Opening the next frontier in structural biology

Apr. 04, 2008

Biologist Daniela Nicastro wins Strage Award

Laura Gardner
781-736-4204
gardner@brandeis.edu



NicastroWaltham, MA—Daniela Nicastro, assistant professor of biology, has won the 9th annual Alberta Gotthardt Strage '56 & Henry Strage Award for Aspiring Young Science Faculty. The award was created by Brandeis alumna Alberta Gotthardt ‘56, and her husband Henry Strage, a leading entrepreneur, to recognize outstanding junior science faculty early in their careers—a time when recognition is relatively scarce and encouragement may be needed most.

Nicastro researches how living cells organize and control their cytoskeleton and the protein complexes responsible for the movement of cilia and flagella. Her lab’s goal is to provide a comprehensive map of important protein complexes associated with the microtubule cytoskeleton on a molecular level, using modern approaches that integrate genetics, proteomics and imaging.

“Dany was selected because her research is opening up the next frontier in structural biology,” said Greg Petsko, Gyula and Katica Tauber professor of biochemistry and molecular pharmacodynamics and of the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center. “For over fifty years, most studies on the structure of proteins and protein complexes have worked with isolated systems in dilute solution. Dany is one of the pioneers in the new field of cryo-electron tomography, which uses the power of the electron microscope to look directly at the interiors of cells and organelles. Her work is enabling us to look through a new window at the architecture of life.”

Living cells are complex factories that simultaneously perform thousands of different processes using a variety of molecular machines. These molecular machines must operate in a coordinated way, but how they are assembled and positioned in the cell, and coordinated in space and time to form a functioning organism is one of the profound mysteries of biology.

“The long-term goal of my laboratory is to gain a molecular understanding of the functional organization of cells by studying the three-dimensional structure of macromolecules and organelles in their native environment,” said Nicastro. “Our tool is electron microscope tomography of rapidly frozen (and thus well-preserved) cellular structures.”

Nicastro’s studies are beginning to provide a comprehensive understanding of the molecular structure and regulation underlying motor function and flagellar beating in health and disease. Defects in the motility and assembly of cilia and flagella are linked to a variety of human genetic diseases (polycystic kidney disease, Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, and primary ciliary dyskinesia) so these studies will shed light on the mechanisms and structural manifestations of ciliary-linked disorders in humans.

An important side-benefit of her lab’s research, said Nicastro, is the development of new tools for 3D imaging, image processing and integrative genetic-structural studies. These advances will allow scientists to perform experiments not previously feasible, providing greater insights into cellular events in general.