' - Biophysics and Synthetic Biology

Welcome To the Derr Lab

The Derr lab pursues the biophysical and cell biological mechanisms of the cytoskeletal molecular motors dynein and kinesin.

We study these molecular machines in two ways:
1) at the level of individual motors to better understand how they convert ATP into the productive work required by the cell
2) in small ensembles that allow us to observe how these motors interact with one another at the nano-scale. In these studies, we often employ techniques from the field of DNA structural nanotechnology.

The Derr lab also pursues synthetic biology and the application of molecular motors to engineered nanoscale transport devices.

Realms of Study

DNA Origami

Motor Proteins

TIRF Microscopy

Biophysics 

Synthetic Biology

 

Instagram & Twitter

Follow Professor Derr on Twitter and our lab-run Instagram to get daily updates on our research