Daryll B DeWald

Lab:                   BNR 352
Lab Phone:        797-0058

RESEARCH

Major Research Interests: Mammalian and Plant Cell Signaling
Our laboratory examines the role of phosphoinositides in eukaryotic cellular processes. Phosphoinositides are a family of phospholipid second messenger molecules, and deciphering their metabolism and molecular interactions will reveal how they regulate important cellular processes like signal transduction, vesicular trafficking of proteins and cytoskeletal architecture. Currently, we are focusing our efforts in three areas.

First, in collaboration with Danny Welch at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, we are studying the role of phosphoinositides in breast cancer metastasis.

Second, we are examining the role of phosphoinositides in plant stress response. Our efforts have shown that specific phosphoinositides accumulate in A. thaliana cells in response to drought, salt, osmotic, and heat stresses. This relatively unexplored research area will provide insight into how plants utilize phosphoinositides to respond and adjust to their environment.

Third, in collaboration with Dr. Glenn Prestwich and colleagues (University of Utah), we are examining the localization and metabolism of fluorescent phosphoinositide analogs in mammalian, yeast, and plant cells. These efforts will reveal how eukaryotic cells activate and inactivate signal transduction pathways involving phosphoinositides.

Lab Personnel
Graduate Students: Sitaram Harihar , Mathew Kurian, Almut Vollmer
Undergraduate Students: Sherry Baker and Justin La

Funding
NSF
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

TEACHING

Honors Biol 2100

D.B. DeWald is an adjunct faculty member of Biological and Irrigation Engineering