Megan King, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Cell Biology We study the protein complexes that bridge the nuclear envelope to connect chromatin and the cytoplasmic cytoskeleton.

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Phone: (203) 737-4628 Lab: (203) 737-4843 Fax: (203) 785-7446 e-mail: megan.king@yale.edu

Department of Cell Biology Yale University School of Medicine 333 Cedar Street PO Box 208002 New Haven, CT 06520-8002 <Courier Address> Department of Cell Biology Yale University School of Medicine 295 Congress Avenue BCMM 254-D

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Education

B.A. Brandeis University 1997
Ph.D. University of Pennyslvania 2004
Postdoctoral Fellow with Dr. Günter Blobel, Rockefeller University

Research Interests

Macromolecular complexes embedded in the nuclear envelope physically couple the cytoskeleton to the nucleus. These molecular bridges allow the cytoskeleton to regulate nuclear position within the cell. In addition, they provide a mechanism for signals to be mechanically transduced between the cytoplasm and nucleus. My laboratory is interested in investigating the role(s) of these nuclear envelope bridges in both processes. We are focused on three primary questions. First, we are defining the macromolecular components that link microtubules (and thereby microtubule-dependent force) to the nucleus. Second, we are interested in the dynamics and mechanism by which microtubule-nuclear interfaces form and dissolve. Finally, we are investigating the means by which cytoplasmic microtubules can affect chromatin organization and dynamics, as well as the biological implications of these effects. We primarily use fission yeast as our model system, taking advantage of the outstanding imaging, biochemical and genetic tools in this organism.

Selected Publications

Megan C. King, Theodore G. Drivas, and Günter Blobel. A network of nuclear envelope
membrane proteins linking centromeres to microtubules. Cell. 134, 427-38 (2008).
Highlighted in Editors’ Choice. Science. 321, 1134 (2008).
Chosen for Research Highlight “In Brief”. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 9, 665 (2008).

C. Patrick Lusk, Günter Blobel, and Megan C. King. Highway to the inner nuclear
membrane: rules for the road. Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 8, 414-420 (2007).

Megan C. King*, C. Patrick Lusk*, and Günter Blobel. Karyopherin-mediated import of
integral inner nuclear membrane proteins. Nature. 442, 1003-7 (2006).
Highlighted in News and Views: Ulrike Kutay and Petra Mühlhäusser. Cell
biology: taking a turn into the nucleus. Nature. 442, 991-2 (2006).