Amy Gladfelter Explained

Amy S. Gladfelter
Birth Date:27 April 1974
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Field:Cell biology, Biophysics, Molecular Biology
Children:2[1]

Amy S. Gladfelter (born April 27, 1974) is an American quantitative cell biologist who is interested in understanding fundamental mechanisms of cell organization. She was a Professor of Biology and the Associate Chair for Diversity Initiatives at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, before moving to Department of Cell Biology at Duke University.[2] She investigates cell cycle control and the septin cytoskeleton.[3] She is also affiliated with the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and is a fellow of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA.

Gladfelter studies the spatial organization of multinucleate cells, also called syncytia, which are cells with many nuclei that share a common cytoplasm. Her lab at Duke University is broadly interested in understanding why syncytia have arisen in diverse contexts within the tree of life.[4] [5] [6] [7]   Syncytial cells are found throughout the human body, including in bone, blood, muscle, and placental tissue, and throughout the natural world, including in fungi, algae and in many animals during their development. Many tumors become syncytial, while certain viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, can induce cells to fuse. Additionally, Gladfelter studies the assembly of the septin cytoskeleton and how aberrant septin structure affects its function.[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Her research program uses microscopy, biophysical and genetic approaches to study cell biology.

Education

Amy Gladfelter trained at Princeton University (AB) with Bonnie Bassler, at Duke University (Ph.D.) with Daniel Lew and at UniBasel Biozentrum (post-doc) with Peter Philippsen before starting her independent career at Dartmouth in the Biological Sciences department in 2006, where she remained until 2016.

Cell biology research

The two main research focuses of the Gladfelter lab are how the cytoplasm is spatially organized and how cells sense their own geometry. Her team uses a variety of model systems to study syncytia, including Ashbya gossypii, Neurospora crassa, myotubes and the syncytiotrophoblast of human placenta to study the architecture of the cytoplasm. Gladfelter is also seeking out new fungal systems derived from the marine environment that are extremophiles and show morphologic characteristics not found in more conventional model systems.[14]

Gladfelter made the discovery that the nuclei of the multinucleate fungus Ashbya gossypii, despite sharing the same cytoplasm, progress through the cell cycle independently.[15] This has led to further work uncovering how liquid-liquid phase separation of RNAs and proteins can permit autonomy among syncytial nuclei and help to establish cell polarity. Recently, the lab has begun examining phase separation in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection, with a focus on understanding mechanisms of viral packaging.

Another area that Gladfelter's lab explores is how cells sense their shape.[4] Gladfelter and her lab have extensively studied the ability of a conserved family of proteins called septins, which localize to areas of the cell that change shape or are highly curved, to sense cell curvature.[16] [17] [18]

Awards and honors

Selected works

On cytoplasmic organization:
On cell shape and septin assembly:

