Summary
All living systems depend on multicomponent macromolecular machines called organelles. Although we know many of the proteins which group together into organelles, the underlying processes which allow organelle assembly are not understood.
One focus of my work is on centrosomes; organelles which allow cells to respond to growth signals, move, change shape and divide. I study centrosome assembly and function using cutting edge tools from quantitative live cell imaging, genome editing and biochemistry. The overarching questions which drive my research are:
- How does centrosomal structure self-organise from protein subunits?
- What are the molecular programmes which control changes in centrosomal state?
- How are organelles altered during pathology and can we therapeutically rebuild and repair them?
Publications
Journals
Mahen R, 2021, cNap1 bridges centriole contact sites to maintain centrosome cohesion
Mahen R, 2021, The structure and function of centriolar rootlets, Journal of Cell Science, Vol:134, ISSN:0021-9533
Lee M, Shorthouse D, Mahen R, et al., 2021, Cancer-causing BRCA2 missense mutations disrupt an intracellular protein assembly mechanism to disable genome maintenance, Nucleic Acids Research, Vol:49, ISSN:0305-1048, Pages:5588-5604
Mahen R, 2021, Ciliary control of meiotic chromosomal pairing mechanics and germ cell morphogenesis