Name: Sabine Petry

Position: Asistant Professor

Research Description:

Molecular architecture and function of the microtubule cytoskeleton.

We are interested in understanding how cells acquire their shape, position organelles, move materials, and segregate chromosomes during cell division. These features are essential for life and organized by the microtubule cytoskeleton, which resembles the skeletal system that supports our human body. Each cell type and shape requires a specific microtubule architecture. For instance, long and bundled microtubules make up the axonal extensions of a nerve cell that can reach up to 1 meter in length, whereas a spherical microtubule network renders a lymphocyte perfectly round. In contrast to the human skeleton, the microtubule cytoskeleton is also highly dynamic. Most cells regularly undergo cell division, during which the cell-type specific interphase microtubule network is completely disassembled and replaced by short and dynamic microtubules of the mitotic spindle to capture, align and then segregate chromosomes.

Lab Memberships

Petry Lab (Principal Investigator/Director)

Contact Information

Address:
Princeton University
Schultz Laboratory
Princeton, NJ
USA

Email: spetry@princeton.edu
Web Page: http://molbio.princeton.edu/labs/petry/sabine-petry
Phone:  609) 258-1553