Overview

The goal of my research is to identify the regulatory proteins that control vesicle transport in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in order to understand how underlying defects in protein and lipid trafficking contribute to human disease. Vesicle transport is required to switch off signaling receptors that would otherwise promote unregulated cell growth. Retrograde transport also carries signals that promote the continued survival of neurons, and defects in the machinery responsible for retrograde transport are believed to be a cause of motor neuron disease. Because vesicle transport processes are highly conserved, they can be studied in a very simple organism, and the findings applied directly to the study of human cells. Yeast genetics is therefore a powerful tool for the discovery of fundamental cellular mechanisms relevant to human health.

Publications

N-terminal signals in the SNX-BAR paralogs Vps5 and Vin1 guide coat complex formation
Shawn P. Shortill and Mia S. Frier and Michael Davey and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.24.576755
01/2024

Genome-wide screen identifies new set of genes for improved heterologous laccase expression inSaccharomyces cerevisiae
Garrett Strawn and Ryan Wong and Barry Young and Michael Davey and Corey Nislow and Elizabeth Conibear and Christopher Loewen and Thibault Mayor
DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.10.548373
07/2023

The VINE complex is an endosomal VPS9-domain GEF and SNX-BAR coat
eLife
Shawn P Shortill and Mia S Frier and Ponthakorn Wongsangaroonsri and Michael Davey and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.77035
08/2022

You can go your own way: SNX-BAR coat complexes direct traffic at late endosomes
Current Opinion in Cell Biology
Shawn P. Shortill and Mia S. Frier and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2022.102087
06/2022

Palmitoylation Targets the Calcineurin Phosphatase to the Phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase Complex at the Plasma Membrane
FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Cyert, M. and Ulengin-Talkish, I. and Parson, M.A. and Jenkins, M.L. and Roy, J. and Shih, A.Z. and St-Denis, N. and Gulyas, G. and Balla, T. and Gingras, A.-C. and Várnai, P. and Conibear, E. and Burke, J.E.
DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.2022.36.S1.R6277
2022

Systematic analysis of membrane contact sites in Saccharomyces cerevisiae uncovers modulators of cellular lipid distribution
eLife
Castro, I.G. and Shortill, S.P. and Dziurdzik, S.K. and Cadou, A. and Ganesan, S. and Valenti, R. and David, Y. and Davey, M. and Mattes, C. and Thomas, F.B. and Avraham, R.E. and Meyer, H. and Fadel, A. and Fenech, E.J. and Ernst, R. and Zaremberg, V. and Levine, T.P. and Stefan, C. and Conibear, E. and Schuldiner, M.
DOI: 10.7554/ELIFE.74602
2022

The VINE complex is a VPS9-domain GEF-containing SNX-BAR coat involved in endosomal sorting
Shawn P. Shortill and Mia S. Frier and Michael Davey and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1101/2021.11.29.470412
11/2021

The Vps13 Family of Lipid Transporters and Its Role at Membrane Contact Sites
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Samantha Dziurdzik and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22062905
03/2021

Systematic analysis of membrane contact sites in Saccharomyces cerevisiae uncovers modulators of cellular lipid distribution
bioRxiv
Castro, I.G. and Shortill, S.P. and Dziurdzik, S.K. and Cadou, A. and Ganesan, S. and Fenech, E.J. and Meyer, H. and Fadel, A. and David, Y. and Davey, M. and Mattes, C. and Valenti, R. and Ernst, R. and Zaremberg, V. and Levine, T.P. and Stefan, C.J. and Conibear, E. and Schuldiner, M.
DOI: 10.1101/2021.10.17.464712
2021

Palmitoylation targets the Calcineurin phosphatase to the Phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase complex at the plasma membrane
bioRxiv
Ulengin-Talkish, I. and Parson, M.A.H. and Jenkins, M.L. and Roy, J. and Shih, A.Z.L. and St-Denis, N. and Gulyas, G. and Balla, T. and Gingras, A.-C. and Várnai, P. and Conibear, E. and Burke, J.E. and Cyert, M.S.
DOI: 10.1101/2021.07.14.451536
2021

