The work from my lab contributed to the understanding of primary cilia, small antennae-like structures present on almost all human cell types, as sensors of diverse cues. Our work has also shown that cancer cells can be ciliated and addicted to their cilia for uncontrolled proliferation. More recently, we have illuminated how the lipid and protein composition of the cilium is generated to allow it to function as a specialized signaling organelle, and some of the ways in which altering ciliary function causes diseases as diverse as neural tube birth defects and polycystic kidney disease.
Awards and Achievements
- Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
- American Association of Anatomists R. R. Bensley Award in Cell Biology
- Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Distinguished Scholar Alumni Award