Timothy Megraw
Contact Information
Interest
The Megraw lab investigates the functions of centrosomes and cilia in cell division, development and disease using Drosophila, mouse, and human cell culture models. This includes asymmetric division of stem cells, the regulation of centrosomal and other microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs), metabolic disorders due to loss of centrosome proteins, and regulation of primary cilium assembly and function. Centrosome-based disorders that impact stem cell function and brain development are a major focus of our research.
Current Research
The centrosome is the major microtubule-organizing center (MTOC) in animal cells and impacts many disease-related functions. We focus on the links between centrosome functions and inherited forms of microcephaly that arise from syndromes such as MCPH or SCKL. Our investigations show cell division-related defects in stem cells arising from impaired centrosome replication, but there are also specific metabolic impairments in cells mutant for centrosome protein genes. We suspect that Zika virus perturbs the same centrosome-related pathways in human neural stem cells, causing microcephaly in infected mothers during their pregnancy. We are investigating the links between Zika virus infection and centrosome impairment to connect the inherited and viral-induced forms of microcephaly.