Fairn, Gregory D. - University of Toronto - Department of Biochemistry

个人简介

For as long as I can remember I have been interested in science. Now as a cell biologist I consider myself a bit of a “Jack-of-all-trades” having worked in a variety of fields. I completed my B.Sc. in the Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Immunology with Co-op placements along the way at Novartis and Merck. I then continued my training at Dalhousie University in Halifax in the lab of Dr. Chris McMaster studying yeast genetics, vesicular transport and lipid metabolism. Next, I moved to Toronto for postdoctoral studies in the lab of Dr. Sergio Grinstein, in the Program in Cell Biology at the Hospital for Sick Children. Here, I continued studying vesicular transport and organelle function and further extended my research into innate immunity and host-pathogen interactions. In the summer of 2012, I started my own lab at St. Michael’s Hospital and continue to study a variety of aspects related to vesicular and non-vesicular transport of lipids, membrane dynamics, innate immunity and the cell biology of yeast and fungal pathogens.

研究领域

Biological membranes are complex assemblies of lipids and proteins, which define organelles and allow cells to interact with neighbouring cells, pathogens and their environment. We are particularly interested in the lipids that comprise these membranes, the proteins that regulate lipid homeostasis, and the function of receptors that reside within the plasma membrane. Alterations in this homeostasis are associated with a variety of diseases including atherosclerosis, obesity, cancer, neurodegeneration and are the underlying cause of several inherited genetic disorders. My lab has two primary research areas: 1) lipid-signaling and membrane dynamics in vesicular trafficking and receptor signaling; 2) phagocytosis and host-fungal interactions

近期论文

查看导师新发文章（温馨提示：请注意重名现象，建议点开原文通过作者单位确认）

Gliotoxin Suppresses Macrophage Immune Function by Subverting Phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-Trisphosphate Homeostasis. Schlam D, Canton J, Carreño M, Kopinski H, Freeman SA, Grinstein S, Fairn GD. MBio 2016 Apr 5;7(2). pii: e02242-15. Read Inhibition of Acid Sphingomyelinase Depletes Cellular Phosphatidylserine and Mislocalizes K-Ras from the Plasma Membrane. Cho KJ, van der Hoeven D, Zhou Y, Maekawa M, Ma X, Chen W, Fairn GD, Hancock JF. Mol Cell Biol. 2015 Nov 16;36(2):363-74. Read Phosphoinositide 3-kinase enables phagocytosis of large particles by terminating actin assembly through Rac/Cdc42 GTPase-activating proteins. Schlam D, Bagshaw RD, Freeman SA, Collins RF, Pawson T, Fairn GD, Grinstein S. Nat Commun. 2015 Oct 14;6:8623. Read Complementary probes reveal that phosphatidylserine is required for the proper transbilayer distribution of cholesterol. Maekawa M, Fairn GD J Cell Sci. 2015 Feb 6. pii: jcs.164715. [Epub ahead of print] Read Molecular probes to visualize the location, organization and dynamics of lipids. Maekawa M, Fairn GD J Cell Sci. 2014 Nov 15;127(22):4801-12. Read Diacylglycerol kinases terminate diacylglycerol signaling during the respiratory burst leading to heterogeneous phagosomal NADPH oxidase activation. Schlam D, Bohdanowicz M, Chatgilialoglu A, Steinberg BE, Ueyama T, Du G, Grinstein S, Fairn GD. J Biol Chem. 2013 Aug 9;288(32):23090-104. Read Phosphatidylserine is polarized and required for proper Cdc42 localization and for development of cell polarity. Fairn GD, Hermansson M, Somerharju P, Grinstein S. Nat Cell Biol. 2011 Oct 2;13(12):1424-30. Read High-resolution mapping reveals topologically distinct cellular pools of phosphatidylserine. Fairn GD, Schieber NL, Ariotti N, Murphy S, Kuerschner L, Webb RI, Grinstein S, Parton RG. J Cell Biol. 2011 Jul 25;194(2):257-75. Read