{"id":8719,"date":"2018-07-23T09:19:37","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T13:19:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/?p=8719"},"modified":"2020-10-29T23:15:06","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T03:15:06","slug":"a-tale-of-two-projects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/a-tale-of-two-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"A tale of two projects"},"content":{"rendered":"
To sixth year graduate student Julie Monda, dividing cells are among the most beautiful things she\u2019s ever seen. Watching the tiny, delicate spheres split into identical versions of themselves also provides her with a visual readout for her experiments \u2014 will the process continue if she removes a certain piece of a certain protein? Will the genetic material still distribute equally between the two cells? Which molecules are crucial for cell division, and how are they regulated?<\/p>\n
Our cells are constantly dividing in order to grow and repair themselves, although some (like skin cells) do so more often than others, say, in the brain. This process, known as mitosis, is the primary focus of\u00a0Iain Cheeseman<\/a>\u2019s lab, situated in the\u00a0Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research<\/a>. Most of the research in the Cheeseman lab involves the kinetochore, a group of proteins located on the chromosome where the arms join. During mitosis, long, fibrous structures, known as microtubules, attach to the kinetochore to pull apart the duplicated chromosomes as the parent cell splits in half, ensuring each daughter cell receives an exact copy of the parent\u2019s genetic blueprint.<\/p>\n Before she arrived at MIT Biology in the fall of 2012, Monda worked as a research technician at St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee in the lab of Brenda Schulman PhD \u201996 . As she recalls, she always \u201cpreferred performing hands-on research techniques at the lab bench over being in a classroom.\u201d So she surprised even herself when she chose MIT\u2019s graduate program in biology precisely because it requires all first-year students to take a full course load their fall semester before beginning lab rotations.<\/p>\n \u201cThat structure seemed useful given that I studied biochemistry as an undergraduate at the University of Tulsa, and the degree requirements were weighted more towards chemistry than biology,\u201d she says. \u201cPlus, when you\u2019re only taking classes, you spend more time interacting with your classmates. It creates a close-knit community that extends throughout your entire graduate career and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n Monda ultimately selected the\u00a0Cheeseman lab<\/a>\u00a0because it married her interests in biochemistry and cell biology.<\/p>\n \u201cThe research in this lab focuses on various elements of kinetochore function and cell division, but everyone is generally working on their own distinct questions,\u201d she explains. \u201cI knew I would have an area that was mine to explore. It\u2019s both exciting and challenging because no one else is thinking about your projects to the extent that you are.\u201d<\/p>\n Monda\u2019s story is a tale of two projects: one focused on the interface between the kinetochore and the array of microtubules known as the mitotic \u201cspindle,\u201d and another project that ended up taking both her and the lab in a slightly new direction.<\/p>\n The first, concerning kinetochore-microtubule interactions, represented a collaboration with former lab technician Ian Whitney. For this endeavor, Monda investigated a protein complex called Ska1, found at the outer kinetochore.<\/p>\n The Ska1 complex is located where the kinetochore and microtubule meet. Ska1\u2019s role, Monda explains, is to allow the kinetochores to remain attached to the spindle during chromosome segregation, even as the microtubules that compose the spindle begin to disassemble (as they must do).<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to know how the kinetochore hangs onto this polymer that is essentially falling apart,\u201d Monda explains. \u201cLong story short, we ended up defining specific surfaces within the Ska1 complex that are important for holding on to the microtubule as it shrinks, and \u2014 as we were surprised to note \u2014 also as it grows\u201d<\/p>\n