Hansen Lab
For the past three years, I have worked in the UO Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry to study how immune cells interpret and respond to chemical cues in their environment. At the molecular level, I am analyzing how feedback loops drive the communication between phosphatidylinositol phosphate (PIP) lipids, PIP kinases, PIP phosphatases, and Rho-family GTPases at the plasma membrane. Currently, I am studying how feedback modules involving the PI3K enzyme are formed at the plasma membrane to better understand the molecular basis for human diseases such as cancer. To this end, I utilize light-regulated (or optogenetic) protein interactions to rapidly change the localization and activity of these signaling molecules in cells. I have also developed an assay to reconstitute these biochemical reactions on a supported lipid bilayer.
