Barth Grant

Barth Grant serves as a Distinguished Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Rutgers University's School of Arts and Sciences. His research program focuses on membrane traffic and intercellular signaling mechanisms, primarily using the model organism C. elegans but also extending to mammalian systems.

Dr. Grant's laboratory investigates fundamental questions about how cells internalize large molecules necessary for survival and how they control membrane composition to optimize interactions with their environment. His research specifically targets molecular mechanisms controlling endocytosis (the uptake of materials from the cell surface) and endocytic recycling (the return of internalized macromolecules to the cell surface from endosomes). This work has significant biomedical relevance, as endocytic recycling is a key control point in insulin-stimulated movement of glucose transporters (Glut4), with failures in this process linked to type II diabetes. Additionally, endocytic recycling contributes critically to growth factor receptor signal transduction, cytokinesis completion, and regulation of cell migration (metastasis).

Analysis of recent publications reveals a strong focus on neuronal vesicle transport mechanisms, endosomal microdomains, and the role of membrane trafficking defects in human diseases. His work on RAB GTPases, NIMA kinases, and endocytic machinery demonstrates how conserved trafficking pathways function across species and how their dysfunction contributes to neurodevelopmental disorders and metabolic diseases.

Dr. Grant serves as faculty for multiple graduate programs including Biochemistry, Cell and Developmental Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, and Physiology and Integrative Biology. His laboratory, located in the Nelson Biology Laboratories, employs advanced genetic techniques with C. elegans to study membrane trafficking pathways in living organisms, providing insights into conserved mechanisms that operate in human cells and tissues.