Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz studies the machinery inside cells, investigating the organization and interplay of membrane-bound organelles and cytoskeletal structures. Using fluorescence-based technologies and super-resolution microscopy techniques, she and her team parse the molecular complexity of the subcellular landscape in the context of functions such as cell motility and cell-to-cell communication. On a larger scale, Lippincott-Schwartz aims to reveal how the inner workings of neurons enable complex brain behaviors such as development, computation, and healing, under normal and pathogenic conditions.
Janelia’s COSEM Project Team has created a set of tools to make annotated 3D images of cells, showing the relationships between different organelles. People taking cholesterol-lowering drugs may fare better than others if they catch the novel coronavirus. A new study hints at why: the virus relies on the fatty molecule to get past the cell’s protective membrane. Janelia announces the establishment of the neuronal cell biology program and recruitment of the first group leaders.