RESEARCH INTERESTS
KOVAR LABActin cytoskeleton: Competition for actin monomers
We are investigating the hypothesis that competition between actin assembly factors for a limiting pool of actin monomers regulates different actin networks.
F-actin network-specific sorting of actin binding proteins
We are working to understand how particular actin binding proteins sort to specific F-actin networks, rather than generally associating with all actin filaments.
In vitro reconstitution of actin cytoskeleton networks
In the Kovar Lab we combine multi-color TIRF microscopy imaging, micropatterning and biomimetic techniques to reconstitute the assembly of complex F-actin networks with purified fluorescently labeled ABPs.