Golgi ribbons and microtubules.

Cells are the fundamental unit of life and understanding cell biology requires knowledge across scales in space and time. The function of individual proteins (at atomic scales) and discrete cellular processes (that occur in seconds), as well as disease mechanisms (at the organismal scale and that are manifested over a lifetime), must be mechanistically understood at the level of the cell. The Department of Cell Biology is positioned as a hub to connect research across scales of biological complexity and between basic and translational research efforts at UTSouthwestern Medical Center.

Understanding the complexity of cellular processes and their inter-relationships will require interdisciplinary, collaborative research both within the Department and across campus. Our recent move into new, open-lab space on the North Campus provides an ideal environment to establish the synergist, interdisciplinary research and training environment necessary to position us for new discoveries and for the integration of existing knowledge at the cellular level. Our efforts are supported by core facilities that provide cutting-edge instrumentation and expertise in light and electron microscopy.

The central question in cell biology in this post-genome era is how genotype confers heterogeneous phenotype, both during normal cellular differentiation and adaptation, as well as in pathological states. Addressing this overarching question, as it applies to any number of cellular processes will require:

Our faculty members apply their expertise in each of these areas to study cellular processes as diverse as aging, differentiation, apoptosis, stress response, cytoskeletal dynamics and cell mechanics, signaling, pathogenesis, membrane trafficking, and gene regulation.

No single lab or department can master and execute these disciplines, so we are pleased to be part of the intellectually stimulating, interactive, and collaborative research community within the Department and across the UTSouthwestern Medical Center campus.

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Department of Cell Biology - UT Southwestern Medical School