Illuminating Compartmentalized Metabolic Regulation in Single Cells

Metabolism is a central process to life, and the precise spatiotemporal control over metabolism is critical for proper cellular and organismal function. The Schmitt Lab is interested in understanding how metabolism is spatiotemporally regulated within the cell at distinct subcellular locations, and how this regulation is perturbed in diseases with metabolic implications, like cancer. Our work has two main focuses: to (1) understand how the signaling networks regulating metabolism are spatiotemporally localized and the downstream effects of localized activity; and (2) to study compartmentalized metabolic flux in health and disease. Our approach to understanding compartmentalized metabolic regulation is to develop genetically encoded fluorescent protein-based biosensors to detect and measure changes in cellular activity with high spatial and temporal resolution. In this talk I will describe ongoing efforts within the lab to study metabolic signaling networks and develop new tools for imaging metabolites with high spatiotemporal resolution.