CCAM at UConn Health
CCAM integrates new microscope technologies for making quantitative in vivo live cell measurements with new physical formulations and computational tools that will produce spatially realistic quantitative models of intracellular dynamics.
To investigate the relationships between experimental and compuational worlds, we use a tripartite approach described as:
- Measure - develop new tools for measuring spatially resolved dynamic behavior of molecules in cells.
- Model - develop new methods for spatial modeling of biological systems.
- Manipulate - develop new techniques for manipulating the spatial distribution of molecules in living cells.
These three analytical approaches, (measurement, modeling and manipulation) are integrated and interdependent, e.g. models generate predictions that can be validated with new measurements, as well as experimental approaches that manipulate intracellular signals and structures. These approaches allow us to tackle fundamental questions of how the spatial organization of molecules in cell is established and how it is utilized to control cell function. CCAM hosts a confluence of expertise in physics, chemistry, experimental cell biology and software engineering immersed in a biomedical research setting that values interdisciplinary collaborations, and our Training Program in Cell Analysis and Modeling provides a new model for interdisciplinary training in cell biology. CCAM is the home of the Virtual Cell, a computational environment for cell biological modeling developed as a NIH-designated National Resource, and also hosts a variety of projects in biophotonics and live cell microscope imaging methods as well as a state-of-the-art user microscopy facility for nonlinear, confocal, and widefield microscopy.
Upcoming Events
CAM Journal Club - Parmar
Friday, April 27th, 2018
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
UConn HealthCGSB, CCAM Demo Room, R1401, 400 Farmington Ave
CAM Journal Club
Speaker: Jigneshkumar Parmar
Title: " A Multi-Scale Model of Hepcidin Promoter Regulation Reveals Factors Controlling Systemic Iron Homeostasis"
http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003421#pcbi.1003421.s012
Contact Information: Tiffany x6103
MoreCCAM Seminar Series - Toettcher
Thursday, May 3rd, 2018
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
UConn HealthCGSB, CCAm Conference Room, R1673, 400 Farmington Ave
CCAM Seminar Series
Guest Speaker: Jared Toettcher
Title: "Optogenetics for intracellular codebreaking: How ERK activity is interpreted to control gene expression and cell fate"
Abstract: Every cell exists in a complex and changing environment. To deal with their complex surroundings, cells have evolved diverse systems to sense external cues and create an internal representation of this information. However, we are still largely in the dark about how external information is stored in patterns of protein activity, and how this information is decoded into specific cell fate decisions. I will talk about our efforts to overcome these challenges using cellular optogenetics: the delivery of precise spatial and temporal activity patterns to a signaling protein of interest. We have developed a suite of optogenetic tools to precisely control MAP kinase (MAPK) signaling. Coupling this system to reporters of MAPK target genes enables us to dissect how signaling dynamics are transmitted to target genes, leading to defined changes at the transcript and protein levels. Applying these tools in the Drosophila embryo further revealed how a model cell fate choice - differentiation into posterior midgut endoderm - is controlled by specific patterns of MAPK activity.
Contact Information: Tiffany x6103
MoreCAM Research in Progress - Chattaraj
Friday, May 4th, 2018
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
UConn HealthCGSB, Demo Room, R1401, 400 Farmington Ave
CAM Research in Progress
Speaker: Aniruddha Chattaraj
Title: "The biophysical principles of multivalent signaling clusters : the Nephrin-Nck-Nwasp system"
Contact Information: Tiffany x6103
MoreCAM Presentation - Kamal
Friday, May 11th, 2018
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
UConn HealthCGSB, Demo Room, R1401, 400 Farmington Ave
CAM Presentation
Speaker - Shahan Kamal
Contact Information: Tiffany x6103
MoreCCAM Seminar Series - Lopez
Thursday, May 17th, 2018
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
UConn HealthCGSB, CCAm Conference Room, R1673, 400 Farmington
CCAM Seminar Series
Speaker: Carlos Lopez, PhD., Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University
Title: TBA
Contact Information: Tiffany x6103
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