Palmitoylation targets the calcineurin phosphatase to the phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase complex at the plasma membrane
Nature Communications
Ulengin-Talkish, I. and Parson, M.A.H. and Jenkins, M.L. and Roy, J. and Shih, A.Z.L. and St-Denis, N. and Gulyas, G. and Balla, T. and Gingras, A.-C. and Várnai, P. and Conibear, E. and Burke, J.E. and Cyert, M.S.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26326-4
2021

Uncovering The Unique Functions And Regulation Of The Palmitoylated Calcineurin Isoform, CNß1
The FASEB Journal
Idil Ulengin-Talkish and Rachel Bond and Nicole St-Denis and Anne-Claude Gingras and Alexis Shih and Elizabeth Conibear and Tamas Balla and Peter Varnai and Martha S. Cyert
DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.07593
04/2020

A VPS13D spastic ataxia mutation disrupts the conserved adaptor-binding site in yeast Vps13
Human Molecular Genetics
Dziurdzik, S.K. and Bean, B.D.M. and Davey, M. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddz318
2020

A VPS13D spastic ataxia mutation disrupts the conserved adaptor binding site in yeast Vps13
bioRxiv
Dziurdzik, S.K. and Bean, B.D.M. and Davey, M. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1101/768366
2019

Competitive organelle-specific adaptors recruit Vps13 to membrane contact sites
Journal of Cell Biology
Björn D.M. Bean and Samantha K. Dziurdzik and Kathleen L. Kolehmainen and Claire M.S. Fowler and Waldan K. Kwong and Leslie I. Grad and Michael Davey and Cayetana Schluter and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201804111
10/2018

The chaperone Chs7 forms a stable complex with Chs3 and promotes its activity at the cell surface
Traffic
Sai T. Dharwada and Lauren E. Dalton and Björn D. M. Bean and Nirmala Padmanabhan and Catherine Choi and Cayetana Schluter and Michael Davey and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1111/tra.12553
04/2018

An Interorganellar Bidding War: Vps13 Localization by Competitive Organelle-Specific Adaptors
Contact
DOI: 10.1177/2515256418814621
2018

Competitive organelle-specific adaptors recruit Vps13 to membrane contact sites
Journal of Cell Biology
Bean, B.D.M. and Dziurdzik, S.K. and Kolehmainen, K.L. and Fowler, C.M.S. and Kwong, W.K. and Grad, L.I. and Davey, M. and Schluter, C. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1083/JCB.201804111
2018

Targeting the Ras palmitoylation/depalmitoylation cycle in cancer
Biochemical Society Transactions
David Tse Shen Lin and Nicholas G. Davis and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1042/bst20160303
06/2017

Quantitative high-content imaging identifies novel regulators of Neo1 trafficking at endosomes
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Lauren E. Dalton and Björn D. M. Bean and Michael Davey and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e16-11-0772
04/2017

Cargo selectivity of yeast sorting nexins
Traffic
Björn D.M. Bean and Michael Davey and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1111/tra.12459
02/2017

Quantitative high-content imaging identifes novel regulators of Neo1 traffcking at endosomes
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Dalton, L.E. and Bean, B.D.M. and Davey, M. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E16-11-0772
2017

Targeting the Ras palmitoylation/depalmitoylation cycle in cancer
Biochemical Society Transactions
Lin, D.T.S. and Davis, N.G. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1042/BST20160303
2017

The alternate AP-1 adaptor subunit Apm2 interacts with the Mil1 regulatory protein and confers differential cargo sorting
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Whitfield, S.T. and Burston, H.E. and Bean, B.D.M. and Raghuram, N. and Maldonado-Báez, L. and Davey, M. and Wendland, B. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E15-09-0621
2016

Enzymatic protein depalmitoylation by acyl protein thioesterases
Biochemical Society Transactions
David T.S. Lin and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1042/bst20140235
04/2015

