Alexander Dunn, Stanford University

"Biophysical Mechanisms of Self-Organization in Living Tissues"

Abstract:

The long-term goal of the Dunn lab is to understand the means by which living cells and tissues are constructed from a vast array of molecular components. In this talk, I will discuss how we have used single-molecule counting techniques to discover how interactions between six core proteins lead to symmetry breaking at planar cell polarity signaling complexes, a process that leads to the long-range organization of living tissues along a front-back axis. In addition, I will describe initial work aimed at understanding how sarcomeres, the massive protein assemblies that power muscle contraction, assemble from their molecular components, and how this process can go awry in inherited cardiovascular diseases. These and other projects in our laboratory support an emerging understanding of how the breathtaking complexity of multicellular organisms can arise from a limited set of strategies for biological self-assembly.

Bio:

Alex Dunn is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. His research focuses on understanding how living cells sense mechanical stimuli, with particular interests in stem cell biology and tissue engineering. Dr. Dunn worked as a postdoctoral scholar with James Spudich in the Department of Biochemistry at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. at the California Institute of Technology under the direction of Harry Gray, where his work focused on understanding the catalytic mechanism selective C-H bond oxidation by cytochrome P450 enzymes. His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Hertz Fellowship, the Burroughs Wellcome Career Award at the Scientific Interface, the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, and the HHMI Faculty Scholar Award.