معرفی
Ilya Levental is a Professor in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where he leads the Levental Laboratory of Membrane Biology. His research investigates how membranes and dietary lipids regulate cell physiology, with the goal of identifying therapeutic targets for human diseases.
- Education:
- BS in Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
- PhD in Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Max Planck Institute for Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany
Research Interests: Levental's work focuses on the composition, biophysics, and physiology of cellular membranes. His lab employs a multidisciplinary approach combining molecular and cell biology, membrane biophysics, protein biochemistry, and synthetic biology. Key areas include lipid rafts, membrane domain stability, protein-lipid interactions, and dietary lipid impacts on membrane function. Notable projects explore membrane phase behaviors in HIV entry, lipid asymmetry effects, and membrane regulation of signal transduction.
Publication Trends: Articles span biophysics, cell biology, and lipid biology, with a focus on membrane domain partitioning, cholesterol dynamics, and phase separation in disease. Collaborations with institutions like Karolinska Institute, University of Michigan, and UT Health Science Center highlight the interdisciplinary nature of his work.
Labs and Collaborations: The Levental Lab moved to the University of Virginia and is affiliated with the Center for Membrane and Cell Physiology. Current projects involve partnerships with researchers in Sweden, Germany, and the United States, utilizing computational modeling, cryo-EM, and synthetic biology to study membrane organization.
