Timothy McGraw, Ph.D.

The McGraw laboratory uses quantitative optical microscopy to study insulin-regulated membrane trafficking. The main objectives of lab work are to characterize the GLUT4 trafficking pathway in the presence and absence of insulin, and to identify how the insulin-signal transduction regulates the movement of GLUT4 vesicles. In addition to studies of GLUT4 trafficking, we are also interested in more basic questions of membrane trafficking, specifically a more detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms of clathrin-mediated internalization from the cell surface and the mechanisms for return of endocytosed proteins back to the plasma membrane.