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New NIH funding to Wu Lab

August 2, 2022

New NIH funding to Wu Lab

Jian-Qiu Wu

Congratulations to Dr. Jian-Qiu Wu, whose R01 grant entitled “Molecular mechanisms of cytokinesis” was recently renewed by the National Institutes of Health for an additional four years. The Wu lab uses the fission yeast S. pombe as a model system to examine the mechanisms that govern cytokinesis, which is the final process in cell division where a mother cell divides into two daughter cells. The funded work will examine the mechanisms that coordinate vesicular trafficking and extracellular matrix remodeling during cell division. In humans, failed cytokinesis can promote tumor development and cause birth defects, and defects in vesicle trafficking contribute to diabetes and neurologic diseases. In addition, these studies on fungal-specific proteins such as glucan synthases and their regulators may reveal ideal targets for new antifungal drugs. Thus, understanding the crucial events and essential proteins that control successful completion of cytokinesis will help discover the causes and possible treatments of cancer and other human health conditions.