Notes and References

  1. Amy Gladfelter: Fungi with a streak of individuality . Sedwick . Caitlin . Journal of Cell Biology . 17 February 2014 . 204 . 4 . 464–465 . 10.1083/jcb.2044pi. 24535821 . 3926962 .
  2. Web site: The Gladfelter Lab . The Gladfelter Lab. February 15, 2024.
  3. Web site: The Gladfelter Lab . The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . November 30, 2017.
  4. Web site: Research Questions. The Gladfelter Lab. 2019-10-08.
  5. Lee. Changhwan. Zhang. Huaiying. Baker. Amy E.. Occhipinti. Patricia. Borsuk. Mark E.. Gladfelter. Amy S.. 2013-06-24. Protein aggregation behavior regulates cyclin transcript localization and cell-cycle control. Developmental Cell. 25. 6. 572–584. 10.1016/j.devcel.2013.05.007. 1878-1551. 4113091. 23769973.
  6. Zhang. Huaiying. Elbaum-Garfinkle. Shana. Langdon. Erin M.. Taylor. Nicole. Occhipinti. Patricia. Bridges. Andrew A.. Brangwynne. Clifford P.. Gladfelter. Amy S.. 2015-10-15. RNA Controls PolyQ Protein Phase Transitions. Molecular Cell. 60. 2. 220–230. 10.1016/j.molcel.2015.09.017. 1097-4164. 5221516. 26474065.
  7. Langdon. Erin M.. Qiu. Yupeng. Ghanbari Niaki. Amirhossein. McLaughlin. Grace A.. Weidmann. Chase A.. Gerbich. Therese M.. Smith. Jean A.. Crutchley. John M.. Termini. Christina M.. Weeks. Kevin M.. Myong. Sua. May 25, 2018. mRNA structure determines specificity of a polyQ-driven phase separation. Science. 360. 6391. 922–927. 10.1126/science.aar7432. 1095-9203. 6192030. 29650703. 2018Sci...360..922L.
  8. Gladfelter. Amy S.. Bose. Indrani. Zyla. Trevin R.. Bardes. Elaine S. G.. Lew. Daniel J.. 2002-01-21. Septin ring assembly involves cycles of GTP loading and hydrolysis by Cdc42p. The Journal of Cell Biology. 156. 2. 315–326. 10.1083/jcb.200109062. 0021-9525. 2199227. 11807094.
  9. DeMay. Bradley S.. Meseroll. Rebecca A.. Occhipinti. Patricia. Gladfelter. Amy S.. April 2009. Regulation of distinct septin rings in a single cell by Elm1p and Gin4p kinases. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 20. 8. 2311–2326. 10.1091/mbc.e08-12-1169. 1939-4586. 2669037. 19225152.
  10. DeMay. Bradley S.. Bai. Xiaobo. Howard. Louisa. Occhipinti. Patricia. Meseroll. Rebecca A.. Spiliotis. Elias T.. Oldenbourg. Rudolf. Gladfelter. Amy S.. 2011-06-13. Septin filaments exhibit a dynamic, paired organization that is conserved from yeast to mammals. The Journal of Cell Biology. 193. 6. 1065–1081. 10.1083/jcb.201012143. 1540-8140. 3115802. 21670216.
  11. Meseroll. Rebecca A.. Occhipinti. Patricia. Gladfelter. Amy S.. February 2013. Septin phosphorylation and coiled-coil domains function in cell and septin ring morphology in the filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii. Eukaryotic Cell. 12. 2. 182–193. 10.1128/EC.00251-12. 1535-9786. 3571309. 23204191.
  12. Bridges. Andrew A.. Zhang. Huaiying. Mehta. Shalin B.. Occhipinti. Patricia. Tani. Tomomi. Gladfelter. Amy S.. 2014-02-11. Septin assemblies form by diffusion-driven annealing on membranes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 111. 6. 2146–2151. 10.1073/pnas.1314138111. 1091-6490. 3926015. 24469790. 2014PNAS..111.2146B. free.
  13. McQuilken. Molly. Jentzsch. Maximilian S.. Verma. Amitabh. Mehta. Shalin B.. Oldenbourg. Rudolf. Gladfelter. Amy S.. 2017. Analysis of Septin Reorganization at Cytokinesis Using Polarized Fluorescence Microscopy. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. 5. 42. 10.3389/fcell.2017.00042. 2296-634X. 5413497. 28516085. free.
  14. Gladfelter. Amy S.. James. Timothy Y.. Amend. Anthony S.. March 2019. Marine fungi. Current Biology. 29. 6. R191–R195. 10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.009. 30889385. 0960-9822. free.
  15. Gladfelter. Amy. Hungerbuehler. Katrin. Philippsen. Peter. January 30, 2006. Asynchronous nuclear division cycles in multinucleated cells. The Journal of Cell Biology. 172. 3. 347–362. 10.1083/jcb.200507003. 2063645. 16449188.
  16. Ewers. Helge. Tada. Tomoko. Petersen. Jennifer D.. Racz. Bence. Sheng. Morgan. Choquet. Daniel. 2014. A Septin-Dependent Diffusion Barrier at Dendritic Spine Necks. PLOS ONE. 9. 12. e113916. 10.1371/journal.pone.0113916. 1932-6203. 4262254. 25494357. 2014PLoSO...9k3916E. free.
  17. Hu. Qicong. Milenkovic. Ljiljana. Jin. Hua. Scott. Matthew P.. Nachury. Maxence V.. Spiliotis. Elias T.. Nelson. W. James. 2010-07-23. A septin diffusion barrier at the base of the primary cilium maintains ciliary membrane protein distribution. Science. 329. 5990. 436–439. 10.1126/science.1191054. 1095-9203. 3092790. 20558667. 2010Sci...329..436H.
  18. Takizawa. P. A.. DeRisi. J. L.. Wilhelm. J. E.. Vale. R. D.. 2000-10-13. Plasma membrane compartmentalization in yeast by messenger RNA transport and a septin diffusion barrier. Science. 290. 5490. 341–344. 10.1126/science.290.5490.341. 0036-8075. 11030653. 2000Sci...290..341T.
  19. Web site: NSF Award Search: Award#0301028 - Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Microbial Biology for FY 2003. www.nsf.gov. 2019-10-08.
  20. Web site: 2010 MBL Research Awards . Marine Biological Laboratory . November 30, 2017.
  21. Web site: 2011 MBL Research Awards . Marine Biological Laboratory . November 30, 2017.
  22. Web site: 2012 MBL Research Awards . Marine Biological Laboratory . November 30, 2017.
  23. Web site: Ten Professors Honored with Faculty Awards . Chapman . Keith . Dartmouth News . July 20, 2012 . Dartmouth . November 30, 2017.
  24. Web site: Amy Gladfelter. November 30, 2017. Marine Biology Laboratory.

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