My lab is interested in the complex interplay between bacterial pathogens and host cells. In particular, we study two important human pathogens, Chlamydia trachomatis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Our strengths include using multidisciplinary approaches to these studies—allowing the pathogen to be our tutor.
Our group works in three areas. In the first, we are studying the mechanisms used by the trophoblast cells of the human placenta to invade the uterus during normal pregnancy. Human fetal development depends on the embryo's ability to rapidly gain access to the maternal circulation. The cytotrophoblasts that form the fetal portion of the human placenta have solved this problem by transiently exhibiting certain invasive, tumor-like properties.
Dr. Fu’s research uses human genetics combined with multiple model organisms to investigate molecular mechanisms of human conditions. Her laboratory has been focusing on two areas: one in myelin biology and the other in circadian rhythm and sleep behaviors. For myelin biology, they investigate the interlocking networks of protein-coding genes and non-coding RNAs in ensuring a healthy myelin. For circadian and sleep behaviors, over the last 15 years, she and her colleagues identified several mutations that lead to extreme morning lark phenotype.
The Fujimori Lab investigates fundamental biological mechanisms to understand how misregulation leads to disease. Our focus is on modifications of cellular components by small molecule chemical tags, and the roles of these modifications in biological regulation.
The Giacomini research group focuses on expanding our understanding of membrane transporters. Membrane transporters are of great biological and pharmacological importance, as they play a major role in human physiology and in drug disposition and response. Major questions addressed in the laboratory include: What is the function of orphan membrane transporters? What is the in vivo role of membrane transporters in the disposition of endogenous solutes as well as in drug disposition and response?
Dr. Jennifer R. Grandis received her medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania, and completed her internship from the same institution. Dr. Grandis completed both a residency and an Infectious Disease fellowship from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania. Prior to joining UCSF, Dr. Grandis was the UPMC Endowed Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Surgical Research and Distinguished Professor of Otolaryngology and Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Lea Tenenholz Grinberg is a neuropathologist specializing in brain aging and associated disorders, most notably, Alzheimer's and neurological basis of sleep disturbances in neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, she is a Full Professor and a John Douglas French Alzheimer's Foundation Endowed Professor at the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, part of the Executive Board of the Global Brain Health Institute and a member of the Medical Scientific Advisory Group for the Alzheimer Association. She is also a Professor of Pathology at the University of Sao Paulo.
Dr. Guo has a broad background in molecular biology, genetics, developmental biology, neurobiology, and is interested in the molecular genetic mechanisms that regulate brain development and function. As a graduate student at Cornell University, she employed the invertebrate model organism C. elegans, and made significant contributions to the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) as well as understanding of asymmetric cell divisions. After graduation, she became fascinated with how the brain works. As a research and postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School and Genentech Inc.
