معرفی
Michael McMurray, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. He holds graduate program affiliations with the Biomedical Sciences Program, Cell Biology Stem Cells and Development Program, Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), Molecular Biology Program, and Structural Biology Biochemistry and Biophysics Program. His research has significantly advanced our understanding of septin proteins and their role in cellular processes.
Dr. McMurray earned his Ph.D. from the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in 2004. His research focuses on identifying molecular mechanisms underlying the assembly of macromolecular complexes, with particular emphasis on septin proteins. His laboratory primarily uses budding yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as a model system for genetic analysis. Key research areas include GTP binding and hydrolysis in septins, chaperone-mediated quality control of septin assembly, chemical rescue of mutant protein function, and the establishment of sexual identity and cell polarity during yeast gametogenesis.
Analysis of Dr. McMurray's recent publications reveals consistent themes in septin assembly pathways, protein folding mechanisms, and the relationship between nucleotide binding and complex formation. His work demonstrates how GTP binding guides de novo folding toward oligomerization-competent states, how slow GTP hydrolysis enforces assembly order, and how chaperones mediate quality control over septin assembly. His laboratory has pioneered methods for determining temporal order of protein-protein interactions in living cells and discovered chemical rescue mechanisms for mutant proteins using naturally occurring small molecules.
- NSF award 1928900 for Wild Yeast Outreach Program
- NIH R01 GM035010
- NIH R01 GM124024
- NIH R35 GM148198
Dr. McMurray has mentored numerous students and postdocs who have gone on to diverse careers in academia, industry, and medicine. Current lab members include Alya Hussain and Michael Brown (PhD students) and Marc Steingesser (Lab Manager). Former lab members include Lydia Heasley (now Assistant Professor at CU AMC), Andrew Weems (Instructor at UT Southwestern), and Ashley Denney (Resident Physician). His lab is supported by multiple NIH grants that fund research on septin assembly mechanisms and protein quality control pathways.
The McMurray Lab maintains the Wild Yeast Outreach Program, which engages middle school students in yeast isolation and identification. This NSF-funded initiative connects public education with cutting-edge research on natural yeast populations and their genetic diversity. The lab also utilizes advanced techniques including in vivo crosslinking, in vitro reconstitution, and split-YFP systems to study protein complex assembly in living cells.
