Research Interests
The two main research focuses of the Gladfelter lab are how the cytoplasm is spatially organized and how cells sense their own geometry. Her team uses a variety of model systems to study syncytia, including Ashbya gossypii, Neurospora crassa, myotubes, and the syncytiotrophoblast of human placenta to study the architecture of the cytoplasm. Gladfelter seeks new fungal systems derived from the marine environment, which are extremophiles and show morphologic characteristics not found in more conventional model systems.
Gladfelter made the discovery that the nuclei of the multinucleate fungus Ashbya gossypii, despite sharing the same cytoplasm, progress through the cell cycle independently. This has led to further work uncovering how liquid-liquid phase separation of RNAs and proteins can permit autonomy among syncytial nuclei and help to establish cell polarity. Recently, the lab has begun examining phase separation in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection, with a focus on understanding mechanisms of viral packaging.
Another area that Gladfelter's lab explores is how cells sense their shape. Gladfelter and her lab have extensively studied the ability of a conserved family of proteins called septins, which localize to areas of the cell that change shape or are highly curved, to sense cell curvature.