Robert M. Raphael, PhD T.N. Law Assistant Professor Department of Bioengineering Rice University
	Advanced Optical Imaging of Membrane Protein Interactions
	Intermolecular interactions play a pivotal role in many biological processes, and the disruption of specific protein-protein interactions is implicated in a number of diseases. In our laboratory, we apply advanced optical imaging techniques to study intermolecular interactions in living cells. Our research focuses on prestin, a protein found in cochlear outer hair cells that is responsible for the unique piezoelectric-like properties of these cells. We utilize fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to characterize prestin-prestin interactions on the length scale of 1-10 nm. In addition, using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), we study the lateral mobility of prestin in the membrane. Finally, we employ fluorescence polarization microscopy (FPM) to study the orientational order of the lipid environment that supports prestin. The utilization of these complimentary techniques provides a powerful approach to study the protein-protein and protein-membrane interactions that underlie the remarkable sensitivity and frequency selectivity of mammalian hearing.
	Thursday, September 7, 2006 2:00 p.m. - Duncan Hall 3092 Rice University

ECE Affiliates Meeting

Last modified: August 21, 2006