David Owen

Project/study information 

All cells are surrounded by a phospholipid membrane and contain within them many organelles. The myriad biological functions that take place on these membranes are driven by the proteins embedded in them. These trans-membrane proteins are shuttled between a cell’s membranes in tubular-vesicular carriers. We want to understand how this is brought about and coordinated using a combination of state-of-the-art atomic resolution structural studies aligned with functional assays in vitro and in vivo. 

Around one third of human genes encode either protein cargo and the machinery that controls its trafficking or the array of protein complexes that drive organelle genesis and maintenance. As membrane trafficking and organelle function go awry in many pathophysiological states and are subverted by infectious pathogens, our research has major implications for health and disease: Altering organelle/trafficking processes by therapeutic intervention has the potential to be used to treat these states.