Gregory Alushin

Gregory Alushin, PhD, is an Associate Professor at The Rockefeller University, leading the Laboratory of Structural Biophysics and Mechanobiology. His research focuses on how cells sense and respond to mechanical forces, particularly through actin filaments' structural changes. He employs cryo-electron microscopy and biochemical methods to study cellular biomechanics, aiming to link mechanical forces to gene expression in development and disease.

Education:

• B.A. in Biochemistry, Columbia University (2006)
• Ph.D. in Biophysics, University of California, Berkeley (2012)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (2012–2013)

Research Interests: Dr. Alushin investigates actin filament mechanics, mechanosensation, and their roles in cancer and cardiovascular biology. His lab develops tools like cryo-EM to visualize force-induced structural changes in macromolecules, bridging biophysics, structural biology, and cellular imaging.

Scientific Awards:

• NIH Director’s Early Independence Award (2013)
• Forbes 30 Under 30 (2014)
• Presidential Early Career Award (2017)
• Pew Biomedical Scholar (2018)
• Multiple NIH grants and fellowships

Labs & Teams: His lab is part of the Rockefeller University’s interdisciplinary environment, collaborating with the Tri-Institutional M.D.-Ph.D. and Ph.D. programs in Chemical Biology. Current work explores actin-binding proteins’ roles in transducing mechanical forces into cellular signals.