Research Description

The Chen lab aims to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying cytoskeletal dynamics and how cytoskeletal remodeling impacts cell division, migration, and adhesion. We use multidisciplinary approaches, including cryo-electron microscopy and crystallography to study polymer structures during assembly, mass spectrometry and in vitro assays to elucidate the biochemical properties of polymers, and high-resolution light microscopy to characterize their dynamic properties. Our long-term goals are to understand how disease-associated mutations alter cytoskeletal dynamics and organization, and how regulation of the cytoskeletal meshwork contributes to normal physiology and human disease.

Selected Publications

• Chen J, Zehr EA, Gruschus JM, Szyk A, Liu Y, Tanner ME, Tjandra N, Roll-Mecak A. Tubulin code eraser CCP5 binds branch glutamates by substrate deformation. Nature. 2024 Jul; 631(8022):905-912.
• Chen J. & Roll-Mecak A. Glutamylation is a negative regulator of microtubule growth. Mol Biol Cell. 2023 Jun 1;34(7):ar70.
• Chen J, Kholina E, Szyk A, Fedorov VA, Kovalenko I, Gudimchuk N, Roll-Mecak A. α-tubulin tail modifications regulate microtubule stability through selective effector recruitment, not changes in intrinsic polymer dynamics. Dev Cell. 2021 Jul 26;56(14):2016-2028.e4.