We are pleased to welcome Dr. Prabhu Sankaralingam to the Hehnly laboratory as a postdoctoral researcher. Prabhu brings extensive expertise in centriole biogenesis and centrosome biology, with a strong foundation in C. elegans as a model system for dissecting the molecular mechanisms that govern centriole assembly and duplication.
His recent work has provided important mechanistic insight into how the kinase ZYG-1 regulates centriole assembly through phosphorylation of the cartwheel protein SAS-5, highlighting the critical role of post-translational modification in centriole formation and copy number control. This study, published in EMBO Reports (read more here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1038/s44319-024-00157-y).
In the Hehnly lab, Prabhu will extend these questions into vertebrate development using zebrafish, where he will investigate mechanisms of centriole biogenesis and maintenance in the context of embryonic tissues and ciliated structures. His expertise in centriole biology and quantitative analysis of assembly pathways will complement ongoing efforts in the lab to understand centrosome function during development and tissue morphogenesis.
We are excited to have Prabhu join our research community and look forward to the new directions his work will bring to our studies of centrosome and cilia biology.
