Prof. Hava Gil-Henn

Head of Research Lab
Telephone
Email
Hava.Henn@biu.ac.il
Research

Cytoskeletal remodeling is a fundamental biological process that requires precise coordination of several molecular pathways and physical forces. From single-cell organisms searching for nutrients to complex neurons searching for synaptic partners, at some point in their life cycle most cells must remodel their cytoskeleton to change their shape or move. Understanding how cells encounter and sum a multitude of signals in their complex extracellular milieu and translate those signals into the complex processes that dictate whether a cell changes its shape or moves is of great importance to biology. The molecular details of these processes and the complex signaling networks that regulate them are only starting to be revealed at present. Research in our laboratory focuses on cytoskeletal signaling by non-receptor tyrosine kinases, cellular relays that translate information from cell surface growth factor and adhesion receptors to promote downstream events such as enzymatic activities, cytoskeletal reorganization, gene expression, and synaptic plasticity. We use a multidisciplinary approach, which combines advanced molecular and cellular biology methods, in vitro and in vivo RNAi-mediated genetic manipulations, transgenic and knockout mice models, cutting-edge in vivo methods, high-resolution fluorescent, and intravital imaging, and in vivo transcriptomics/proteomics followed by integrated bioinformatics and systems biology analyses, to understand and characterize, at the molecular, cellular, and whole-organism levels, the cytoskeletal signaling networks that regulate normal physiological processes and their modifications leading to human disease. A better understanding of the cytoskeletal mechanisms and signaling pathways that regulate and execute these processes could suggest novel clinical targets and strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases such as cancer metastasis, brain and behavior, psychiatric disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease, and is a fundamental goal of our research.

Last Updated Date : 05/11/2023