Rab5-family guanine nucleotide exchange factors bind retromer and promote its recruitment to endosomes
Molecular Biology of the Cell
B. D. M. Bean and M. Davey and J. Snider and M. Jessulat and V. Deineko and M. Tinney and I. Stagljar and M. Babu and E. Conibear
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e14-08-1281
01/2015

ABHD17 proteins are novel protein depalmitoylases that regulate N-Ras palmitate turnover and subcellular localization
eLife
David Tse Shen Lin and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.7554/elife.11306
2015

Large-scale analysis of membrane transport in yeast using invertase reporters
Methods in Molecular Biology
Dalton, L. and Davey, M. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-2309-0_27
2015

ABHD17 proteins are novel protein depalmitoylases that regulate N-Ras palmitate turnover and subcellular localization
eLife
Lin, D.T.S. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.11306
2015

Enzymatic protein depalmitoylation by acyl protein thioesterases
Biochemical Society Transactions
Lin, D.T.S. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1042/BST20140235
2015

Rab5-family guanine nucleotide exchange factors bind retromer and promote its recruitment to endosomes
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Bean, B.D.M. and Davey, M. and Snider, J. and Jessulat, M. and Deineko, V. and Tinney, M. and Stagljar, I. and Babu, M. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E14-08-1281
2015

The alternate AP-1 adaptor subunit Apm2 interacts with the Mil1 regulatory protein and confers differential cargo sorting
Molecular Biology of the Cell
S. T. Whitfield and H. E. Burston and B. D. M. Bean and N. Raghuram and L. Maldonado-Baez and M. Davey and B. Wendland and E. Conibear
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e15-09-0621
2015

Single point mutation in Rabenosyn-5 in a female with intractable seizures and evidence of defective endocytotic trafficking
Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases
Sylvia Stockler and Silvia Corvera and David Lambright and Kevin Fogarty and Ekaterina Nosova and Deborah Leonard and Robert Steinfeld and Cameron Ackerley and Casper Shyr and Nicolas Au and Kathrin Selby and Margot van Allen and Hilary Vallance and Ron Wevers and David Watkins and David Rosenblatt and Colin J Ross and Elizabeth Conibear and Wyeth Wasserman and Clara van Karnebeek
DOI: 10.1186/s13023-014-0141-5
09/2014

The palmitoyl acyltransferase HIP14 shares a high proportion of interactors with huntingtin: implications for a role in the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease
Human Molecular Genetics
Stefanie L. Butland and Shaun S. Sanders and Mandi E. Schmidt and Sean-Patrick Riechers and David T.S. Lin and Dale D.O. Martin and Kuljeet Vaid and Rona K. Graham and Roshni R. Singaraja and Erich E. Wanker and Elizabeth Conibear and Michael R. Hayden
DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddu137
04/2014

Vesicle and organelle formation: making connections
Molecular Biology of the Cell
E. Conibear and B. J. Nichols
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e12-12-0875
03/2013

Interaction landscape of membrane-protein complexes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Nature
Mohan Babu and James Vlasblom and Shuye Pu and Xinghua Guo and Chris Graham and Björn D. M. Bean and Helen E. Burston and Franco J. Vizeacoumar and Jamie Snider and Sadhna Phanse and Vincent Fong and Yuen Yi C. Tam and Michael Davey and Olha Hnatshak and Navgeet Bajaj and Shamanta Chandran and Thanuja Punna and Constantine Christopolous and Victoria Wong and Analyn Yu and Gouqing Zhong and Joyce Li and Igor Stagljar and Elizabeth Conibear and Shoshana J. Wodak and Andrew Emili and Jack F. Greenblatt
DOI: 10.1038/nature11354
09/2012

VPS35 Mutations in Parkinson Disease.
American journal of human genetics
Vilari?o-G?ell C and Wider C and Ross O and Dachsel J and Kachergus J and Lincoln S and Soto-Ortolaza A and Cobb S and Wilhoite G and Bacon J and Behrouz B and Melrose H and Hentati E and Farrer M
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.07.018
08/2011

