Cell Biology of Cell Division

SÉBASTIEN CARRÉNO, Ph.D.

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• Principal Investigator, Cell Biology of Cell Division, Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer
• Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal

The Cell Biology of Cell Division research unit combines functional genomics and cell biology to study the framework of the cell. The skeleton of the cell, called the cytoskeleton, plays a key role in cell shape changes, in particular those that are associated with cell division. This process is characterized by a profound and stereotyped reorganization of the cytoskeleton at the level of the actin and tubulin filaments. Identifying the nature of the interactions between these two networks of filaments and understanding how these interactions are coordinated at the cellular level are the main goals of this team’s research.

Cell division is a tightly controlled process. It is therefore not surprising that abnormalities which affect it are often associated with the appearance and growth of a tumor. By investigating how the cellular framework itself might control cell division, Sébastien Carréno and his team will be opening up new avenues for the development of cancer therapies.

The Cell Biology of Cell Division research team uses state-of the-art high resolution microscopy techniques to observe in real time the molecular interactions that shape the cytoskeleton during the division of normal cells as well as determine the consequences of perturbing these interactions in mutant cells.

T + 514 343.6111, extension 0321

F + 514 343.6843
sebastien.carreno@umontreal.ca