Mrksich Group
HHMI
HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE
Rafe Petty
Contact:
Year Joined the Group:
Research:
- My research is broadly concerned with understanding the relationship between spatially patterned biomolecules and the effect of anisotropic chemical environments on biological function.
Gradients of extracellular matrix ligands:
We have developed a new microfluidic patterning strategy to pattern one dimensional gradients on self-assembled monolayers. Importantly, we have minimized the length scale to that of single cells, allowing us to look at the effect of extracellular matrix gradients on single cells. By patterning gradient microislands (d ~ 30 um), we are able to confine single cells and observe the effect of an anisotropic adhesive environment on cell polarity and cell structure.- Petty, R.T, et. al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2007, 129, 8966-8967.
Non-linear enzyme kinetics and new implications for adaptor domains:
Our group has observed in vitro that adaptor domains on kinases can mediate the autoamplification of their rate when acting upon immobilized substrates. The consequences of this are wide reaching in biology, especially when considering the complexly patterned, high-surface area environment within a cell. In an effort to analyze the repercussions of this behavior in vivo, we are working to express a transmembrane chimera containing the peptide substrate for Abl kinase - an important kinase which contains both a catalytic domain and multiple adaptor domains. By clustering these chimeras, we expect to observe an increase in the rate of phosphorylation of the peptide substrate.