Vesicle Transport: Springing the TRAPP
Current Biology
Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.05.045
07/2011

VPS35 Mutations in Parkinson Disease
The American Journal of Human Genetics
Carles Vilariño-Güell and Christian Wider and Owen A. Ross and Justus C. Dachsel and Jennifer M. Kachergus and Sarah J. Lincoln and Alexandra I. Soto-Ortolaza and Stephanie A. Cobb and Greggory J. Wilhoite and Justin A. Bacon and Bahareh Behrouz and Heather L. Melrose and Emna Hentati and Andreas Puschmann and Daniel M. Evans and Elizabeth Conibear and Wyeth W. Wasserman and Jan O. Aasly and Pierre R. Burkhard and Ruth Djaldetti and Joseph Ghika and Faycal Hentati and Anna Krygowska-Wajs and Tim Lynch and Eldad Melamed and Alex Rajput and Ali H. Rajput and Alessandra Solida and Ruey-Meei Wu and Ryan J. Uitti and Zbigniew K. Wszolek and François Vingerhoets and Matthew J. Farrer
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2011.06.001
07/2011

Organization and Assembly of the TRAPPII Complex
Traffic
Catherine Choi and Michael Davey and Cayetana Schluter and Preet Pandher and Yuan Fang and Leonard J. Foster and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0854.2011.01181.x
04/2011

Palmitoylation and depalmitoylation dynamics at a glance
Journal of Cell Science
Elizabeth Conibear and Nicholas G. Davis
DOI: 10.1242/jcs.059287
11/2010

Converging views of endocytosis in yeast and mammals
Current Opinion in Cell Biology
Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1016/j.ceb.2010.05.009
08/2010

Identification of the Novel TRAPP Associated Protein Tca17
Traffic
Ben Montpetit and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0854.2009.00895.x
06/2009

Regulators of yeast endocytosis identified by systematic quantitative analysis
The Journal of Cell Biology
Helen E. Burston and Lymarie Maldonado-Báez and Michael Davey and Benjamen Montpetit and Cayetana Schluter and Beverly Wendland and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1083/jcb.200811116
06/2009

The Endocytic Pathway
Trafficking Inside Cells
Elizabeth Conibear and Yuen Yi C. Tam
DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-93877-6_4
2009

Discovery and Expansion of Gene Modules by Seeking Isolated Groups in a Random Graph Process
PLoS ONE
Jochen Brumm and Elizabeth Conibear and Wyeth W. Wasserman and Jennifer Bryan
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0003358
10/2008

An endocytic mechanism for haemoglobin-iron acquisition inCandida albicans
Molecular Microbiology
Ziva Weissman and Revital Shemer and Elizabeth Conibear and Daniel Kornitzer
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2008.06277.x
07/2008

Global Analysis of Yeast Endosomal Transport Identifies the Vps55/68 Sorting Complex
Molecular Biology of the Cell
C. Schluter and K. K.Y. Lam and J. Brumm and B. W. Wu and M. Saunders and T. H. Stevens and J. Bryan and E. Conibear
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e07-07-0659
04/2008

Evaluation of the Golgi trafficking protein VPS54 (wobbler) as a candidate for ALS
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Miriam H. Meisler and Carsten Russ and Kate T. Montgomery and Matthew Greenway and Sean Ennis and Orla Hardiman and Denise A. Figlewicz and Nicole R. Quenneville and Elizabeth Conibear and Robert H. Brown
DOI: 10.1080/17482960801934403
01/2008

Genome-Wide Analysis of Membrane Transport Using Yeast Knockout Arrays
Membrane Trafficking
Helen E. Burston and Michael Davey and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-59745-261-8_3
2008

Global analysis of yeast endosomal transport identifies the Vps55/68 sorting complex
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Schluter, C. and Lam, K.K.Y. and Brumm, J. and Wu, B.W. and Saunders, M. and Stevens, T.H. and Bryan, J. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E07-07-0659
2008

