Radhika Subramanian, PhD

Massachusetts General Hospital

Academic Titles

Associate Professor, Genetics, Harvard Medical School

Research Program Affiliation

Member, Cancer Cell Biology

Research Abstract

For a living cell to function properly, its cellular processes must be strictly controlled not only in time but also in space. I am interested in how intracellular spatial organization on the micron-length scale is achieved by nanometer-sized proteins. In my group, we investigate this problem in the context of the microtubule cytoskeleton.

In eukaryotes, a wide range of cellular processes such as cell division, axonal growth and assembly of flagella and cilia, rely on the dynamic and precise organization of microtubules into specialized architectures. Increasingly sophisticated genomic and proteomic analyses have provided us with a near-complete ‘parts-list’ of the proteins involved in assembling these microtubule-based structures. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the proper formation and activity of even the minimal functional units of these structures remain poorly understood. We aim to bridge this knowledge gap by reconstituting minimal units of microtubule-based architectures in vitro from the individual components. We use a diverse set of experimental tools in our endeavor: integrating angstrom and nanometer-length scale information from X-ray crystallography, EM, and single-molecule visualization techniques with micron-length scale analysis of microtubule architectures using multi-color TIRF microscopy-based in vitro assays and cellular analyses of the cytoskeletal structures.

Currently, my lab focuses on the role of the cytoskeleton in two cell biological processes: (i) cell division, which is critical for stable genome propagation, and (ii) Hedgehog signaling, which is essential for embryonic development and misregulated in numerous cancers. By reconstituting key sub-reactions of these cellular processes from purified components, we aim to unravel the molecular mechanisms relevant to cancer biology and developmental disorders.

In addition to research, I enjoy interacting with and mentoring trainees. I like to host undergraduate summer interns and co-op students in my lab and teach two graduate-level classes, BBS230 and CB201, at Harvard Medical School.