Metabolic organization and mitochondrial biology
My laboratory studies the organization and regulation of metabolic pathways in eukaryotes. Eukaryotic cells are composed of many different compartments, such as cytoplasm, mitochondria, and nuclei. Although each of these compartments exhibits a distinct set of metabolic processes, they must all communicate with each other for the cell to function properly. Understanding how these processes are organized and controlled represents the next frontier in the study of metabolism. We have focused our efforts on folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism. This set of pathways is found in all cells and organisms, is central to fundamental processes such as nucleic acid and protein synthesis, and occurs in multiple compartments. We are particularly interested in understanding how one-carbon metabolism is organized in mitochondria, as these organelles are central players in many human diseases. We utilize a wide variety of biochemical and molecular genetic techniques, including knock-out mouse models, to study the organization of folic acid metabolism in adult mammals and during development.