Subfield: Molecular & Cell Bio
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
Abstract The proposed work will combine experiments and theory to advance quantitative understanding of animal gametogenesis. We use Drosophila as a genetic model organism that is highly suitable for quantitative interdisciplinary research and focus on two evolutionarily conserved aspects of reproductive biology. First, eggs and early embryos of large volumes require efficient means for coordinating cytoplasmic processes. Studies in multiple experimental systems indicate that such coordination in large cells relies on large-scale hydrodynamic flows, which reach the speeds of 100s nm/s and can mediate rapid mixing and transport of cytoplasmic components. Our Aim 1 investigates such flows at a critical point in Drosophila oogenesis, where cytoplasmic streaming is driven by cargo-loaded kinesin motors walking on arrays of cortically anchored microtubules. We will use computational modeling and live imaging to systematically test a recent theory according to which cytoplasmic streaming emerges spontaneously, through hydrodynamic coupling of cortically anchored microtubules. Second, gametogenesis in both Drosophila and humans starts with the formation of cell-cycle arrested primordial g…
Active NIH Awards
- 5R01GM134204-08: Collective dynamics in cell clusters (2026)
- 5R01GM134204-07: Collective dynamics in cell clusters (2025)
- 5R01GM134204-06: Collective dynamics in cell clusters (2024)
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