Research in my group focuses on processes that are regulated by the cell cycle. We make use of a model organism, S. cerevisiae, which is commonly known as budding yeast. Budding yeast is easily genetically manipulated, and powerful tools have been developed to characterize the cell's genetic and biochemical networks. Importantly, basic regulation of the eukaryotic cell cycle has remained unchanged over the past ~ 1 billion years of evolution. Therefore, budding yeast is an excellent model system for studying eukaryotic cell cycle regulation.

The cell cycle is orchestrated by cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs). A single CDK, Cdk1 (also known as Cdc28), is sufficient for cell cycle control in S. cerevisiae. While the upstream regulation of Cdk1 is relatively well understood, the downstream targets of Cdk1 that execute the processes involved in cell cycle progression have remained much more obscure. Thus far, over 75 targets of Cdk1 have been identified (for a recent open access review see here). Despite this relatively large number, these targets cannot explain the enormous complexity of cell duplication. Two major challenges are: unraveling the genetic network of the cell cycle, and identification of the targets of Cdk1.

The objectives of my lab are:

- To determine the function of Cdk1 in specific processes, such as transcription

- To unravel the genetic network of the cell cycle

- To discover novel Cdk1 targets