We study the cellular mechanisms of mitochondrial DNA integrity and inheritance.

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The legacy of endosymbiosis

Within each of our cells, the genetic control of metabolism is split between the nuclear genome and a multitude of small, circular mitochondrial genomes. The co-inheritance and -regulation of these genomes is required for aerobic life. Mitochondrial DNA defects cause hereditary metabolic diseases that impact tissues with high energy demand, such as the brain, muscle and heart, and are also linked to cancer and the innate immune response. We aim to reveal the cellular mechanisms that ensure mitochondrial DNA integrity and inheritance in metazoans, using quantitative imaging, genetics and systems biology approaches.

 
 

Recent Lab News

  • Welcome new PhD student, Cam!

    7/10/2024

  • Sam received a prestigious NSF CAREER Award 2024-29!

    5/30/2024

  • Sam is a guest editor for PLoS Genetics!

    5/23/2024

  • Sam won a 2024 MCB Department Outstanding Faculty Award!

    5/7/2024

  • Adam has received the Nucleate Venture Fellowship Award! Congrats!

    3/1/2024

  • Alexandra has received the CREA Undergraduate Fellowship for research on Aging! Way to go!

    1/3/2024

  • Congrats to postdoc Tejashree, on her election to the Early Career Review Board at J Biological Chemistry!

    12/22/23

  • Eve is now a Rare Disease Diversity Coalition Predoctoral Fellow!

    12/19/23

  • Sam has won the 2023 Prytanean Faculty Award!

    11/01/23

  • We are thrilled to be funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: 'Metabolism Across Scales' program!

    10/26/23

  • Casadora, Adam, Yomn, and Beza are headed to ASCB in Boston, this December

    9/30/23

  • We've been awarded an NIH Diversity Supplement to our R35 grant to support Cassie's work!

    06/16/23

  • Welcome to UC LEADS student, Beza!

    06/12/23

  • Tejashree is a finalist for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation postdoc Accelerator Award!

    05/22/23

  • Adam's paper is in print at mSystems <3

    05/18/23

  • Welcome, new Ph.D. student Eve!

    04/28/23

  • Casadora passed her QE!

    04/26/23

  • The Lewis lab has been awarded funding from the IGI Center for CRISPR Target Discovery!

    04/20/23

  • Casadora has received a Mentored Graduate Research Fellowship!

    04/19/23

  • Jackie has been selected to speak at the Bay Area Aging Meeting!

    04/14/23

  • Sam is a 2023 Whitman Fellow of the Marine Biological Laboratory

    03/28/23

  • Sam has won the 2023 American Association for Anatomy R.R. Bensley Award in Cell and Molecular Biology!

    02/17/23

  • Sam is a 2023 Sloan Research Fellow!

    02/15/23

  • The Lewis Lab enjoyed our retreat at Pt. Reyes National Seashore! Two days of board games, trivia and hiking

    12/9/22-12/11/22

  • The Lewis lab has received a generous gift from the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation 'Unstoppable Nina Hall Research Fund'. Thank you.

    11/30/22

  • PhD student Casadora awarded a $70k grant from the Stanford Diabetes Research Center!

    11/14/22

  • Welcome to new undergrads Yomn and Clara!

    10/27/22

  • John's abstract has been selected for a talk at ASCB! Check out the Special Interest SubGroup on Subcellular Localization of RNA

    09/19/22

  • The Lewis Lab awarded $1.9 Million NIH MIRA grant!

    09/09/22

  • Casadora selected for the ASCB PAIR-UP Symposium at Rockefeller University!

    08/28/22

  • Jackie's abstract selected for a talk at the C.elegans Development, Cell Biology, and Gene Expression Topic Meeting! Way to go!

    07/11/22

  • Sam has won the 2022 Rennie Fund for the Study of Epilepsy!

    06/24/22

  • Sam has been selected as a Hellman Fellow by the Society of Hellman Fellows Fund!

    05/30/22

  • Welcome to new PhD student Cassie, from the Metabolic Biology Graduate Program :)

    05/12/22

  • Welcome high school student Maryam, joining us through the Summer Student Research Program! Thanks CIRM for support!

    05/01/22

  • Congrats to Ph.D. candidate Adam Begeman on his NSF Graduate Research Fellowship!

    04/05/22

  • Congrats to Lewis lab undergrad Ryan Quan on his Rose Hills/SURF Summer Research Fellowship!

    03/30/22

 
 

We are grateful for the support of current and previous sponsors