Molecular Architecture and Functional Model of the Complete Yeast ESCRT-I Heterotetramer
Cell
Michael S. Kostelansky and Cayetana Schluter and Yuen Yi C. Tam and Sangho Lee and Rodolfo Ghirlando and Bridgette Beach and Elizabeth Conibear and James H. Hurley
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2007.03.016
05/2007

Palmitoylation by the DHHC protein Pfa4 regulates the ER exit of Chs3
The Journal of Cell Biology
Karen K.Y. Lam and Michael Davey and Beimeng Sun and Amy F. Roth and Nicholas G. Davis and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1083/jcb.200602049
07/2006

Toward the Systems Biology of Vesicle Transport
Traffic
Nicole R. Quenneville and Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0854.2006.00436.x
05/2006

Domains within the GARP Subunit Vps54 Confer Separate Functions in Complex Assembly and Early Endosome Recognition
Molecular Biology of the Cell
N. R. Quenneville
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e05-11-1002
01/2006

Domains within the GARP subunit Vps54 confer separate functions in complex assembly and early endosome recognition
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Quenneville, N.R. and Chao, T.-Y. and McCaffery, J.M. and Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E05-11-1002
2006

An E-MAP of the ER
Cell
Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2005.10.016
11/2005

Ykt6p Is a Multifunctional Yeast R-SNARE That Is Required for Multiple Membrane Transport Pathways to the Vacuole
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Y. Kweon
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e02-10-0687
01/2003

Ykt6p is a multifunctional yeast R-SNARE that is required for multiple membrane transport pathways to the vacuole
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Kweon, Y. and Rothe, A. and Conibear, E. and Stevens, T.H.
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E02-10-0687
2003

Vps51p mediates the association of the GARP (Vps52/53/54) complex with the late Golgi t-SNARE Tlg1p
Molecular Biology of the Cell
Conibear, E. and Cleck, J.N. and Stevens, T.H.
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E02-10-0654
2003

An ESCRT into the Endosome
Molecular Cell
Elizabeth Conibear
DOI: 10.1016/s1097-2765(02)00601-9
08/2002

Studying yeast vacuoles
Guide to Yeast Genetics and Molecular and Cell Biology Part C
Elizabeth Conibear and Tom H. Stevens
DOI: 10.1016/s0076-6879(02)51861-9
2002

Studying yeast vacuoles
Methods in Enzymology
Conibear, E. and Stevens, T.H.
DOI: 10.1016/S0076-6879(02)51861-9
2002

An ESCRT into the endosome
Molecular Cell
Conibear, E.
DOI: 10.1016/S1097-2765(02)00601-9
2002

Vps51p Mediates the Association of the GARP (Vps52/53/54) Complex with the Late Golgi t-SNARE Tlg1p
Molecular Biology of the Cell
E. Conibear
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e02-10-0654
2002

Identification of Rgp1p, a novel Golgi recycling factor, as a protein required for efficient localization of yeast casein kinase 1 to the plasma membrane.
Journal of cell science
Panek HR and Conibear E and Bryan JD and Colvin RT and Goshorn CD and Robinson LC
PubMed: 11082047
12/2000

Vps52p, Vps53p, and Vps54p Form a Novel Multisubunit Complex Required for Protein Sorting at the Yeast Late Golgi
Molecular Biology of the Cell
E. Conibear and T. H. Stevens
DOI: 10.1091/mbc.11.1.305
01/2000

Identification of Rgp1p, a novel Golgi recycling factor, as a protein required for efficient localization of yeast casein kinase 1 to the plasma membrane
Journal of Cell Science
Panek, H.R. and Conibear, E. and Bryan, J.D. and Colvin, R.T. and Goshorn, C.D. and Robinson, L.C.
2000

Identification of Rgp1p, a novel Golgi recycling factor, as a protein required for efficient localization of yeast casein kinase 1 to the plasma membrane
Journal of Cell Science
Panek, H.R. and Conibear, E. and Bryan, J.D. and Colvin, R.T. and Goshorn, C.D. and Robinson, L.C.
2000

Multiple sorting pathways between the late Golgi and the vacuole in yeast
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research
Elizabeth Conibear and Tom H Stevens
DOI: 10.1016/s0167-4889(98)00058-5
08/1998

