

Leo Blondel
Mentor:
Research: Using computational, genetic, and mouse models to safely and effectively unsilence UBE3A in Angelman Syndrome
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Research: Using computational, genetic, and mouse models to safely and effectively unsilence UBE3A in Angelman Syndrome
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Research: Investigating N-myristoyltransferase 1 (NMT1)-mediated myristoylization in sarcomere formation during cardiac development
Mentor: Jim Bear, PhD
Research: Studying actin network organization, dynamics, and regulation at sites of actin-endomembrane interaction, including how branched actin polymerization and its force production contribute to homeostatic balance during cellular membrane trafficking
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Research: Investigating the role of focal adhesion kinase and calcium dynamics in the regulation of exocytosis and plasma membrane expansion during neuronal morphogenesis.
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Research:ÌýInvestigate the coordination of vinculin and its splice isoform metavinculin in the regulation of cell morphology and force transmission at cellular adhesions of murine embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and the embryonic chick heart.
Co-mentors: and
Research: Investigating cytoskeleton regulation during the constant homeostatic renewal of the intestinal epithelium by intestinal stem cells Ìýand understanding how cytoskeletal remodeling in early differentiation influences biological processes, such as fate determination and cell cycle control, which are often dysregulated in disease
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Research: Investigating the role of the transcription factor NFkB in CD8 T cell differentiation in response to cancer
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Research:ÌýScreening for viable single-cell overexpression clones in human embryonic stem cells to identify differences in gene-specific responses to cytotoxic stressors as well as examining apoptotic and axonal pruning processes in knockout models of primary murine neurons cultured in microfluidic chambers.
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Research:Ìý Investigating how cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion molecules regulate progenitor cell behavior in the developing murine epidermis and their broader impacts on epithelial form and function.
Mentor: Scott Randell, PhD
Research: Evaluating chemotaxis of CXCR1-expressing human bronchial epithelial cells (HBECs) to IL-8 and engraftment of engineered HBECs to the stem cell niche of the airway, an important step toward increasing the safety and efficacy of Cystic Fibrosis cell therapy.
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Research: The role of pathologic TDP-43 acetylation in neurodegeneration, particularly as it relates to frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) Ìýand amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
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Research: Identify, classify, and determine the function of lymphatic-enriched G protein coupled receptors (GPCR) that have the potential to be manipulated by pharmacologic intervention.
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Research:ÌýInvestigates sex differences in the role of GATA4, a core cardiac transcription factor required for cardiacÌýdevelopment. When mutated, GATA4 causes human heart disease in adults and children.
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Research:Ìý Investigating the function of apolipoprotein E on the regulation of lipid droplets in astrocytes and its implications in Alzheimer's disease.
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Research:Ìý Characterizing assembly of glycolytic condensates in placental syncytiotrophoblast, particularly as it relates to nutrient sensingÌýat the maternal-fetal interface.
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Research: Exploring the mechanistic link between folate-driven one-carbon metabolism and the immunosuppressive phenotype of tumor-associated macrophages with the ultimate goal of leveraging these findings to reverse macrophage-dependent resistance to traditional cancer immunotherapies in patients