In research, our overall goal is to discover general principles, or “rules of the game”, that govern and explain the behavior of cells. We use budding yeast to pursue this goal in four different ways: 1) to experimentally evolve novel traits, such as multicellularity and circadian clocks, 2) to experimentally evolve cells to recover from serious genetic perturbations, 3) to test our understanding of interesting biological traits by trying to engineer them, and 4) to dissect the regulation of cell biologically interesting processes like polarization, energy homeostasis, and the regulation of the cell cycle. In education, I am interested in trying to teach the natural sciences as a single integrated subject, rather than separate disciplines, and I lead a group who teach an intensive, year-long, integrated science course.
Awards and Achievements
- Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences ( 2000)
- Member, National Academy of Sciences ( 2014)