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Jeanne Stachowiak - University of Texas at Austin

Host: Paul Cremer

"Intrinsic disorder as an organizing principle for biological membranes"

Abstract: As the gateway for cellular entry and communication, the surface of the cell holds the answers to critical questions in biology and medicine, while simultaneously providing inspiration for engineered materials and systems. Recent progress in our lab and others illustrates that networks composed of proteins with a high degree of intrinsic disorder may provide the necessary flexibility to facilitate efficient assembly of functional protein complexes at membrane surfaces. In particular, we found that a flexible network of disordered proteins helps to catalyze the assembly of endocytic structures at the plasma membrane. This understanding provides new insight into the optimal design of therapeutic carriers that harness endocytosis for cellular entry. More broadly, our lab seeks to understand and mimic the ability of biological membranes to spontaneously reorganize in response to diverse cues. This remarkable capacity for self-organization, which is largely absent in man-made materials, holds great promise for the design of responsive, cell-like therapeutic systems.