BMOL Seminar Series: Dr. Erich Kushner

Presenter Information

Speaker: Dr. Erich Kushner, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at University of Denver

Short Description of Research: Dr. Kushner is currently involved in the Biological Sciences and Molecular and Cellular Biophysics programs at the University of Denver. His research focuses on the biology underpinning blood vessel development, specifically how vesicular trafficking and cytoskeletal remodeling influence this complex process.

Seminar Details

Host: Dr. Allan Albig, Biological Sciences

Title: How we make blood vessels: lessons in lumenization

Abstract: We are currently exploring how endothelial cells use cell-cell adhesions called tight junctions, to inform rearrangement of the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton for cell polarization during vascular network formation. We are genetically ablating cell contractile machinery components and/or specific Rho GTPase superfamily proteins using CRISPR-based homologous recombination targeting in zebrafish to determine how these programs influence junctional integrity and cell polarity. In a separate project, we are investigating how a family of proteins called synaptotagmin-like proteins contribute to lumen formation by helping to specify apical-basal polarity in endothelial cells during lumenogenesis. To do this, we are again using genomic targeting techniques such as endogenous protein tagging coupled with advanced light microscopy to best understand the “when” and “where” of synaptotagmin’s involvement in endothelial lumen formation during development. Overall, our research is dedicated to understanding blood vessels form and how these processes go wrong in various disease states for advancement of next-generation therapies. The coming seminar will focus on our more recent efforts to map the biology behind vascular lumen formation and new in vitro models using microfabrication approaches.

Publications Related to Talk: 

• Lipidure‑based micropattern fabrication for stereotyping cell geometry

• Rab35 governs apicobasal polarity through regulation of actin dynamics during sprouting angiogenesis

• Trafficking in blood vessel development