Multiple sorting pathways between the late Golgi and the vacuole in yeast
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Molecular Cell Research
Conibear, E. and Stevens, T.H.
DOI: 10.1016/S0167-4889(98)00058-5
1998

Vacuolar biogenesis in yeast: Sorting out the sorting proteins
Cell
Elizabeth Conibear and Tom H. Stevens
DOI: 10.1016/0092-8674(95)90088-8
11/1995

Golgi and vacuolar membrane proteins reach the vacuole in vps1 mutant yeast cells via the plasma membrane
The Journal of Cell Biology
S. F. Nothwehr
DOI: 10.1083/jcb.129.1.35
04/1995

A chimera of the cytoplasmic tail of the mannose 6-phosphate/IGF-II receptor and lysozyme localizes to the TGN rather than prelysosomes where the bulk of the endogenous receptor is found.
Journal of cell science
Conibear E and Pearse BM
PubMed: 8056846
04/1994

A chimera of the cytoplasmic tail of the mannose 6-phosphate/IGF-II receptor and lysozyme localizes to the TGN rather than prelysosomes where the bulk of the endogenous receptor is found
Journal of Cell Science
Conibear, E. and Pearse, B.M.
1994

A chimera of the cytoplasmic tail of the mannose 6-phosphate/IGF-II receptor and lysozyme localizes to the TGN rather than prelysosomes where the bulk of the endogenous receptor is found
Journal of Cell Science
Conibear, E. and Pearse, B.M.F.
1994

Specificity of binding of clathrin adaptors to signals on the mannose-6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II receptor
The EMBO Journal
PubMed: PMC400912
04/1989

Specificity of binding of clathrin adaptors to signals on the mannose 6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor II receptor
EMBO Journal
Glickman, J.N. and Conibear, E. and Pearse, B.M.F.
DOI: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03471.x
1989

Research

Current Project
Vesicle traffic is regulated by factors that select cargo for incorporation into a forming vesicle and direct its docking and fusion with the appropriate target membrane. The machinery that controls transport between two intracellular compartments - the endosome and the trans-Golgi network - is of particular interest because these compartments act as relay stations, directing a large number of different sorting events. We have used a genetic approach in the yeast model system to identify four components of a conserved protein complex (GARP: Golgi-associated retrograde protein complex) that directs the targeting of transport vesicles with the trans-Golgi network. We are currently using genetic, cell biological and biochemical techniques to analyze the interactions that link this vesicle targeting complex to other components of the membrane fusion machinery.

Recent advances in genome-wide phenotypic screening in yeast, combined with powerful bioinformatics analyses, hold great promise for the rapid and comprehensive identification of novel multi-subunit complexes. Functional genomics is expected to uncover most of the genes required for the trafficking of proteins and lipids through Golgi and endosomal compartments. In genome-wide screens, we have identified sets of genes likely to act together at common regulatory steps in protein sorting. We are now using biochemical/cell biological assays to characterize interacting proteins and analyze their role in protein and lipid trafficking in detail. Tackling a problem at many different levels - from genome-wide discovery studies in yeast, to the biochemical and cell biological characterization of specific protein complexes, to the investigation of homologous proteins in mammalian cells - allows an in-depth analysis of protein function and ensures that discoveries made in a simple model organism are efficiently translated to the study of medically relevant processes in mammalian cells.

Grants

Canada Foundation for Innovation Grant, 2013

Honours & Awards

UBC Killam Teaching Prize, 2014

Research Group Members

Paige Blair, Graduate Student
Veronika Bumbulovic, Research Assistant
Michael Davey, Research Asst/Tech 4
Hailey Eng
Mia Frier, PhD Candidate
Marian Gauzshtein, Research Assistant
Jacob Gravelle, Research Assistant
Sydney Holme, PhD Student
Kevin Jeffers, PhD Candidate
Sera Park, Lab Assistant
Gurpreet Sidhu, Research Assistant
Wendy Tso, Research Assistant