Melissa Gardner

Whitaker International Scholar, 2009-11

Home Institution: University of Minnesota

Host Country, Institution: Germany, Max Planck Institute

Project Title: Nanoscale Mechanical Analysis of Mitotic Molecular Motors

Project Abstract:

The overall objective of this project will be to understand the nanoscale mechanical effects that regulate the proper segregation of chromosomes during cell division. Errors in chromosome segregation have important clinical outcomes in cancer and other human diseases. By isolating the key proteins involved in this process and recapitulating their activity in-vitro, the basic physical principles underlying their regulation can be discerned.