Fields of Research
- Intracellular Signaling
- Molecular Basis of Disease
Research Summary
Studying specific subcellular interactions using microscopy and biochemistry:
- PKA signaling in the stress disorder Cushing’s syndrome
- The phosphatase PP2B/calcineurin in insulin production
Research Statement
My overarching research interests deal with aspects of time and space in cell signaling. Molecules multi-task within the cell, interacting with multiple partners and participating in multiple signaling pathways. Common research strategies such as gene knockout, protein overexpression, and classical pharmacology fail to disentangle distinct cellular impacts of a protein. My studies aim to isolate disease-relevant functions of signaling molecules by identifying and targeting specific molecular interactions and temporal windows of activity.
Awards and Honors
F32 award from NIH NIDDK
Faculty
- Building:
- HSB
- Room:
- K322
- Box:
- 357750
- Phone:
- 206-221-0515
Lab
Select Publications
Turnham, R.E., Smith, F.D., Kenerson, H.L., Omar, M.H., Golkowski, M., Garcia, I., Bauer, R., Lau, H.-T., Sullivan, K.M., Langeberg, L.K., et al. (2019). An acquired scaffolding function of the DNAJ-PKAc fusion contributes to oncogenic signaling in fibrolamellar carcinoma. eLife 8, e44187.
Smith, F.D., Omar, M.H., Nygren, P.J., Soughayer, J., Hoshi, N., Lau, H.-T., Snyder, C.G., Branon, T.C., Ghosh, D., Langeberg, L.K., et al. (2018). Single nucleotide polymorphisms alter kinase anchoring and the subcellular targeting of A-kinase anchoring proteins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, E11465-E11474.
Omar, M.H., Campbell, M.K., Xiao, X., Zhong, Q., Brunken, W.J., Miner, J.H., Greer, C.A., and Koleske, A.J. (2017). CNS Neurons Deposit Laminin .5 to Stabilize Synapses. Cell reports 21, 1281-1292.
Shapiro, L.P., Omar, M.H., Koleske, A.J., and Gourley, S.L. (2017). Corticosteroid-induced dendrite loss and behavioral deficiencies can be blocked by activation of Abl2/Arg kinase. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience 85, 226-234.
Levy, A.D., Omar, M.H., and Koleske, A.J. (2014). Extracellular matrix control of dendritic spine and synapse structure and plasticity in adulthood. Frontiers in neuroanatomy 8, 116.
Publications
